Speaking at a June 2 regular press conference in Hanoi, Binh underlined Vietnam’s view concerning the International Arbitral Court’s upcoming judgment on the Philippine’s lawsuit against the U-shaped line that China unilaterally initiated in the East Sea.   

“As a country that is directly involved in disputes in the East Sea, Vietnam pursues a consistent policy of settling disputes in the East Sea through peaceful means in line with international law including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). We hope that the International Arbitral Court will make a fair objective judgment in line with international law including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and asked involved parties to respect international legal obligations as stipulated in this important Convention”.

Vietnam urged other countries to contribute further to maintaining peace, stability and upholding law at sea and on the ocean.  

Also that day, the spokesperson for Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry said the 12th ASEAN-SINO Senior Officials' Meeting on Implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea will be held in Ha Long on June 9.

The day before that, on June 8th, a special meeting of the ASEAN-SINO Joint Working Group on DOC and Consultation on COC will be held. 

Binh said they are regular meetings to boost the implementation of DOC and develop the COC.

In regard to the upcoming Asia Security Summit, or the Shangri-La Dialogue, to be held in Singapore, Binh said Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh will lead the Vietnamese delegation to the event from June 3-5.