Vietnamese, Cambodian coast guards benefit from hotline communication mechanism

ABO/NDO- The Vietnam Coast Guard and the Cambodia National Committee for Maritime Security met in Hanoi on October 4 to discuss their hotline mechanism, which has helped them sustain contacts despite COVID-19.

The meeting, the third of its kind, was co-chaired by Senior Colonel Vu Trung Kien, deputy commander in charge of law of the Vietnam Coast Guard Command and Vice Admiral Tea Sokha, Deputy Chief of the Navy and head of the Cambodian National Committee’s Front-line Tactical Command.

Delegates attend the meeting (Photo: qdnd.vn).

Assessing the implementation of their signed protocol on the mechanism over the past time, Kien said due to complicated COVID-19 situations in 2020 and 2021, the sides could not perform a number of activities under the pact.

However, via the hotline, they kept active communications regarding their territorial waters, fishermen, and Vietnam’s patrol and inspection around the bordering sea area to tackle Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities.

The Vietnamese side proposed increasing bilateral coordination for information exchange, and handling of issues and incidents at sea, which was agreed by the Cambodian side.

Tea Sokha said Vietnamese and Cambodian fishermen have basically adhered to the law of the countries, adding that a number of violations were recorded in illegal fishing and smuggling.

Highlighting the importance of their cooperation, the sides agreed to push ahead with the implementation of the protocol, share information on anti-IUU-fishing, support Vietnamese and Cambodian fishermen at sea, and exchange delegations annually.

The fourth meeting is slated for the third quarter of 2023.

(Source: NDO)