Ladies and gentlemen, glad to address you from Brussels. It is an honour for me to represent the European Union at this very important conference and I would like to extend the best wishes of High Representative Josep Borrell to all of you. Wish I were in beautiful Hanoi with many of you, and wish I had just had lunch like you, with delicious Vietnamese food! Yes, the Covid-19 pandemic affects and constrains the way we live and the way we work. And yet, despite the pandemic, here at the European Union we are busy strengthening our Common Security and Defence Policy. We are working on: Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) between our Member States, which helps develop new defence capabilities – including promising maritime projects, for instance new anti-mine systems and fighting assets A new European Defence Fund with a budget of 7 billion euro in our new financial framework…

On November 16, 2020, Canadian Minister of National Defence, the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, delivered a welcoming dinner keynote address of the 12 annual Conference on the South China Sea, hosted by the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. The speech highlights some important aspects of Canadian defense and foreign policy relating to the South China Sea. First, through the defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, Canada acknowledges the importance of the Asia-Pacific region to Canadian security and prosperity. Minister Sajjan emphasized Canada’s commitment to being a strong partner and ally, and the important role the Canadian Armed Forces plays through its consistent engagement and strong partnerships in the region.  Second, Canada supports role and  efforts of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in fostering cooperation and mutual respect between nations, as well as strengthening regional security. Third, Canada stresses on the importance of global order based on international law, including the United Nations Convention on…

Dear Dr Pham Lan Dung (Acting President of the DAV), Dear colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my great pleasure to be here with you,  after this first intensive day of work and exchanges, in the frame of the 12th international Conference on South China Sea. No need to remind the importance of this event, organised now for 12 consecutive years, and which the EU is happy to co-sponsor for the second time. Over the years, the South China Sea conference organised by the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam has established a solid reputation in the region, among scholars and practitioners, decision makers and diplomats, to be one of the key event in the course of the year, allowing frank and open debate, on issues related to maritime security in the South China Sea – or East Sea. The topic is not new, but the stakes are getting every day higher, in the backdrop…

Phát biểu khai mạc Hội thảo quốc tế Biển Đông lần thứ 12 TS. Phạm Lan Dung, Quyền Giám đốc Học viện Ngoại giao Việt Nam (Hà Nội, ngày 16/11/2020)       Kính thưa ông Nguyễn Văn Quyền, Chủ tịch Hội Luật gia Việt Nam,       Kính thưa các Quý Ông/ Quý Bà Đại sứ, đại diện Đoàn Ngoại giao,       Kính thưa các Quý vị đại biểu và khách quý, Tôi rất vui nhiệt liệt chào mừng Quý vị tham dự Hội thảo khoa học quốc tế về Biển Đông lần thứ 12 với chủ đề “Duy trì hoà bình và hợp tác trong bối cảnh có nhiều biến động” do Học viện Ngoại giao phối hợp với Hội Luật gia Việt Nam và Quỹ Hỗ trợ Nghiên cứu Biển Đông tổ chức. Tôi đặc biệt chào mừng các bạn ở khắp nơi đang tham…

Opening remarks at the 12th South China Sea International Conference Dr. Phạm Lan Dung, Acting President, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam  16 November 2020 Excellency Bui Thanh Son, First Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Nguyễn Văn Quyền, Chairman of the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association Excellency Ambassadors, Representatives of the Diplomatic Corps, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very pleased to warmly welcome you to the 12th International Conference on the East Sea (South China Sea) themed “Maintaining Peace and Cooperation through Time of Turbulence” by the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam in collaboration with the Foundation for East Sea Studies (FESS) and the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association (VLA). I especially welcome guests from around the World who are attending this year’s Conference online, the first time this Conference to do so. I regret that the Covid-19 pandemic does not allow us to have a direct meeting as usual.    Ladies and Gentlemen,    Since the beginning of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has…

