Vietnam Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard bolster cooperation

Senior Colonel Vu Trung Kien, deputy commander in charge of law of the Vietnam force, affirmed that bilateral cooperation between the two sides is on the right track, saying he believes that more significant and in-depth collaboration will be carried out in the time ahead.

Vice Commandant Shiraishi Masami asserted Vietnam is an important partner of the Japan Coast Guard and said he hopes the 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, conferences, seminars, friendship visits by ships of the two sides in order to bolster cooperation, exchange and share experiences.

Bilateral relationship has seen a robust development since the two sides signed the 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 experience at sea, and a training course on search procedures on vessels.

Besides, 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 Vietnam Coast Guard.