EU Holds Defense, Security Consultations With Vietnam - Brussels

The European Union on Tuesday held security and defense consultations with Vietnam that touched on the current situation in the South China Sea, the bloc's European External Action Service (EEAS) said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st December, 2020) The European Union on Tuesday held security and defense consultations with Vietnam that touched on the current situation in the South China Sea, the bloc's European External Action Service (EEAS) said.

The consultations were co-chaired by EEAS managing director Pawel Herczynski and Vietnamese Deputy Defense Minister Hoang Xuan Chien.

"On 1 December 2020, the European Union and Vietnam held their second consultations on security and defence, hosted by Vietnam via video conference. The first consultations had taken place in Brussels on 22 November 2019. During their second consultations, the European Union and Vietnam discussed the global and regional situation, including in the South China Sea," the EEAS said in a statement.

The sides are said to have reiterated their commitments to preserving the rules-based international order as well as to freedom of navigation and the universal and unified character of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, calling for all maritime disputes to be resolved within the convention's framework.

"Furthermore, the European Union and Vietnam discussed the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Framework Participation Agreement on the participation of Vietnam in European Union Common Security and Defence Policy civilian and military missions and operations, which came into force in May 2020," the statements reads, adding that the sides also discussed cybersecurity, maritime security and crisis management activities.

The rapprochement between Brussels and Hanoi is taking place against the backdrop of rising tensions in the South China Sea created by what other countries perceive as increased activity of China, with countries like Japan, India and the United States expressing their concerns regarding the matter.