Relationships between countries had to be built on the principle of respecting one another's sovereignty, international law and customs, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said at a conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
Relationships between countries had to be built on the principle of respecting one another's sovereignty, international law and customs, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said at a conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
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| Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam and Japanese Prime Minister Shizo Abe. |
He was speaking at the 20th International Conference on The Future of Asia. The event was attended by many heads of government, top business executives and scholars.
The conference talked about issues that can influence the future of Asian countries, such as the role of major countries in the region.
The Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister said that Asian countries were facing many difficulties, which required them to co-operate in many fields, particularly in ensuring regional peace and stability.
Participants also discussed tensions in East Asia along with measures to promote development in Asia.
The Deputy Prime Minister said China's recent placement of a drilling oil rig in Viet Nam's water seriously violated international law, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).
Dam said Viet Nam was always willing to deal with the incident with peaceful measures, but would do anything legally to protect its sovereignty.
Dam also met Japanese Prime Minister Shizo Abe, who said that Japan was concerned about tensions generated by China's illegal placement of its oil rig in Vietnamese waters.
Abe said that Japan would continue to highlight the importance of law supervision and compliance.
He said that as the Vietnamese Government was committed to ensuring a safe investment environment for foreign investors, Japan would encourage its businesses to expand.
Meeting with Deputy PM Dam, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also expressed concern over developments in the East Sea.
He reiterated his view that the matter should be settled using international law and practising restraint, not allowing disputes to harm peace and stability in the region, especially maritime security and safety in the East Sea.
Regarding the rioting that affected some businesses, including those from Singapore, Lee praised the measures taken by the Vietnamese Government.
(Source: VNS)
