Vietnam, China coast guards collaborates in a joint fishery patrol

PANO - The coast guards of Vietnam and China are conducting the 11^th joint fishery patrol on the two countries' shared fishing grounds in the Tonkin Gulf from April 19th - 23rd. The joint patrol was held annually by the two sides' coast guard forces since 2006.

Ships CSB 8002 and CSB 8003 of the Vietnam Coast Guard together with Chinese ships 3303 and 46305 took part in the patrol.

They examined fishing boats operating in the countries’ shared fishing grounds from Con Co Island to Bach Long Vi Island.

The Chinese delegation visiting the Vietnam Coast Guard's ship CSB 8002

Colonel Pham Kim Hau, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Vietnam Coast Guard, said this patrol is longer than the previous ones and is scheduled to cover 440 nautical miles. The activity illustrates the two sides’ determination to improve the quality and effectiveness of their joint patrol, he added.

According to the Vietnam–China Agreement on Fishery Cooperation in the Tonkin Gulf, the countries’ shared fishing area covers 33,500 sq.km, about 27.9 percent of the gulf’s area.

Colonel Hau and Liu Tianrong, Deputy Head of the Nanhai Sea Fishery Bureau under the China Coast Guard, said cooperation between the two coast guard forces helped safeguard security in the Tonkin Gulf as well as peace and cooperation in the shared fishing grounds.

Visiting each other’s ships, the officers discussed measures to enhance the partnership, especially in rescue for distressed fishermen at sea. They said they want to increase collaboration and exchange to boost mutual understanding and share information about boats fishing illegally.

The Vietnamese head delegate said the supervision over the Agreement on Fishery Cooperation in the Tonkin Gulf has been carried out effectively. The two sides agreed to notify each other about incidents at sea and coordinate to support distressed fishermen. They agreed to inform each other about their respective patrols and violating fishing boats every month, starting from January 2016.

For his part, the Chinese head delegate expressed readiness to increase joint patrols to raise fishermen’s awareness of adhering to the respective country’s laws and the fishery cooperation agreement.

The Vietnam Coast Guard also asked the Chinese side act in line with the law while handling violating fishermen, not to worsen the two sides' relationship.