The Coast Guard Zone 2 is assigned to perform the training and combat readiness task, conduct patrols, maintain law enforcement, security, order, and safety, and ensure the observance of Vietnam’s law and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory in the country’s Central sea. Standing shoulder to shoulder with fishers in the performance of its task, the Coast Guard Zone 2 have been fully aware that well conducting the work of legal propagation and education for fishers would play a role of paramount importance and act as a bridge linking the Party’s guidelines and the State’s law and policy with fishers, thereby making contributions to raising fishers’ law-abiding self-awareness and maintaining political security, order, and safety at sea. Therefore, over the years, the Zone’s Party Committee and Command have enhanced their leadership and direction over legal propagation and education for fishers. The Zone has been performing its task in a large sea of 6 Central provinces, with a large number of scattered islands far from the mainland and over 23,000 fishing vessels of all types under harsh marine weather conditions. Hence, leadership and direction over legal propagation and education for fishers must be focalised, uniformed, flexible, and creative while methods of leadership and direction must be specific and relevant to each unit’s professional task. Thoroughly grasping resolutions and directives by the Ministry of National Defence and the Coast Guard High Command, the Zone’s Party Committee and Command have issued many plans and documents on directing offices and units to cooperate with forces and localities in encouraging fishers to strictly observe law during their fishing and actively take part in defending the national sovereignty over seas and islands. Offices and units’ party committees and commands have set out guidelines and measures for serious, effective leadership and direction over this work and proactively developed regulations and programmes on cooperation with local party committees and authorities, provincial border guard forces, the Naval Zone 3, and the Fisheries Resources Surveillance as an important legal basis for legal propagation and education. The Zone’s Party Committee and Command have attached importance to assigning pieces of work to each office and unit according to their function and task, promoted the vanguard role and responsibility of cadres and party members, and related the accountability of unit commanders to the effectiveness of legal propagation and education for fishers. Due attention has been paid to inspecting and reviewing each piece of work and task so as to draw lessons, opportunely make adjustments, and ensure effective and uniformed leadership and command over legal propagation and education for fishers.

The Zone’s Party Committee and Command have frequently directed offices and units to actively renew the content and form of legal propagation and education for fishers. Thanks to reviewing and grasping each group’s demand for legal knowledge and each locality’s particularities, the content of legal propagation and education has been diversified and carefully selected. Emphasis has been placed on disseminating basic knowledge of our State’s legal documents on seas and islands and international marine laws, legal foundation for Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Truong Sa and the Hoang Sa, legal documents on seas and islands signed by Vietnam and other relevant countries, heightening patriotism, national pride, and responsibility for defending the sacred national sovereignty over seas and islands. In addition to fishers, the Zone’s Command has introduced legal documents to their families, such as the penal code, the civil code, the law on marriage and family, and the traffic laws.

The signing of the regulations on coordination in legal propagation at the island district of Con Co, Quang Tri province

Form of legal propagation and education has frequently been renewed. A part from oral propagation, the Zone has attached great value to including legal propagation in artistic, sports, twinning, and mass mobilisation programmes in order to make legal documents more attractive. At the same time, it has cooperated with provincial border guard forces in requiring fishers to sign a written commitment to not violating law at sea or using illegal fishing gear. A contingent of cadres in charge of legal propagation and education has been consolidated. They have been trained politically and professionally and their task performance has been increasingly improved.

To bring into play the combined strength in the work of legal propagation and education for fishers, the Zone has closely cooperate with competent forces, provincial border guard forces, the Naval Zone 3, and local party committees and authorities. There is a fact that local fisheries protection bureaus, fisheries trade unions, and authorities are directly in charge of managing fishers and they comprehend fishers’ working habits and perfect moments and venues for legal propagation and education. Thus, the Zone has proactively cooperated with these forces in conducting legal propagation and education for fishers effectively. The Zone’s Party Committee Standing Board has signed an agreement with the Provincial Party Committee Standing Boards of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Quang Tri on executing the mass mobilisation programme entitled “the Coast Guard stands shoulder to shoulder with fishers,” while assigning the Zone’s Command to work with the Provincial Mass Mobilisation Commissions on this agreement and cooperate with the Propaganda and Education Commissions of 6 provinces in developing the Plan on organising the Conference to encourage and require fishers not to violate other countries’ seas. Grounded on those documents, offices and units within the Zone have closely cooperated with local party committees, authorities, sectors, and organisations in formulating propagation plans and programmes for each moment and period in a scientific and close manner. At the same time, they have worked with the Naval Zone 3 and provincial border guard forces to develop propagation plans and programmes to avoid overlapping or missing out objects and areas of propagation.

