Senior Colonel Vũ Trung Kiên (right), deputy commander in charge of law of the Việt Nam Coast Guard held talks with Vice Commandant Shiraishi Masami of the Japan Coast Guard in Hanoi February 21. — Photo: qdnd.vn

HÀ NỘI — Senior officials from the Vietnamese and Japanese coast guards have met in Hà Nội to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation.

Senior Colonel Vũ Trung Kiên, deputy commander in charge of law of the Việt Nam force, said bilateral cooperation between the two sides is on the right track, adding that he believes a more significant and in-depth collaboration will be carried out in the future.

He was speaking after meeting his Japanese counterpart, Vice Commandant Shiraishi Masami, on February 21 in the capital.

Masami said Việt Nam is an important partner of the Japan Coast Guard and believes good cooperation will contribute to promoting security, safety and freedom of navigation for peace, stability and development of the two countries as well as the region and the world.

The two sides reached consensus on plans to carry out and promote activities within bilateral and multilateral cooperation in 2023, including strengthening training on law enforcement at sea, organising the 10th bilateral conference between the two forces in Japan, running delegation exchange programmes at all levels, as well as organising conferences, seminars and friendship visits by ships to bolster cooperation, exchange and share experiences.

Bilateral relationship has seen a robust development since the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in September 2015.

The Japan Coast Guard has sent eight patrol ships to visit and organised several joint search and rescue drill exchanges at sea with the Vietnam Coast Guard.

They also held six exchange programmes on the coast guard legal system and law enforcement experiences at sea and a training course on search procedures.

The Japan Coast Guard has coordinated with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to provide training courses on law enforcement at sea, search and rescue and environment protection to the Việt Nam Coast Guard. — VNS