Vietnam, China coast guards finish joint patrol

This year’s first joint patrol of the Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG) and the China Coast Guard (CCG) in the vicinity of the countries’ demarcation line in the Gulf of Tonkin was wrapped up on April 29.

Vietnamese and Chinese border guards after the joint patrol. (Photo: VNA)

This three-day joint patrol spanned 255.5 nautical miles across 13 points. The route started from a point lying 48 nautical miles northeast of Con Co island to another point 14 nautical miles southeast of Tran island.

This is the 8th time such a joint patrol between the sides in the area has been organised since the nations’ fisheries cooperation agreement expired on June 30, 2020.

Vietnam and China each sent two vessels to join the patrol, along with with representatives from the Vietnamese border guard, Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development of northern coastal provinces and cities, and Hai Phong Customs Department.

During the joint patrol, the two coast guards conducted activities, including talks, telephone calls, inspection and supervision of the nations' fishing vessels operating in the adjacent waters of the demarcation line, dissemination of relevant legal regulations for the two countries' fishermen.

Besides, the VCG established an interdisciplinary working group to directly inspect Vietnamese fishing vessels' compliance with law, and implementation of recommendations of the European Commission (EC) on combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing as well as warn and strictly handling cases of IUU violations.

The VCG also distributed leaflets, gave gifts, and national flags to local fishermen./.

VNA