Managing and protecting border sovereignty and security in general and that of maritime border in particular is the central political task of the Border Guard. Recognising that, under the leadership and direction of the Border Guard Party Committee High Command and directly Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee and People's Committee, the Provincial Border Guard has always promote its core role, together with other forces, in managing and firmly protecting maritime border sovereignty and security to contribute to the province's rapid and sustainable development.

Quang Ninh Province, located in the economic belt of the Gulf of Tonkin, has 66 coastal communes, 6,000 km² of sea area, and many ports and sea routes for domestic and international trade. In particular, it is also home to the wonders of Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay and over 2,000 islands, that is a vast fishing ground with large potentials to develop tourism and marine economy. Promoting those advantages, in recent years, Quang Ninh has enhanced the development of industry, construction, production, services... and promoted export, entry, sea transport, trade, and deep and wide international integration. Accordingly, besides the advantages, the province’s maritime border area has also posed several issues for the border guard work, such as drug trafficking, smuggling, trade fraud, and illegal entry and exit. Meanwhile, foreign vessels’ infringing on maritime sovereignty, fishing disputes, illegal fishing... tends to increase with complicated developments.

In that context, to manage and firmly protect the maritime border sovereignty and security, the Border Guard Party Committee and Command have seriously observed the superiors’ resolutions and directives and synchronously and comprehensively carried out measures to lead, direct, and organise the implementation of border guard work, including firmly grasping and forecasting the situation in the border, interior, and exterior areas and promptly advising and proposing to the Province practical guidelines and measures for management and protection of national border sovereignty and security, socio-economic development, and strengthening of national defence and security to build a peaceful, friendly, cooperative, and mutually-developed maritime border. The Provincial Border Guard has well implemented combat readiness and participated in exercises in coastal-district defence areas relating to mobilisation and handover of manpower, ships, and civilian vehicles to Coast Guard Region 1; done well in natural disaster prevention and control and search and rescue; and performed crime prevention and control and other tasks, especially building of a strong border area and border defence. Since 2015, the Provincial Border Guard has deployed tens of thousands of turns of vehicles and hundreds of thousands of turns of troops to patrol, control, and protect the maritime sovereignty; detected and driven away over 1,000 foreign fishing and functional vessels infringing up on the sovereignty; and arrested and handled nearly 10,000 cases and vehicles relating to smuggling, trade fraud, transportation of prohibited and illegal goods, and violation of regulations on fishing and protection of fisheries. In 2022, it rescued 21 crew members in distress; mobilised 454 turns of people/158 vehicles for mobile rescue at sea; and called for more than 70,000 turns of people and over 36,000 turns of vehicles to shelter. On the sea and island routes, the Provincial Border Guard has regularly maintained 467 party members in charge, grasping the situation, and helping 1,690 families in the coastal area; organised 1,280 propaganda sessions for nearly 40,000 people to, thereby, mobilise 438 people and 438 vehicles, establish 25 safe - united ship groups and 33 safe harbour groups of 286 participants, and build and maintain the model “Fishing ground and wharf self-management group”; and mobilised and supplemented human resources, ships, and civil vehicles to protect sea and island sovereignty... that has helped the functional authorities firmly protect sovereignty and security from afar.

Awarding ouststanding individuals in the implementation of the 8th Central Resolution (11th tenure)

In the coming time, the situation in the East Sea is forecasted to develop complicatedly with many risks of uncertainties. The whole country promotes the implementation of Resolution No.36-NQ/TW, dated October 22^nd, 2018, on the Strategy for sustainable development of Vietnam's marine economy to 2030 with a vision to 2045. The Province implements Resolution No.15-NQ/TU, dated April 23^rd, 2019, on the development of seaports and seaport services to 2025 with orientation to 2030. Therefore, it will make sea activities thrive and the situation of regional political security and social order and safety more complicated. To firmly protect the maritime border sovereignty, security, and safety, the Provincial Border Guard Party Committee and Command will focus on leading and directing the good implementation of a number of following major contents and measures.

Firstly, to actively advise the Provincial Party Committee and People's Committee to lead, direct, and implement comprehensively and synchronously the management and protection of maritime border sovereignty and security. By mastering the functions, tasks, and characteristics of the area, the Provincial Border Guard Command will continue to promote its role in leading and coordinating with sectors and localities in reviewing and supplementing Action Program No.28-CTr/TU, dated April 2^nd, 2019, on implementing the Politburo’s Resolution No.33-NQ/TW, dated August 28^th, 2018 on the “Strategy for national border protection” to suit the actual situation; regularly strengthen the Steering Committee; promote the emulation movement on implementing the Prime Minister's Directive No.01/CT-TTg, dated January 9^th, 2015. on “Organising the all people's movement to participate in protecting national territorial sovereignty and border security in the new situation” in the 2020 - 2025 period; well implement programs and plans for implementing the superiors’ resolutions and directives on managing and protecting the maritime border in accordance with local characteristics to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the leadership, direction, and state management of the border, serve as a basis for comprehensive and synchronous implementation of border guard work measures, organise the management and protection of the border, seas, and islands in accordance with the law and signed border agreements and regulations, increase patrols, control, and bilateral patrols, and timely handle violations... to contribute to firmly protecting the maritime border sovereignty and security.