KHAI MẠC HỘI THẢO QUỐC TẾ VỀ BIỂN ĐÔNG LẦN THỨ 12  CỦA THỨ TRƯỞNG THƯỜNG TRỰC BỘ NGOẠI GIAO BÙI THANH SƠN Intercontinental Landmark 72, 16/11/2020 *** “THÚC ĐẨY ĐỐI THOẠI ĐỂ HỢP TÁC, CÙNG PHÁT TRIỂNVÀ GIẢI QUYẾT TRANH CHẤP Ở BIỂN ĐÔNG” Thưa Bà Phạm Lan Dung; Quyền Giám Đốc Học viện Ngoại giao Thưa ông Nguyễn Văn Quyền, Chủ tịch Hội Luật gia Việt Nam Thưa các Quý Ông/Quý Bà Đại sứ, đại diện Đoàn Ngoại giao, Thưa các quý vị đại biểu và khách quý,    Trước hết, thay mặt Bộ Ngoại giao Việt Namtôi xin nhiệt liệt chào mừng các quý vị Đại sứ, đại diện Đoàn Ngoại giao, các diễn giả và các vị khách quý ngồi tại khán phòng này cũng như đang tham dự trực tuyến từ khắp các nơi trên thế giới đã dành thời gian tham gia Hội thảo…

H.E. Mr. Bui Thanh Son, First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs At the 12 South China Sea International Conference Hanoi, November 16-17, 2020 Promoting dialogues for cooperation, mutual development and dispute management in the South China Sea Ms. Pham Lan Dung, Acting President of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam Mr. Nguyen Van Quyen, Chairman of Vietnamese Lawyers Association Your Excellencies, Distinguished guests,    At the outset, on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, I would like to warmly welcome all of you, Ambassadors, members of the diplomatic corps, speakers, distinguished guests present in this room and those of you from all over the world joining us online, to the 12 Sout h China Sea International Conference entitled “Maintaining peace and cooperation through time of turbulence”. I am aware and consider it a great honor that many of you are staying late at night or awake early in…

Thông cáo báo chí phiên khai mạc: Hội thảo quốc tế về Biển Đông lần thứ 12: “Duy trì Hoà bình và Hợp tác trong bối cảnh có nhiều biến động” Sáng ngày 16/11/2020, tại Hà Nội, Hội thảo khoa học quốc tế về Biển Đông lần thứ 12 với chủ đề “Duy trì Hoà bình và Hợp tác trong bối cảnh có nhiều biến động” do Học viện Ngoại giao (DAV), Quỹ Hỗ trợ Nghiên cứu Biển Đông (FESS) và Hội Luật gia Việt Nam (VLA) đồng tổ chức đã khai mạc. Hội thảo có sự tham dự của hơn 300 đại biểu tham dự trực tiếp và hơn 400 đại biểu đăng ký tham dự trực tuyến; trong đó có gần 60 diễn giả là các chuyên gia uy tín từ 30 quốc gia trên các châu lục khác nhau, 12 Đại sứ và đại diện của trên…

(Watch video of the original speech in here) Closing remarks of Associate Professor Nguyen Vu Tung, President of Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. Hello again, I have a bad news and a good news. The bad news is that my staffs have prepared something like 20 pages of concluding notes for me to read, and I think it will take an hour. But the good news is that I don’t use them. Sorry my colleges. (Laugh). I first of all would like to congratulate all the participants, especially the panelists, the commentators in the discussion, especially the moderators for fulfilling the agenda that has been set for our conference. All the panelists have done the excellent job in my view. And the moderators have been really strict, more or less in the time-keeping, and the participants are active in providing the comments and questions. So I really would like to invite all…

(Unofficial full-text translation) Dear Mr. Nguyen Van Quyen, Chairman of the Vietnam Lawyers Association Dear Mr. Le Hoai Trung, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dear Mr. Pham Gia Khiem, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam Honorable speakers and representatives, Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen, I am glad to welcome you to the Eleventh South China Sea International Conference on “Cooperation for Regional Peace and Development”, organized by the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam in cooperation with the Vietnam Lawyers Association and the Foundation for East Sea Studies. As promised last year, we gather again this year at the Pan Pacific hotel in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, to continue our discussion on the South China Sea. Mr. Nguyen Van Quyen and I are very happy to meet old friends again in this room, those who have actively contributed to the success of previous conferences and also for this one. I…