ASEAN Senior Officials' Preparatory Meeting takes place in Thailand

At the meeting, the senior officials reviewed the preparatory work for the 35th ASEAN Summit and related conferences, including the agenda and more than 40 tentative documents to be submitted to the Senior Leaders. The senior officials discussed a number of issues related to ASEAN relations with partner countries, including the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), the negotiation of the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) between ASEAN and China, as well as the prospect of developing relations between ASEAN and Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Participating countries also expressed their strong agreement with Vietnam's initiatives and proposals to further promote ASEAN political-security cooperation in 2020, including conducting a mid-term review of the Master Plan in building the ASEAN Political-Security Community in 2025, strengthening the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and strengthening the role of the ASEAN Sea Forum in coordinating maritime cooperation activities in the region.