Workshop to create a forum for European Union, Viet Nam national and international experts, academics and practitioners to exchange views and experiences and best practices on various aspects related to maritime issues. Moreover, the workshop also enhance the participants’ understanding and knowledge of the functions and mechanisms of Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as well as of regional and EU-Vietnam cooperation on the maritime aspects.
In the opening remarks, Mr. Dang Dinh Quy, President of Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam shared: “Five centuries ago, the British poet and politician Philip Sidney had the philosophy that: “Laws are not made like lime-twigs or nets, to catch everything that toucheth them; but rather like sea-marks, to guide from shipwreck the ignorant passenge”. From that perspective, international law should and must be considered as the basis of consensus and cooperation instead of disagreement, because if each person on the same boat sees a different lighthouse, it will be very difficult to navigate and manage.Thus, the Ambassador hopes that upholding the spirit of frankness, sincerity and receptiveness, the participants will have two full days of discussion to elaborate numerous issues, including the existing problems in perception, explanation and application of the international Law of the Sea so that recommendations can be produced for better management of disputer and prevention of conflicts, aiming for adequate settlement of territorial disputes and thus, prompting peace and development cooperation,” transforming disputed seas and East Sea into the seas of cooperation and peace” on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 UNCLOS”.
Ambassador Mr. Franz Jessen, Head of the European Union Delegation to Viet Nam, in his welcome speech also expressed: “The EU has expressed its view that a long-term resolution of the differences between the claimant parties in the South China Sea should be sought through dialogue and negotiation based on international law, including UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The EU has a long experience in crisis management and conflict prevention and is ready to assist the interested parties. Based on its own experience the EU encourages joint management of resources, separating the sovereignty issue from economic exploitation to contribute to confidence building. Southeast Asian security and stability is a precondition for the region's continued economic success. Southeast Asian nations cannot allow maritime disputes to pose a threat to the maritime safety, freedom of navigation and peace of the nearby seas.”
The high level workshop was participated by leading foreign experts in the field from the European Union, particularly Prof. Erik Franckx, Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, President of the Department of International and European Law, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium, Dr. Jur. Helmut Tuerk, Former Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and Vice-President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Prof. Dr. Liselotte Odgaard, Royal Danish Defense College/Ministry of Defence, Copenhagen, Denmark, Dr. Eva Pejsova, Senior Analyst, EU Institute for Security Studies, (EUISS), Paris, France and Prof. Ronan Long, Jean Monnet Chair of European Law, School of Law, National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland.
Moreover, at the workshop key presentations were provided by Asian experts including Prof. Wang Hanling, Director of Center for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Beijing, China, Dr. XUE Guifang, Executive Director, Research Base on National Marine Rights and Strategy, Center for Polar and Deep Ocean Development, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, Amb. Hasjim Djalal, Special Adviser to the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Indonesia, Prof. Jay Batongbacal, Director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, University of the Philippines, Abd. Rahim Hussin, Under Secretary, National Security Council, Prime Minister’s Department, Malaysia and Prof. Mariko Kawano, Professor of International Law, Faculty of Law Waseda University, Japan.
For representatives from Viet Nam, there were participation of Dr. Tran Truong Thuy, Director, Foundation for East Sea Studies (FESS), Dr. Nguyen Dang Thang and Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan Anh, International Law Faculty, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, Dr. Ngo Huu Phuoc, International Law Faculty of the HCMC University of Law.
The workshop discussed on various aspects related to maritime issues in Europe and the Asian region including: The legal regime of features at sea from jurisprudence and state practices, the legal regime of maritime zones ; maritime security: Incidents at Sea, Combating Armed Robbery and Piracy, Search and Rescue, maritime domain awareness; maritime cooperation and ocean governance, and Maritime Delimitation and Dispute Settlement.
The workshop attracts more than 140 participants from central GoV-agencies and ministries, representatives of the diplomatic corps, academic/research institutions and key officials from several Vietnamese provinces.
