An international conference on the East Sea took place in KualaLumpur, Malaysia on December 12-13, drawing the participation of nearly120 scholars, experts and diplomats from 25 countries worldwide,including Vietnam.

The conference focused onreviewing the recent situation in the East Sea , discussing issueson maritime security and the role of maritime diplomacy and proposingsolutions to addressing East Sea disputes.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Malaysian Deputy Foreign MinisterRichard Riot Anak Jaem emphasised the importance of the East Sea forthe Southeast Asian region, saying that ASEAN has close links with theEast Sea in history, socio-culture, economics and ecology.

He affirmed that disputes on the East Sea should be addressedthrough peaceful and diplomatic measures in order to strengthenunderstanding and cooperation between regional countries, helping buildthe East Sea into a peaceful and harmonious region.

The participants discussed measures to carry out the guidelinesfor the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties inthe East Sea (DOC) towards the building of a Code of Conduct (COC) inthe East Sea .

In his report, Director of theEast Sea Research Centre under the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam TranTruong Thuy presented viewpoints on recent developments in the East Sea,stressing the necessity of building the COC with specific content andarticles to strengthen confidence building and regional cooperation./.