Vietnam's remarkable diplomatic efforts for peace and development in boundaries and seas

Head of the Delegation Wallonie-Bruxelles in Vietnam Pierre Du Ville at the international conference on 'Cooperation for peace and development in boundaries and seas' in Ha Noi on October 8. (Photo: Anh Son)

Talking with The World & Viet Nam Report on the occasion of the international conference on “Cooperation for peace and development in boundaries and seas” in Ha Noi on October 8, Head of the Delegation Wallonie-Bruxelles in Vietnam Pierre Du Ville highly appreciates Vietnam's diplomatic efforts to promote peaceful resolutions of disputes by the diplomatic way and bilateral dialogue with its neighbors and active participation in regional forums.

How do you evaluate the significance of today’s conference and the institutional cooperation project whose objective is to strengthen skills between partners in the field of delimitation and border management of Vietnam?

At a time when some conflicts in the world are still being resolved by the use of force rather than dialogue, it has been very important to hold this conference. Indeed, it is more than ever essential and relevant nowadays to implement the sustainable development goal relating to justice, peacekeeping and strengthening our institutions for that purpose.

Despite all its efforts, Vietnam still faces significant challenges, particularly in managing its relationship with its neighbours and addressing competing territorial claims. This is why this conference makes a lot of sense, by allowing experts to exchange their best practices and experiences and the best ways to tackle efficiently the issues they all experienced in the field of border management, today but also in the past. During the conference, we could compare very specific issues in different parts of the world such as Belgium, Canada, Australia and the Philippines.

It is a very complex matter and it requires very important skills and specific knowledge that you definitely need to strengthen and update all the time.

Delegates attending the international conference. (Photo: Anh Sơn)

How do you feel about the efforts of Vietnam to promote peaceful resolutions of disputes by the diplomatic way and bilateral dialogue with its neighbors and active participation in regional forums, particularly within ASEAN?

Vietnam has consistently emphasized the importance of bilateral dialogue and peaceful negotiations to resolve disputes, particularly in the East Sea. No later than this week in France, General Secretary, President To Lam along with French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed the importance of resolving disputes peacefully in accordance with international law and especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Vietnam has also been an active participant in ASEAN since joining in 1995. It has used this platform to advocate for peaceful dispute resolution and to build consensus among Southeast Asian nations. For example, Vietnam has been supportive of efforts to establish a Code of Conduct in the East Sea between ASEAN and China, aiming to manage tensions and prevent conflict.

Beyond ASEAN, Vietnam has been fully committed in other multilateral forums such as the Francophonie or the United Nations seeking to internationalize issues when necessary, balancing this with its preference for bilateral talks.

These diplomatic efforts have generally been seen as constructive contributions to regional stability which is an absolute necessity in order to foster economic and social development and guarantee the welfare of the concerned populations.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Nguyen Van Thao (R) presents the Friendship Order of the Vietnamese State in recognition of Jean Salmon's great contributions to the Vietnam-Belgium cooperation to his family on October 4 in Brussels. (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in Belgium)

Could you please tell us about the outstanding achievements in the cooperation between the National Boundary Commission (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and the Delegation Wallonie-Bruxelles in Vietnam?

This cooperation between the National Boundary Commission and Wallonie-Bruxelles is a long-term success story for more than 20 years now. It has just been recalled on October 4 in Brussels where the Ambassador of Vietnam paid a tribute to the late Prof Jean Salmon who was a distinguished expert in international law, having made significant contributions to the research and teaching of international and who participated during many years to cooperation projects with Vietnam, working closely with the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During all that time we shared knowledge and expertise and provided Vietnam with legal advice and high quality training. We now deeply hope to perpetuate this partnership with the National Boundary Commission during our next cooperation program for the period 2025-2027.

Thank you!

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