The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has considered the settlement of disputes in the East Sea as an important task to ensure stability and security in the region, said ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Aladdin D. Rillo.

ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Aladdin D. Rillo (Photo: YT) 

Talking with the Vietnam News Agency’s reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on emerging challenges and opportunities in ASEAN recently held in Tokyo, he affirmed ASEAN member states have understood arising challenges in the world and their impacts, including the East Sea issue. 

 The ASEAN was established to promote regional security and peace, and its member states need to make efforts to handle arising issues through dialogues and conciliation, he underlined.

 Regarding China’s recent actions in the East Sea, particularly the infringement of survey vessel group Haiyang Dizhi 8 upon Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as defined in line with regulations of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), he stressed the ASEAN Secretariat is working to assure that all security and politics-related matters will be discussed, and all nations need to clearly understand the issues.