PANO - The Vietnam Coast Guard Command and the Chinese coast guard force concluded their thee-day joint fishery patrol in the shared fishing grounds in the Gulf of Tonkin on November 9, the second of its kind this year.

Major General Nguyen Van Son assigning missions to ship CBS 8004’s officers and troops

Two Vietnamese ships CSB 8003 and CSB 8004 under Flotilla 101 of the Coast Guard Region 1 Command, led by Major General Nguyen Van Son, Deputy Commander of the Vietnam Coast Guard Command and two Chinese ships numbered 3301 and 45101, headed by Liu Tianrong, Deputy Chief of the Nanhai Division of the Chinese Coast Guard participated in the operation.

The two countries’ coast guard forces checking a Chinese trawler

During the joint fishery patrol, the two sides checked fishing trawlers’ operation licenses and legal fishing equipment, conducted a search and rescue exercise, and visited ships of the other side to exchange experiences and expertise.

According to Major General Nguyen Van Son, the participating forces conducted the joint patrol in the length of nearly 300 nautical miles. The Vietnamese ships operated parallel with and in a distance of 0.5 nautical mile from the Chinese ships. Despite bad weather and strong waves, the joint patrol ended with success and absolute safety.

Participating coast guard forces checking Vietnamese trawler NA-90262TS

Vietnamese and Chinese ships joining an exercise on search and rescue at sea

The Vietnamese general also said that the success of this joint patrol contributed to enhancing the effective management of operations of the two countries’ fishing boats at sea and maintaining maritime order in the shared fishing grounds in the Gulf of Tonkin as well as following closely and upholding order and security in the gulf, fostering relationship among law enforcement forces at sea.

During the patrol, the participating forces instructed fishermen of the two countries to strictly observe laws and other regulations while operating in the fishing grounds in the Gulf of Tonkin in general and the shared fishing grounds in the area in particular.

Moreover, they bolstered their exchange, shared experiences on law enforcement at sea so as to enhance solidarity and friendship between the two countries’ coast guard forces.

Translated by Mai Huong