Vietnam Coast Guard and Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Center to boost cooperation

At the event

Major General Le Quang Dao, Commander of the Vietnam Coast Guard, and Vice Admiral Khwanchai Inkwang, Deputy Secretary General of the Thai-MECC, co-chaired the meeting.

On the occasion, Major General Le Quang Dao warmly welcomed Vice Admiral Khwanchai Inkwang and the Thai-MECC’s delegation to Vietnam to attend the first “Vietnam Coast Guard and friends” exchange program in 2022, affirming that it proves the sound relations between the two forces and contributes to the success of the exchange program.

He added that currently, the Vietnam Coast Guard has not signed a bilateral cooperation document with functional forces of Thailand yet. Therefore, cooperation activities have been implemented on the sidelines of multilateral mechanisms to which both sides are members, such as the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships, Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting, Southeast Asia Maritime Law Enforcement Initiative Commanders’ Forum, Maritime Law Enforcement Dialogue (MLED), and Coast Guard Global Summit, and other activities.

Hosts and guests in a joint photo

Via the meeting, both sides agreed to promote exchange to soon sign a cooperation agreement on sharing maritime information as well as on search and rescue at sea between the Vietnam Coast Guard and the Thai-MECC. On the occasion of the “Vietnam Coast Guard and friends” exchange program, the Thai side sent troops to Vietnam to map out contents of the draft memorandum of cooperation between the two sides.

In the coming time, both sides will continue sharing information related to trawlers operating at sea, especially illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and supporting each other in addressing arising issues at sea, among others.

Translated by Minh Anh