Page 59 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE VOL5

‘I believe that deep down leaders of ASEAN countries know solidarity is very important. There are problems sometimes, but in the end we need to solve them, and we can solve them in a manner that supports solidarity’new opportunities to strengthen cooperation,” he said.The challenge for ASEAN and the AEC, however, is how to narrow the gap between older members, such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, and newer ones such as Vietnam and Myanmar.Ambassador Thành underlined that solidarity among ASEAN states is crucial. “I believe that deep down leaders of ASEAN countries know solidarity is very important. There are problems sometimes, but in the end we need to solve them, and we can solve them in a manner that supports solidarity.”He believes recent problems in ASEAN such as fishing boats from neighbouring countries encroachingon Indonesian waters will soon find peaceful and cooperative solutions. Maritime sovereignty disputes between Vietnam and China in the South China Sea (or East Sea in Vietnam) will take far longer to solve, he said, and it might not be constructive at the moment to argue over them. He did express serious concerns over China’s construction projects in the Spratly Islands (or Truong Sa), but suggested, “Efforts in the region should be aimed instead at accelerating the ongoing discussions between ASEAN and China on the code of conduct of the parties in the South China Sea with a view to achieving a mutually acceptable solution as soon as possible.”He added, “At the same time, cooperation on issues of importance to the region, such as maritime safety and other related non-traditional security issues, should be pursued at all relevant multilateral forums. This is an important issue, given its implications for the overall environment in the region.”Ambassador Thành praised Thailand’s constructive role in coordinating relations between ASEAN and China on the South China Sea issues, which he believes is a further demonstration of the ever-growing strategic partnership between Thailand and Vietnam.Elite+ 57