Vietnam in ASEAN

Vietnam in ASEAN

During the last over ten years since joining the Association in July 1995, Vietnam has actively contributed to the unity and cooperation in ASEAN, striving for an ASEAN of peace, stability and development. In December 1998, Vietnam successfully hosted the 6th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi. Documents and decisions of the Hanoi Summit, including the Hanoi Declaration and Hanoi Plan of Action (HPA), have clearly defined the directions and concrete measures for cooperation and development in ASEAN in the early years of the new millennium, creating momentum for ASEAN to overcome crisis, helping regain international community’s confidence in the role and future development of ASEAN. Vietnam also successfully assumed the role of Chairman of the ASEAN Standing Committee (ASC) and Chairman of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and other ASEAN mechanisms. Though Vietnam is a new member, the country has actively participated in the Association and played an important role in making effort to maintain peace and stability and promote the Association’s development. Vietnam has signed the Treaty to build Southeast Asia into a nuclear weapon free zone (SEANWFZSoutheast Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone) and actively lobbied nuclear powers to sign the Protocol of the Treaty to enhance its significance. Vietnam has also contributed to building the Declaration of Conduct in the East Sea (DOC) and now worked on the establishment of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC). Vietnam has gradually participated in ASEAN economic integration process, strictly implementing the roadmap for tariff reduction in accordance with the program to build the ASEAN Free Trade Area. In development cooperation, Vietnam has also made special contribution to narrowing the gap among ASEAN members by putting forward the initiative on issuing the Hanoi Declaration on Narrowing the Gap in July 2001 and other projects. Vietnam has made important contribution to setting up cooperation frameworks between ASEAN and dialogue partners such as ASEAN + 3 with three East Asian countries, ASEAN + 1 between ASEAN and China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. It can be said that since joining ASEAN in 1995, Vietnam has made significant contribution towards the goal of an ASEAN of peace, stability and development as well as improvement of ASEAN role and position in the international arena in general and in the Asia-Pacific region in particular.