According to Minh, member states of the ASEAN during the 24th ASEAN Summit in Myanmar on May 10-11 had agreed on several commitments, one of them was to strengthen cooperation towards the implementation of the Declaration of Conduct (DOC) on South China Sea signed by China and the ASEAN.
"We call on all related parties to control themselves and refrain from using violence that will lead to more tension in the South China Sea area. We also reiterate our support for the implementation of preliminary conclusion of the Code of Conduct (COC) on South China Sea," Minh said.
China and the four ASEAN member states of Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam have long been involved in a dispute regarding several areas in South China Sea.
Previously, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhohyono underlined the importance of setting up the ASEAN Political and Security Community to address regional security threats in the future, both in Southeast Asia, East Asia and globally.
"The ASEAN Political and Security Community will enhance the joint capacity to address security challenges. We (the ASEAN) will be able to create a common stance to maintain peace, and response to security and political challenges in harmony with the international law and without resorting to military action," the president said in a plenary session of the 24th ASEAN Summit on May 11.
According to Yudhoyono, through the ASEAN Political and Security Community, the conflict potentials of the South China Sea can be resolved better.
In addition, the ASEAN can also contribute positively to the settlement of other security challenges, such as the disputes in East Asia involving China and Japan and the two Koreas, he stated.
"Through the ASEAN cooperation, we have been able to realize a peaceful and stable region. In the past ten years, we have been able to push changes in the ASEAN from an association into a community," the president said, noting that it was a historic step given the ASEAN Community will become a community with one vision and one identity.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
