By Dac Thanh  June 13, 2018 | 03:24 pm GMT+7 Vietnam's coast guards tow a Singapore ship for illegal fuel smuggling. Photo courtesy of Vietnam Coast Guard Fuel smuggling rampant along coastal provinces with international ports, Defense Ministry says. Two foreign boats caught smuggling diesel oil in waters off the Vietnamese coast have been fined and the fuel confiscated. Vietnam’s coast guard said Tuesday that the boats, one registered in Singapore and another unnamed one with a Chinese captain, were fined a total of VND137 million ($6,000) for the smuggling attempt. Two months ago, coast guard forces in the central province of Quang Nam spotted the Singaporean ship carrying around five million liters of diesel oil without proper papers. They caught the ship transferring the fuel to an unnamed vessel with a Chinese captain around 45 nautical miles northeast of Vietnam’s central coast. The Singapore registered ship, Pacific Ocean, was also … [Read more...] about Two foreign ships fined for smuggling diesel off Vietnam coast, fuel seized
Vietnam coast guard
NA votes to pass bills on defence, coast guard
A deputy from Bac Kan province (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Lawmakers will vote to pass the draft revised Law on National Defence and draft Law on Vietnam Coast Guard at the ongoing fifth session of the 14th National Assembly in Hanoi on June 8 morning. The Law on National Defence provides for national defense policies and principles, basic defense activities, tasks and powers of agencies and organisations, rights and obligations of citizens on national defense. Meanwhile, the Law on Vietnam Coast Guard aims to institutionalise the Party’s policies, guidelines and regulations relating to the Constitution 2013 on enhancing the country’s defence-security strength and creating a legal foundation for the operation of the Vietnamese coast guard force. In the afternoon, legislators will cast their votes to approve a draft programme on law and ordinance building for 2019 and adjustments to the law and ordinance building programme for 2018. They are set to discuss the … [Read more...] about NA votes to pass bills on defence, coast guard
Vietnam’s coast guard ships leaves for joint fishery patrol with Chinese counterparts
Vietnamese ship heading for the patrolled area The patrol, the first of its kind this year, will take place over nine agreed-upon locations in the joint fishing grounds. Accordingly, the two sides’ coast guard forces will hold talks to discuss and agree the content of the joint patrol as well as relevant activities. Notably, the two sides’ coast guards will closely coordinate in a search and rescue exercise for troubled fishermen at sea. Senior Colonel Tran Van Tho, Deputy-Commander and Chief-of-Staff of the Coast Guard Region 1 Command, stated that the program is organized regularly in order to improve the collaboration for the implementation of the agreements under the Vietnam-China joint fishery patrol between the Vietnamese and Chinese coast guard forces. Thus, they would promote solidarity and mutual understanding between the two peoples and the two coast guard forces, contributing to maintaining security, order and safety in the shared fishing grounds. … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s coast guard ships leaves for joint fishery patrol with Chinese counterparts
Malaysia calls for cooperation among coast guards in East Sea
Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - Cooperation among coast guards of countries is necessary to deal with challenges in enforcing the law in the East Sea, a Malaysian officer has said. Admiral Zulkifili Abu Bakar, Director General of the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), made the statement on March 17. He said that the lack of forces and facilities and the invasion of foreign fishing vessels have posed more challenges in the East Sea, adding that cooperation among countries is the key to these challenges. 2017 recorded the largest number of foreign fishing ships entering Malaysia’s waters, he said. However, since the beginning of 2018, the situation has shown improvement, partly due to the effective cooperation between the Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG) and the MMEA, he stated, adding that he has had discussions with representatives from the VCG on these issues and have taken timely actions. The MMEA has cooperated with the Japan Coast Guard and … [Read more...] about Malaysia calls for cooperation among coast guards in East Sea
Vietnam weighs law for coast guard to open fire to protect sovereignty
Vietnam wants to give its coast guard more flexibility to open fire at sea, amid tension in the busy East Sea waterway, a draft law released on Wednesday showed. The law, expected to be voted by lawmakers at the end of this year, would allow greater assertiveness in disputed waters by the coast guard, now armed with modern U.S. and Japanese patrol boats, in a policy likely to alarm neighboring China. China claims almost all the waters, known internationally as the South China Sea, athrough which about $3 trillion worth of sea-borne trade passes every year. Vietnam and four other countries also say they have rights in the sea, believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas. Vietnam’s coast guard could open fire to “protect sovereignty and sovereign rights in defense and security situations,” said the draft, released on the website of the law making body, the National Assembly. The coast guard could open fire to warn ships operating illegally in Vietnam’s waters if … [Read more...] about Vietnam weighs law for coast guard to open fire to protect sovereignty