New York (VNA) - Viet Nam has called for all signatories to respect international marine laws, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The appeal was made by Deputy Permanent Representative of the Vietnamese Mission to the United Nations Nguyen Duy Chien at the UN plenary session on oceans and the law of the sea in New York on Tuesday.

The diplomat stated that Viet Nam is committed to respect and implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the Eastern Sea (South China Sea) signed by China and ASEAN member countries, including Viet Nam.

Viet Nam advocates to settling relevant disputes through peaceful means, Chien said, calling upon other signatories to the Declaration to strictly obey the document's provisions, especially their commitment not to conduct activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability of the region.

He noted with pleasure that the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the Eastern Sea has been highlighted as promoting peace, security and stability in the region at the 37th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the 14th Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement in Durban, South Africa.

Chien said any activities pertaining to the biological diversity of the deep seabed beyond the national jurisdiction must be carried out for the benefit of mankind as the whole.

He stressed, "Viet Nam supports the proposal to establish an Ad Hoc Informal Working Group to survey the past and present activities of the United Nations and other relevant international organisations with regard to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction and examine the scientific, technical, economic, legal, environmental, socio-economic and other aspects of these issues."

However, he noted that the arrangement of new ocean issues should be conducted in a fair way, accounting for the interests of developing countries.