Matching words with action, the Zone’s offices and units have encouraged fishers to observe law by practical and specific deeds. To that end, the Zone has directed offices and units to well conduct the mass mobilisation work, take part in building strong political bases, fostering local socio-economic and cultural development, hunger eradication and poverty reduction, and stand shoulder to shoulder with fishers at sea. Clearly understanding fishers’ difficulties at sea, in addition to legal propagation and education, offices and units within the Zone have provided assistance for fishers with a view to enabling them to work safely and effectively at sea.

Following the motto that “small rain lays great dust,” the Zone’s cadres and soldiers have come to each fishing vessel to deliver leaflets and give fishers instructions on the Law of the Sea of Vietnam, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the 2018 Law on the Vietnam Coast Guard, and marine laws of neighbouring countries so that fishers would not violate foreign seas. Under the Programme entitled “the Coast Guard stands shoulder to shoulder with fishers,” the Zone has delivered thousands of leaflets, over 500 legal handbooks, more than 1,500 life jackets, and over 500 national flags to fishers on the island district of Ly Son, Quang Ngai province and the districts of Con Co and Trieu Phong, Quang Tri province. It has organised propagation sessions on seas, islands, and law for more than 1,500 cadres, soldiers, and fishers, while giving 2,000 leaflets, 100 life jackets, and 600 gifts to fishers at Tinh Son commune, Son Tinh district, Binh Dong commune, Binh Son district, Quang Ngai province, and the districts of Gio Linh, Vinh Linh and Trieu Phong, Quang Tri province. Additionally, offices and units have combined legal propagation and education with knowledge contests and artistic exchange programmes and given gifts to poor students at coastal communes. In 2019, the Zone organised the knowledge contest entitled “Students love the Homeland’s seas and islands” at the Junior High School of Trieu An, Trieu Phong district, Quang Tri province and the Junior High School of An Hai, Ly Son island district, Quang Ngai province, while providing 36 bicycles, 50 scholarships, and 200 books of various types for students from those schools. Also in 2019, the Zone organised the art performance entitled “the Homeland viewed from the sea,” gave 40 gifts to families under preferential treatment policy and difficult circumstance at the island district of Ly Son, cooperated with the Young Doctors’ Association of Quang Ngai province in providing free medical examination and medications for 180 citizens, delivered 200 leaflets to 15 fishing vessels at the commune of An Hai, and presented fishers with 15 boxes of gifts, 15 first-aid kits, and 170 national flags. With the assistance in legal knowledge and the encouragement from the Zone’s cadres and soldiers, fishers in the area have always felt confident to work at sea and take part in defending the national sovereignty over seas and islands.

Currently, there are many regulations on the origin of seafood and regional countries strictly punish fishing vessels for violating their fisheries. Thus, the Zone has stepped the work of propagation so that fishers would not violate foreign fisheries, while opportunely informing the Coast Guard and competent forces of foreign vessels’ violations of our fisheries. Besides, it has ensured the safety of fishers under any circumstance. As a result, violations of other countries’ seas by Vietnamese fishers have been basically ended. In the first quarter of 2020, no Vietnamese fishing vessel was reportedly arrested by other countries during their work. That outcome has been attributed to the Zone’s tireless efforts to provide legal propagation and education for fishers. In the upcoming time, the Coast Guard Zone 2 will always give firm support to fishers’ work at sea to make contributions to defending the national sovereignty over seas and islands.

Sr. Col. LE HUY SINH, Commissar of the Coast Guard Zone 2