Minister Counsellor Nguyen Hoang Nguyen, Vietnam’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN speaking at UN Security Council's high-level open debate (Photo: Pham Huan/VOV-Washington)

The debate was held on Monday and Tuesday at UN headquarters in New York, on the topic “Maritime Security: Prevention, Innovation, and International Cooperation to Address Emerging Challenges.”

More than 100 UN member states and relevant international organizations attended the meeting, which was chaired by Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino.

According to Minister Counsellor Nguyen Hoang Nguyen, Vietnam’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, UNCLOS and other international legal documents on maritime, environment, and crime prevention at sea provide a comprehensive legal framework for governing oceans and addressing maritime security challenges.

Countries must respect each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and jurisdiction, and avoid unilateral actions that may cause tensions between States, he said. As a coastal nation with strategic benefits and an economy closely linked with peace and security in the East Sea, Vietnam has consistently advocated settling disputes in the East Sea by peaceful means in line with international laws, including UNCLOS, Mr. Nguyen added.