Representatives of Coast Guard Reconnaissance Unit No. 2 (left) and Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province’ Sub-Department of Fisheries signed a set of regulations on the coordination of protecting aquatic resources and ensuring security and order at sea. — Photo courtesy of VCG

ĐỒNG NAI — A set of regulations coordinating the protection of aquatic resources and ensuring security and order at sea was signed between Coast Guard Reconnaissance Unit No. 2 and Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province’s Sub-Department of Fisheries in Đồng Nai Province on Wednesday.

The two sides will regularly exchange information to help each other resolve related cases, organise the spread of information about Việt Nam's seas and islands and popularisation education on sea laws among the population.

They will also coordinate in organising patrols, inspections and law enforcement at sea; managing aquatic resource protection activities; and enhancing professional skills.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Phan Nhân Hậu, Party Committee Secretary of the Đồng Nai Province-based Coast Guard Reconnaissance Unit No. 2 under the Việt Nam Coast Guard's (VCG) Command, said the unit is tasked with monitoring the sea from Cù Lao Xanh in the central coastal province of Bình Định to Hà Tiên City in the Cửu Long (Mekong) province of Kiên Giang, including the Trường Sa archipelago. 

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Phan Nhân Hậu, head of Coast Guard Reconnaissance Unit No. 2, delivered a speech at the signing ceremony held in Đòng Nai Province on September 20. — Photo courtesy of VCG

It provides information for the VCG Party Committee and Command to give advice to the Party and the State to formulate and implement policies and laws to safeguard the country’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction, and to ensure the observance of the country’s laws and international law and agreements to which Việt Nam is a signatory.

It is also assigned to directly detect and combat violations of law, such as national security crimes, smuggling, and trade fraud at sea. 

“The unit always proactively addresses the situation, keeps a close eye on the waters it is assigned to manage, and promptly detects many cases of sea law violations,” Hậu said.

The unit also strengthens information activities about sea laws, the Law on VCG, and the functions, duties and powers of VCG to raise appreciation for the motherland and raise awareness of protecting the country's sovereignty over its seas and islands among the people, he said.

“Implementing the signed regulations that protect aquatic resources and ensure security and order at sea is expected to help us fulfil our assigned tasks,” he said.

In the first eight months of the year, Coast Guard Reconnaissance Unit No. 2 coordinated with other forces in arresting 10 violators of law at sea, then handed them over to coast guard regions No. 3 and No. 4 for further investigation and handling.

The coast guard force seized nearly 490,000 litres of diesel, about 316 cubic metres of sand and more than 31,200 kg of scrap iron and steel of unknown origin, imposing administrative fines of nearly VNĐ1.1 billion (US$45,090). — VNS