New York, June 17 -- Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu has underscored that ensuring maritime safety, security and freedom not only helps maintain peace, stability and order at sea, but also underpins trade, energy security, food security and global economic stability. With nearly 90% of global goods transported by sea, keeping vital shipping lanes open is essential to peace and sustainable development across all regions, the official said while chairing a symposium on the sidelines of the 36th Meeting of States Parties to UNCLOS (SPLOS 36) in New York on June 16. Vu, head of the Vietnamese delegation to SPLOS 36, affirmed that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) has established a compreh...