International maritime workshop in Quang Ninh concludes

Academics and government officials from both Asia and Europe discussed and shared their experience in solving disputes and upholding peace and stability at sea. The two workshops have shown the EU’s increasing interest in security issues in Asia, underlining the EU’s commitment to promoting and upholding stability and national sovereignty among the region’s countries.

The workshop emphasised the importance of creating a collective security mechanism. EU delegates shared their experience on how the model in the EU was used and how it can be applied in Asia. The success stories of dispute resolution in Europe were valuable lessons for Vietnam as well as other countries in the region.

"From the speeches by the EU representatives, we can see that they put a lot of emphasis on unity between countries as well as EU leaders in solving complicated matters. They have good working protocols, and have planned each course of action if conflicts happen. We are much more passive in this regard", Le Cong Phung - Former Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs - spoke.

20 speeches and over 250 papers were presented at the workshop. This active participation from delegates opened up opportunities for more events like this in the future.

"We think that from the success of the second workshop, the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and the EU Delegation to Vietnam will hold a 3^rd workshop in the future. And if this continues, we will have a series of workshops about the East Sea", Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Vu Tung - Editor in Chief, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam - said.

The workshops held by the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and the EU Delegation are attracting an increasing number of academics and researchers. They have the potential to become a regional forum on sovereignty and maritime security.