Vietnam to host international South China Sea seminar

The Diplomacy Academy of Vietnam and the Vietnam Lawyers' Association will jointly hold an international seminar on the South China Sea in Vietnam's capital Hanoi on the coming Monday and Tuesday. According to a tentative program schedule released by Vietnam's foreign affairs ministry on Wednesday, ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh on Monday is also to address the workshop themed " Cooperation for Regional Security and Development". The event, the fifth of its kind, will bring together more than 200 delegates, including government officials, scholars, and experts from ASEAN member countries, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and the United States, reported Vietnam's state- run radio VOV on Thursday. The seminar "helps scholars exchange views and promote mutual understanding of common interest in maintaining peace, stability, security and marine safety in the South China Sea", VOV said. Delegates will propose measures to strengthen security and cooperation in the region, according to VOV report. China and ASEAN reaffirmed in October the importance of maintaining peace, stability and maritime security in the South China Sea, pledging to ensure a full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).