Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on August 2 suggested participating countries of the East Asia Summit (EAS) enhance their maritime cooperation and connectivity.
Addressing the 9th EAS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bangkok, Minh shared other ministers’ views on the important role and position of the EAS in the regional architecture, especially given the complex and unforeseeable developments in the region.
The official expressed his backing for efforts to intensify the role of the EAS Chair – Thailand which also holds the Chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), ASEAN+3 and the ASEAN Regional Forum, and strengthen connectivity and support between these mechanisms.
Regarding the East Sea situation, following the concerns expressed by the EAS countries at the meeting, Minh pointed out unilateral activities that have violated sovereignty and legal interests of littoral countries.
Vietnam has sufficient historical and legal foundations over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes, he reaffirmed, re-stressing ASEAN’s stance and principles on the East Sea.
He called on relevant sides to enhance trust, to not militarise but exercise restraint and take no actions that complicate the situation and intensify tensions, to not use or threaten to use force but seriously observe international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS), implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, and build an effective, efficient Code of Conduct in the East Sea in conformity with international law.
At the meeting, EAS countries agreed to step up result-oriented cooperation in priority areas in the Manila Action Plan for the 2018-2022 period, covering environment-energy, education, finance, health care-diseases, disaster management, connectivity, economy-trade, food security and maritime cooperation.
They also consented to submit declarations on combating drug trafficking and transnational crime, and on connectivity to the 14th EAS slated for late 2019.
The ministers took note of recent positive developments on the Korean Peninsula, including US-Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) summits held in Singapore, Vietnam’s Hanoi, and Panmunjom.
They supported efforts to resume negotiations, step up diplomatic activities and dialogues to seek long-term solutions for the goal of complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization, for sustainable peace on the peninsula.
The EAS countries committed to seriously abide by relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
Many expressed their grave concerns over the recent developments in the East Sea, including the moves of militarising the area and the activities that threaten legal economic activities of coastal states, erode trust, stir up tensions and negatively affect the regional peace and stability.
They reaffirmed the significance of the maintenance of peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea, non-militarisation, no actions that complicate the situation and unilaterally change the status quo, and handling disputes peacefully in line with international law, especially the 1982 UNCLOS.
All sovereignty claims must be based on international law, they said, expressing their disapproval of coercive deeds to claim sovereignty in the East Sea.
Vietnam highly evaluates India’s role and contributions to regional peace, stability and development, and always regards India as one of its most important partners, the top leader said.
The Party and State leaders expressed their profound respect and boundless gratitude to President Ho Chi Minh, who founded and trained the Communist Party of Vietnam and made immense contributions to the Party and nation’s glorious revolutionary cause.
The NA's Committee for Cultural and Social Affairs has moved fast to reshuffle its organisation after the 14th National Party Congress and the election of deputies to the 16th NA, updating its work agenda to match new directives set out in the resolutions of the 14th National Party Congress and the first Congress of the NA Party Organisation for the 2025–2030 term.
Vietnam and Croatia should strive to double bilateral trade turnover from the current level of 161 million USD; study the establishment of a Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation to create a long-term, stable, and effective framework for collaboration, said Prime Minister Le Minh Hung.
Vice President of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) Jesús Faria expressed deep admiration for President Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam’s indomitable struggle for national independence. He described President Ho Chi Minh as an immortal symbol of 20th-century national liberation movements, whose legacy continues to inspire leftist parties, progressive movements, and peoples across Latin America, including Venezuela.
Vietnam National University, Hanoi must rise even further, becoming a leading academic pillar, a major hub of innovation, and a pioneering force in Vietnam’s higher education system; while also serving as a distinguished and reputable representative of Vietnamese intellect on the international stage.
Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Hang shared Vietnam’s approach to building an independent and self-reliant economy linked to deep international integration, while proposing several key areas for enhanced cooperation between BRICS and partner countries at the Expanded BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting that opened on May 14 in India.
The Central Steering Committee for reviewing the one-year operation of the political system’s apparatus and the two-tier local administration model convened its first session in Hanoi on May 14.
PSNews - The spokesperson stated that the dispatch of personnel by relevant parties to features belonging to Truong Sa without Vietnam’s permission constitutes a violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty under international law. She stressed that such actions run counter to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) as well as ongoing efforts by countries to negotiate a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
PSNews - Vietnam’s proposals placed the highest priority on ensuring a peaceful and stable environment conducive for continued sustainable development and improving the well-being and happiness of the ASEAN people. They were praised by member states and incorporated into the core contents of the ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on the response to the Middle East crisis.
Both sides emphasised that advancing bilateral relations is a shared strategic choice, and pledged to steadfastly pursue the socialist path and jointly safeguard the socialist regimes and the leadership role of their Communist Parties as their most fundamental common strategic interest, Ambassador He Wei said.
At the meetings, the senior Vietnamese Party official affirmed that Vietnam would continue to work closely with Cambodia to strengthen and deepen bilateral ties, while consistently supporting Cambodia’s peaceful, stable and prosperous development.
Vietnam highly values the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in strengthening national capacity in crime prevention and criminal justice, drug control, and addressing emerging challenges, particularly cybercrime, said Ambassador Vu Le Thai Hoang.
NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man underlined that digital transformation must go beyond investing in software or platforms and instead create substantive changes in working methods, advisory quality and operational efficiency.
Consolidating the central steering committees for institutional and legal reform and for judicial reform is necessary in order to streamline organisational structures without reducing responsibilities, while ensuring clear accountability, measurable outputs and concrete results. Following the restructuring, the body will be renamed the central steering committee for institutional improvement and law enforcement, with the Party General Secretary and State President serving as its head.
Bui Thi Minh Hoai was re-elected President of the the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee for the 2026-2031 tenure at the first conference of the 11th-term VFF Central Committee, held before the closing session of its 11th National Congress on May 13 morning in Hanoi.
At the meeting this week, Ambassador Viet briefed the UNGA President on developments during the first two weeks of the conference. He stressed that the current international geopolitical landscape poses numerous complex challenges, while reaffirming Vietnam’s determination, together with other member states, to promote substantive and balanced outcomes at the conference.
The host leader stressed that cooperation between localities, particularly between the capitals of Hanoi and Vientiane, plays an especially important role as a pioneering force in effectively implementing the foreign polices of the two Parties and States, while also serving as a bridge between politics and development, as well as between strategy and concrete action.
More than 1,300 delegates are attending the 11th National Congress of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) for the 2026–2031 tenure, including 1,138 official delegates.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung praised ministries and agencies for their proactive steps since the beginning of this year and especially from early April to follow the Politburo’s Resolution 57 and Conclusion 18, with clear, positive progress.