The Việt Nam Coast Guard Party Committee on September 29 held a conference in Hà Nội to review the five-year implementation of national border protection and national defence in cyberspace tasks. — Photo bienvietnam.vn

HÀ NỘI — In the past five years, the Việt Nam Coast Guard (VCG) force has discovered and handled 5,477 cases of smuggling, trade fraud and drug-related crimes, and arrested more than 7,100 individuals involved.

The VCG Party Committee last week held a conference in Hà Nội to review the five-year implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution No 33-NQ/TW on national border protection strategy and Resolution No 29-NQ/TW on the strategy on national defence in cyberspace.

Secretary of the VCG Party Committee Lieutenant General Bùi Quốc Oai, who is also Political Commissar of the VCG, chaired the conference and said the committee effectively carried out a project disseminating the Law on Việt Nam Coast Guard in the 2019-23 period.

The committee had strengthened international cooperation, improved the efficiency of foreign affairs and strategic defence dialogue in protecting national borders.

It actively coordinated with agencies, organisations and local authorities to carry out communication campaigns to raise public awareness on building and protecting the Party’s ideological foundation, and fighting wrongful and hostile arguments.

The entire VCG force had consolidated the all-people defence posture in border areas, built a strong 'people-based security' policy at sea, supported fishermen in 28 coastal cities and provinces, and a number of programmes under the VCG’ mass mobilisation movement called “VCG supports ethnic minority and religious people”.

Of the detected violations, there were 4,490 cases relating to smuggling and trade fraud with 5,730 arrests, and 987 drug-related criminal cases with 1,377 arrests.

The total amount of fines for administrative violations and asset sales paid to the State budget was about VNĐ1.5 trillion (US$61.4 million).

In the coming time, the committee would work harder to build a ‘revolutionary, regular, elite and modern’ coast guard force, Bùi Quốc Oai said.

The VCG force would continue building a strong all-people national defence posture associated with 'people-based security' policy at sea.

The force would improve the quality and efficiency of accurately and promptly forecasting national defense and security, and law enforcement forces at sea as well as promoting cooperation opportunities for foreign affairs and international integration.

It would maintain its role in preventing cyber-attacks and hostile forces' sabotage activities, contributing to protecting the Party, State and army secrets in cyberspace, he added. — VNS