Secondly, to strengthen duty guard and combat readiness and mobilise forces to protect sea and island sovereignty. Thoroughly observing and implementing the superiors’ resolutions, directives, and guidelines on combat readiness, the Provincial Border Guard’s agencies and units should regularly observe, develop, and supplement combat documents; organise the training and practice to master plans for combat readiness and handling of situations and participate in exercises in defence areas and sea protection operations; actively mobilise resources to build and consolidate marine fortifications and border works; maintain the number of troops on combat readiness and search and rescue duty; proactively cooperate with localities, Navy Region 1, Coast Guard Region 1, Border Guard Squadron 38, Provincial Military Command, and other local forces to effectively handle situations at sea; and regularly coordinate closely with the Provincial Military Command, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and coastal districts and cities in grasping, registering, and managing manpower, ships, and civilian vehicles ready for duty in accordance with decrees, circulars and decisions of the Government and Ministry of National Defence on “Mobilising manpower, ships, and civil vehicles to protect maritime sovereignty and sovereign rights”. They should also actively select Border Guard cadres with sufficient qualifications, capacity, and good health to participate in this work; advise the Provincial People's Committee to assign specific targets to the cities of Ha Long and Cam Pha and Van Don district in coordination with the border guard units, to strictly manage the corresponding number of means and human resources in the locality; and regularly grasp the sources and monitor, manage, and promptly advise and propose to change or supplement human resources and means to ensure sufficient quantity and quality when mobilised.

To protect fishermen to adhere to the sea and protect the sovereignty over seas and islands, the Provincial Border Guard continue to coordinate with the Fisheries Information Centre in regularly exchanging the situation of fishermen's activities at sea; monitor cruises to detect missing fishing vessels; investigate and verify fishing vessels violating foreign maritime sovereignty, chased away, or arrested foreign fishing vessels violating our waters; actively coordinate with the border guards of nine provinces and cities in the region, Border Guard Squadron 38, and the Region I Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre to be ready to respond to natural disasters and search and rescue at sea under the signed regulations; coordinate with coastal localities in calling and tallying ships and evacuating people and vehicles out of dangerous areas in the event of storms; develop plans and options, and practice handling rescue situations; and ensure techniques for the means involved, etc.

Thirdly, to strengthen local reconnaissance, crime prevention and control, and management of entry and exit on sea routes. To closely and correctly forecast the situation to help committees and authorities at all levels not be passive and surprised in all situations, the Provincial Border Guard continues to strengthen the Party members in charge of households in border areas and islands according to the Border Guard Party Committee’s Resolution No.23-NQ/ĐUBP, dated November 28^th, 2018. In particular, priority is given to grasping, monitoring, and helping poor or especially difficult households and those with kinship and ethnic relations on both sides of the border, having complex political and social relationships, easily exploited or in families with criminal records... to promptly detect, struggle, and eliminate destabilising factors from afar. In the context of the increasing proportion of sea trade and exploitation, the Border Guard actively establishes operations and cases and does a good job of coordinating in combating crimes, illegal fishing, and smuggling activities at sea; and promotes reform of administrative procedures for entry and exit combined with investment in technical equipment to improve the efficiency of electronic customs declaration and control of goods at seaports to ensure compliance with regulations, clearance, and timely detection of trade fraud and illegal transportation.

Finally, to step up the implementation of the Prime Minister's Directive No.01/CT-TTg, dated January 9^th, 2015 on implementing the movement of  All people's participate in the protection of territorial sovereignty and national border security in the new situation. The focus is on the good implementation of Plan No.15/KH-UBND on the implementation of Directive No.01/CT-TTg through many flexible measures. In particular, the Provincial Border Guard Command - the Standing Agency of the Movement Steering Committee - focuses on reviewing and updating Guidance No.14/HD-BCĐ, dated February 18^th, 2016 to implement to suite the reality and plays the core role in building programs on coordination with departments, agencies, unions, and localities in thoroughly communicating, launching emulation movements, developing plans, organising the implementation, and periodically reviewing, summarising, and rewarding typical collectives and individuals. In the immediate future, attention is paid to directing and guiding sea and island border communes to review and complete the movement implementation plans; attracting and encouraging agencies, unions, and enterprises to actively participate; and well organising activities towards borders, seas, and islands such as sponsoring and twinning with border guard posts, border communes, coastal communes, and island communes. At the same time, attention is also paid to actively disseminating new legal documents; timely praising typical examples in fighting and denouncing crimes; and warning of new modes of operation of criminals... for the people to be vigilant and actively coordinate with the functional authorities in fighting, managing, and firmly protecting the maritime border sovereignty and security in all situations.

Senior Colonel NGUYEN VAN THIEM, Commander of the Provincial Border Guards