The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in cooperation with the United Nations (UN), is holding a workshop on the Law of Sea for government officials and diplomats in the Southeast Asian region to address maritime issues.

The First ASEAN-UN Workshop on the Law of the Sea was officially opened by the Director General of ASEAN Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Jose Tavares, here on Tuesday.

According to Tavares, the participants will discuss in depth about the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) at the workshop that will take place from Dec 12 to 14.

"This is the first ASEAN-UN Training Workshop on the Law of the Sea, including UNCLOS, which is taking place at a very important time when the role of UNCLOS is becoming increasingly important and indispensable," he noted.

Tavares assessed UNCLOS to be capable of ensuring equilibrium among coastal states as well as balancing maritime power between developing countries and developed countries, including landlocked countries.

In addition, he revealed that the UNCLOS has become a stabilizing tool for various maritime disputes in the region.

"With UNCLOS` extensive coverage on addressing maritime challenges, it is important for government officials and diplomats, who are dealing with maritime issues in ASEAN, to have a better understanding of UNCLOS," Tavares stated.

According to him, during the last few years, issues and problems in the maritime field have attracted much attention that ASEAN had held many meetings related to such matters.

He mentioned that ASEAN has at least 14 sectoral bodies dealing with maritime issues, including the ones that take care of the South China Sea, marine safety and security, connectivity, marine environmental sustainability, maritime search and rescue, and maritime territorial disputes.

"I hope this three-day training will provide comprehensive knowledge and help improve the capacity of human resources to address the maritime challenges in the region," Tavares concluded

Source: ANTARA