Singapore (VNA) – The 32nd summit of the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) officially opened in Singapore on April 28morning.

In opening theevent, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, ASEAN Chair in 2018, saidthe bloc is entering a new phase of development in the context of rapid changesin regional and international situation, prompting the need to continuestrengthening ASEAN’s unity and upholding its central role.

He announced thatASEAN leaders had adopted the ASEAN Leaders’ Vision for aResilient and Innovative ASEAN, the ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on CybersecurityCooperation and the Concept Note of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network.

During the retreat meeting, leaders of the ASEAN member states againlaid stress on the importance of solidarity and unity to the bloc, assertingthat a resilient ASEAN is key to help the association maintain its central rolein the region and develop balanced win-win relations with its partners towardssuccess in building an open, transparent and rul-based regional architecture.

On the occasion, the leaders lauded the success of the ASEAN-IndiaCommemorative Summit in January and the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in March.They reached consensus on a plan on activities to mark the 15th anniversary of ASEAN-China strategic ties and 45 years of ASEAN-Japan dialoguerelations this year.

Also, they welcomed the positive developments on the Korean peninsula, andappreciated the timely release of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ statement on developmentsin the Korean peninsula, saying that they are looking forwards to peaceful andsustainable solutions to the denuclearisation on the peninsula.

The leaders reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability,security, safety and freedom of navigation in and overflight above the East Sea,along with the need to exercise self-restraint and avoid unilateral actionsthat may further complicate the situation, and to pursue the peaceful settlementof disputes on the basis of respect for international law and for diplomaticand legal processes.

They called for theserious implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the EastSea (DOC) and efforts to complete a Code of Conduct (COC), holding that aneffective and binding COC will play an important role in ensuring a transparentand rule-based regional architecture and a peaceful and stable East Sea.

Addressing thesummit, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc shared the view that ASEAN needs tomaintain its central role in the region through strengthening the bloc’scollective resilience, solidarity and unity. The bloc should bring into playits role as the locomotive in bolstering economic linkage in the region, he said.

He joined ASEAN leaders in welcoming the positive outcomes of the inter-Koreasummit on April 27, hailing it as a new important step forward in the processof denuclearization in the Korean peninsula.

Regarding the East Sea issue, the Vietnamese Government leader said that thebloc must continue upholding basic principles and maintain its agreed stance,while making efforts to push the building of an effective and legally-binding COCfor sustainable peace and stability in the East Sea.

Singapore is the Chair of ASEAN in 2018. The bloc groups 10 Southeast Asiannations, which are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, thePhilippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. -VNA