Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – A seminar♉ titled “ASEAN: Peace and Unity after the PCA Ruling” was organised following the ruling of the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague, the Netherlands, ❀on the case the Philippines brought against China’s claims in the East Sea .

The event was co-organised by the Worldfuture TV, the News Agency of Bernama, the Malaymail and the Independent Newspapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on August 30. Addressing the opening ceremony, Malaysia’s former Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar attached the significance of the East Sea to ASEAN member nations in the fields of economics, politics and security. He welcomed the PCA’s ruling and reiterated that ASEAN nations need to unite and work together to peacefully solve territorial disputes in the East Sea. Participants discussed the significance of the bloc’s unity and its role in solving the East Sea issues with peaceful measures in the wake of the ruling. They welcomed and expressed their support for the PCA’s ruling, and called on concerned parties to respect and abide by the verdict as well as international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS). They urged ASEAN nations to develop a common voice over the East Sea issue to ensure peace and stability in the region. ASEAN members need to unite to show that the bloc is capable of settling the issues, thus reflecting the bloc’s central role in the region. Participants affirmed that China has no legal basis to claim "historic rights" within its nine-dash line in the East Sea, and condemned China’s militarisation, construction of artificial islands and prevention of fishing, oil mining and maritime freedom in the East Sea. Malaysian former Foreign Minister Albar underlined the positive impact of the PCA’s ruling in handling the East Sea dispute, adding that ASEAN should include the issue in its agenda. He mentioned the cooperation in exploring oil and gas between Vietnam and Malaysia as one of the approaches to solve the disputes in a win-win way for all concerned parties.-VNA