The program "Coast Guards accompanying fishermen" is a breakthrough content in the mass mobilisation work of the Coast Guards in general and Coast Guard Region 4 (CGR4) in particular, demonstrating a high sense of responsibility in the implementation of their functions and tasks of firmly protecting the country's sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction, maintaining a peaceful and stable environment in the waters under its control.

Holding the "I love the country's seas and islands" contest at Tho Chau primary and secondary schools, Phu Quoc city

CGR4 is tasked with managing the southwestern waters of the country, covering an area of about 150,000 square kilometers. After nearly 23 years of construction and development, CGR4 officers and soldiers have always deeply grasped the Party's viewpoints and guidelines for Army building, national defence consolidation, and Fatherland protection of the Party and the functions and duties of the Coast Guard. During its task performance, besides the advantages, the Region also encountered many difficulties, meanwhile, task requirements are becoming increasingly challenging; the qualifications and capacity of the staff are not equal. Faced with that reality, the CGR4 Party Committee and Command have adopted many guidelines, solutions, and organised a comprehensive and effective implementation of the program "Coast Guards accompanying fishermen" in the area, bringing about many practical results, contributing to building a solid "people's heart and mind posture" at sea, which are manifested in the following contents:

1. Stepping up the legal propagation, dissemination and education to the targeted-subjects, creating a deep and wide spillover among the people, especially the fishermen. CGR4 Party Committee and Command identified this as the most important content in the implementation of the Program with an aim of enhancing the awareness and legal knowledge of seas and islands of Vietnam, international and relevant countries, focusing on the fishermen, teachers, students in coastal and island areas. Content of propagation is about: the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982; Law of the Sea of Vietnam; Law on Vietnam Coast Guard; Law on Fisheries; Law on prevention and combat of drug crimes; legislation against illegal, unreported, unregulated (IUU) fishing, and official information on the situation of sovereignty over sea and islands and the Party's and State's policies on sea and islands. To make it effective, the Region has flexibly applied forms and methods suitable to each object; closely coordinated with localities directly or through contests to educate, propagate and disseminate the laws. Since 2017 to date, the region has held 10 contests entitled "I love the country’s seas and islands"; 13 concentrated propaganda sessions for more than 5,000 turns of fishing boat owners, fishermen, teachers, and students in coastal border areas; direct propaganda at sea to more than 2,500 vehicles with over 15,000 crew members; distributed more than 25,000 leaflets, 1,800 books and propaganda materials. As a result, these activities have helped raising awareness and law observance for fishermen and people in coastal and island areas, which was highly appreciated by the Coast Guard Command and localities in the area.

2. Paying attention to social security work. Every year, the Regional Command closely coordinates with the mass mobilisation commissions of Kien Giang and Ca Mau provinces to mobilise more than 70 agencies, businesses and socio-political organisations in the area to successfully hold the activities of the program in 16 communes and towns in 10 districts and cities in the area; donated more than 5,700 national flags, 170 medical boxes, 200 lifebuoys and life jackets to fishermen; visited and presented gifts to 600 policy beneficiary families, poor households and fishermen in difficult circumstances with a total amount of over 600 million VND. In addition, the Region also sponsors 09 students with extremely difficult circumstances with an allowance of 500,000 VND/month/student; awarded 110 bicycles, 300 schoolbags and 260 scholarships to less advantageous students with high performance.

One of the highlights in social security work is that the Region cooperates with Hung Vuong Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City to implement the Program "Joining hands for fishermen's health", which is aimed at taking care of community health in border, sea and islands areas in the period of 2020 - 2025. The two units have agreed to conduct two rounds of health check, medical examination and treatment, and free provision of medicine for fishermen and communities in border, sea and island areas. Disseminating and providing remote support on medical expertise, especially new knowledge, features, effects and usage of modern medical equipment, contributing to improving the capabilities of medical staff of the localities in the region’s area of operation, at the same time, promoting propaganda and dissemination of knowledge on first aid, especially search and rescue skills at sea. During the last round of activities, the two units examined, consulted, and provided free medicines to over 2,500 people and granted 50 free eye surgery vouchers, each worth 15 million VND to patients suffering from eye diseases. The above activities have contributed to promoting patriotism, the love for the country’s seas and islands, and upholding the civil responsibility of fishermen in taking care of and protecting the health of themselves and the community in the area.

3. Serving as a steady fulcrum for fishermen at sea. In addition to creating a legal corridor for fishermen to conduct fishing activities in adjacent waters bordering foreign countries, the search and rescue of fishermen at sea is identified by the region's officers and soldiers as "combat duty" in peacetime, "heartfelt order" of Coast Guard soldiers. Therefore, regardless of difficult weather conditions and storms on the seas, especially on offshore islands, when fishermen encounter problems and need assistance, officers and soldiers of the region always appear in time to help and relieve. Since 2017 to date, the region has successfully searched and rescued 33 cases, with 12 vehicles; provided first aid for 99 people; mobilised 60 cadres, soldiers and 04 vehicles to participate in overcoming the consequences of floods in the area of Phu Quoc island. In the context of the impact of climate change, prolonged drought and saltwater intrusion and complicated developments of the Covid-19 pandemic, the region has actively and proactively helped people overcome the consequences of natural disasters, joining hands in disease prevention and control. It has worked closely with the forces of Naval Region 5, Border Guards of Kien Giang and Ca Mau provinces to grasp the situation; conduct propaganda for the prevention and control of the Covid-19 pandemic and illegal entry and exit by sea. In the past time, the region has detected, arrested and handed over 03 cases, 05 ships with 12 crew members illegally entering from Cambodia by sea; donated VND 33 million to the Covid-19 vaccine fund; presented 560 gifts worth 560 million VND and 13 tons of rice to fisherman households in difficult circumstances due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in the two provinces of Kien Giang and Ca Mau; timely supplied 140 m3 of fresh water, 50 20-liter fresh water bottles, and 10 120-liter water tanks for people living in areas affected by drought and saline intrusion.

4. Joining hands in renovating rural areas. The region actively helps people to build a new cultural life, develop socio-economy, reduce poverty, and improve living standards. Its notable activities include: "Phu Quoc’s Environment Day", "Voluntary Saturday" and "Green Sunday", participating in marine environmental sanitation, renovation of irrigation system. The region's officers and soldiers coordinated with the local youth unions to launch 13 campaigns to clean up the marine environment; collect and treat more than 50 tons of waste of all kinds; build 15 km of roads with over 10 thousand working days; plant 200 trees in response to the project "Growing 1 billion trees" in the 2021-2025 period of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; mobilise agencies, units and businesses to contribute and support more than VND 1 billion and 70 tons of cement for localities to strengthen public infrastructure; support to build 04 houses of gratitude worth VND 230 million; donate 01 House of solidarity worth VND 60 million to fishermen.

The key contents in the implementation of the above program "Coast Guards accompanying fishermen" have made an important contribution to building and strengthening relationships with Party committees, authorities, mass organisations, armed forces and people in its area of operations, creating synergy to firmly protect the country's sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction, maintain a peaceful and stable environment in the southwestern seas of the country.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel LE VAN TU, Deputy Political Commissar of Coast Guard Region 4