The 1982 UNCLOS – a tool to solve maritime conflicts

February 27, 2019 - 07:00

An ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) on the application of the 1982 United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea – UNCLOS and related UN legal documents was organised in Việt Nam’s central coastal province of Nha Trang yesterday.

An ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) on the application of the 1982 United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea – UNCLOS and related UN legal documents was organised in Việt Nam’s central coastal province of Nha Trang yesterday.— VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — An ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) on the application of the 1982 United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea – UNCLOS and related UN legal documents was organised in Việt Nam’s central coastal province of Nha Trang yesterday.

The forum was jointly organised by the Vietnamese Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. More than 80 government officials, experts and scholars in the field of maritime management attended the forum.

Addressing the opening session, Lê Thị Tuyết Mai, director of the Department of Law and International Treaty under the ministry and Justin Whyatt, executive officer from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, both stressed the important role of UNCLOS in the exploitation of the seas and oceans.

Participants at the workshop focused their discussions on four main topics: challenges against traditional  maritime security in the region; conservation and sustainable use of maritime natural resources; climate change and the Law on the Sea and related international legal documents.

The ARF was established in 1994 and is a multilateral forum between the 10 ASEAN nations and ASEAN partners. The main topics of the forum have been peace and security with a key objective to cultivate confidence and strengthen dialogue in the region with ASEAN as the core. At present, the forum has 27 members from 26 countries and the European Union. Việt Nam and Australia were the co-founders of the ARF.— VNS

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