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NDO – The 7th Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum opened in Da Nang on December 6, bringing together more than 90 delegates including Government officials and researchers from 10 ASEAN member countries and eight partners, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the US.

Addressing the event, Vietnam’s Foreign Deputy Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung stressed that the seas and oceans play an important role in every country’s activities, thus marine cooperation is always placed as a priority in the working mechanisms, and cooperative programmes and plans in the region.

Dung, who is also head of Vietnam's ASEAN Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM), spoke highly of progresses in the regional maritime cooperation over the past years, including initiatives to cope with marine pollution, illegal fishing, and sustainable exploitation of marine resources.

However, he pointed out the multifaceted challenges facing the region, such as transnational maritime crimes, ocean acidification, the safety of fishermen and seamen, and unsettled disputes at sea.

Therefore, he called on participants at the forum to propose solutions to address the problems, enhance the role of the Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum), and promote co-ordination and co-operation on sea-related issues in the region.

Discussions at the forum are scheduled to review 25-year implementation of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the maritime security and cooperation in the region, as well as future directions for the forum.