Co-hosted by the Embassies of Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia in Belgium , the seminar was attended by the ambassadors of other ASEAN nations, international researchers and reporters.

David Fouquet, a senior official of EIAS, presented the current situation in the East Sea , stressing that the seminar, the fourth of its kind within the framework of EIAS’s roundtable workshops on maritime security, would focus on issues relating to the East Sea , especially the European Union’s role in helping solve disputes among regional countries.

Philippine and Indonesian Ambassadors Enrique A. Manalo and Arif Havas Oegroseno sated their respective countries’ viewpoints on issues relating the East Sea and voiced their concern about maritime security and safety in the region due to the disputes.

However, both diplomats called on the concerned parties to refrain and not to use force or threaten to use force that tense the situation, while respecting international law.

Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau emphasised Viet Nam's consistent viewpoint on protecting territorial sovereignty and persistently settling the disputes in the East Sea through peaceful measures based on international law, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), respecting territorial sovereignty and the interests of all concerned parties, and absolutely preventing conflicts./.