The event was attended by Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Deputy Defense Minister; Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Gau, Deputy Director of the General Department of Political Affairs of the Vietnam People's Army; Major General Pham Truong Son, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, among others.

leftcenterrightdel
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Deputy Defense Minister, addresses the ceremony.

The key speech at the ceremony affirmed that over the past 25 years, generations of officers and soldiers of the Vietnam Coast Guard Command have overcome difficulties and achieved numerous outstanding accomplishments. The Vietnam Coast Guard has consistently coordinated closely with other functional forces to effectively carry out advisory tasks to assist the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense in devising flexible and effective strategies for handling situations at sea. They have steadfastly fought against illegal activities of foreign vessels; strengthened patrols, inspections, and crime prevention at sea; handled thousands of cases of smuggling, trade fraud, and large-scale drug trafficking; and maintained security, order, and safety at sea, contributing to ensuring a peaceful life for the people.

Speaking at the ceremony, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong praised the remarkable achievements of the Vietnam Coast Guard force over the past 25 years. He emphasized the need for the Vietnam Coast Guard's Party Committee and Chain-of-Command to focus on leadership, guiding the entire force to thoroughly embrace the Party, State, Central Military Commission, and Ministry of National Defense's guidelines in safeguarding the homeland in the new situation. He also stressed the importance of building a "revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern" coast guard force.

In particular, the entire Vietnam Coast Guard force must continue to enhance training quality, master weapons and equipment, and skillfully practice various strategies to protect maritime sovereignty, national sea and islands, and prevent and combat maritime crimes. They should pro-actively collaborate to resolve disputes and conflicts at sea through peaceful means based on international law, actively participate in information dissemination efforts, particularly to address the issue of Vietnamese fishing vessels conducting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

leftcenterrightdel
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong hands over the Second-class Feat-of-Arm Order to the Vietnam Coast Guard force.

During the ceremony, on behalf of the State President, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong presented the Second-class Feat-of-Arm Order to the Vietnam Coast Guard force in recognition of their exceptional achievements in the struggle against drug-related crimes, contributing to maintaining political security, order, and social safety.

Translated by Trung Thanh