The coast guards of Vietnam and China are conducting a joint fishery patrol on shared fishing grounds in the Tonkin Gulf from April 19 – 23, Quan doi Nhan dan (People’s Army) daily reported.

Chinese coast guard officers (in black) visit ship CSB 8002 (Photo: canhsatbien.vn)

Ships CSB 8002 and CSB 8003 of the Vietnam Coast Guard are taking part in the patrol, joined by Chinese ships coded 3303 and 46305.

They are examining fishing boats working in the countries’ shared fishing grounds from Con Co Island to Bach Long Vi Island.

Vietnam and China have held annual joint coast guard patrols since 2006, with the current patrol the 11th.

Colonel Pham Kim Hau, Deputy Commander and Chief of the Staff of the Vietnam Coast Guard, said this patrol is longer than previous ones and is scheduled to cover 440 nautical miles.

The activity illustrates the two sides’ determination to improve the quality and effectiveness of the 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., 27.9 percent of the gulf’s area.

Colonel Hau and Liu Tianrong, Deputy Head of the China Coast Guard’s Nanhai bureau, said cooperation between the two coast guard forces had 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 rescues for fishermen in distress at sea.

They said they want to increase collaboration and exchanges to boost understanding and share information about boats fishing illegally.

Hau 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 fishermen in distress.

They agreed to inform each other about their respective patrols and violating fishing boats every month, starting from January 2016.

Liu Tianrong 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.

VNA