Second Vietnam-China joint fishery patrol concluded

The Vietnamese delegation was headed by Senior Colonel Nguyen Van Tho, Deputy-Commander and Chief-of-Staff of the Coast Guard Region 1 Command, while the Chinese delegation was led by Liu Tianrong, Deputy Chief of the Nanhai Division of the Chinese Coast Guard.

Vietnamese and Chinese coast guards handing over lifejackets and national flags to Vietnamese fishermen in the shared fishing ground

Accordingly, ships of the two sides collaborated in conducting a joint fishery patrol from seamark No.1 to 11 along the demarcation line of the Gulf of Tonkin. The patrol began at about 15 nautical miles from the Southwest of Bach Long Vi Island to the position about 48 nautical miles from the Northeast of Con Co Island, in the shared fishing ground in the Gulf of Tonkin.

During the patrol, the two coast guard forces checked fishing boats in the area and found that all boats had enough valid documents and followed the maritime security regulations as well as common regulations when operating in the shared fishing ground.

Around 122 Vietnamese and 108 Chinese fishing boats were operating in the shared fishing ground at a time the patrol took place.

During the program, the two coast guard forces also conducted other activities such as delivering Vietnam-China bilingual booklets of the two countries’ marine laws and presenting lifejackets and national flags to fishermen as well as encouraging them to follow the fishery cooperation agreement in the Gulf of Tonkin signed by the two governments.

The program is considered a success as it created a peaceful and stable environment for the two countries’ fishermen.

Senior Colonel Tran Van Tho held that the patrol provided opportunity for both coast guard forces to exchange experience and improve professionalism, contributing to meeting the requirements of joint maritime patrols in the future.

Translated by Trung Thanh