Border guards in the southern province of An Giang conduct a patrol during the flood season. — VNA/VNS Photo Công Mạo

Công Mạo

AN GIANG — Each year when floodwaters sweep across the southern borderlands of An Giang Province, they bring both life and hardship — and mark the most testing season for the province’s border guards.

Deputy head of the Tịnh Biên Ward Border Station Major Bùi Văn Liệt said that during the flood season many sections of the border become heavily submerged, making patrols more challenging as smugglers often exploit the difficult terrain and bad weather.

Amid the vast expanse of floodwaters, the boundary line becomes blurred, yet the soldiers’ resolve to defend national sovereignty remains firm.

Through each patrol and ambush, in rain or shine, these border guards carry out their sacred mission of protecting the land, safeguarding the people, and defending the border.

Large parts of Tịnh Biên Ward have already been swallowed by floodwaters after recent tropical storms. Undeterred, officers and soldiers from the Tịnh Biên Border Station quietly don raincoats and life jackets, grab their flashlights, and board two composite motorboats waiting to set out on an overnight patrol across the flooded fields.

The small boats cut through sheets of rain along the Vĩnh Tế Canal towards the inundated fields of Cambodia’s Takeo Province. In the dark, there is only the hum of the engine and the sound of rain and wind, while flickering flashlights from local fishers appear in the distance.

Here, the line between those earning an honest living and smugglers is sometimes just a stretch of water.

“Surrounded by water on all sides, smugglers can move in any direction, especially late at night, using high-speed watercraft to transport contraband across the border,” said Major Liệt.

His unit monitors around 10km of the Việt Nam–Cambodia border, much of which lies underwater during the flood season.

Following instructions from the An Giang Border Guard Command, the station has launched an intensive anti-smuggling campaign, conducting frequent patrols and deploying mobile teams ready to respond to any situation.

Since the start of the year, the Tịnh Biên Border Station has detected and seized six cases involving seven suspects, with confiscated goods valued at nearly VNĐ220 million (US$8,400).

Aside from natural challenges, border guards must also watch for smugglers posing as fishermen, as the flood season is when locals set nets and traps across the fields.

Major Liệt added that smuggling networks have become increasingly well-organised, using lookouts and scouts. When caught, smugglers often abandon their goods or even ram their boats into patrol teams to escape. 

A fisherman cast his net in the floodwaters in An Giang Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Công Mạo

Coordinated efforts

Colonel Phạm Văn Thắng, Deputy Commander of the An Giang Military Command and Chief of the provincial Border Guard Command, said that since the administrative merger of the former An Giang and Kiên Giang provinces, the new An Giang border area encompasses diverse terrain – mountains, forests, plains, rivers, the sea and estuaries.

An Giang has more than 200km of maritime border and over 150km of land border adjacent to Cambodia’s Kandal, Takeo and Kampot provinces, with a dense network of waterways and hundreds of trails crossing the frontier.

This complex terrain, with small canals and dense vegetation, provides smugglers with cover to transport contraband and banned goods. At sea, illegal trading and seafood exploitation persist while unauthorised crossings at border gates remain difficult to control.

According to Colonel Thắng, the most frequently smuggled items include cigarettes, cosmetics, sugar, electronic goods, gold, foreign currencies, narcotics, fuel and liquor.

Although smuggling has been largely curbed, price differences, market demand and increasingly sophisticated tactics mean the problem remains a threat. In addition, many casinos, restaurants, entertainment venues and massage parlours have emerged, often exploited by criminal groups to lure and traffic in Vietnamese citizens.

As of September 2025, An Giang Province’s border guards have detected and handled 338 cases involving 772 individuals, seizing goods worth over VNĐ30.7 billion ($1.17 million). Among them were 11 drug-related cases, 78 smuggling cases, 209 illegal immigration cases and various other violations.

Smuggling activities are expected to become more complex towards the end of 2025, particularly around the New Year and Tết (Lunar New Year) holidays.

To prevent criminal activities, An Giang Border Guard forces plan to strengthen patrols and monitoring along key routes while also closely coordinating with the police, customs, market surveillance, coast guard, fisheries surveillance and local authorities to share information and strictly handle smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods and illegal immigration.

At the same time, they will enhance professional measures in accordance with actual conditions and launch targeted operations to proactively prevent criminal hotspots that threaten border security.

Their other focuses include working with local Party committees, authorities and media agencies to promote public awareness, ensuring that border residents do not assist or participate in smuggling, contributing to the protection of national sovereignty and border security. — VNS