Thoroughly grasping the resolutions and directives of the Party, the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence on ensuring security and safety of the Fatherland’s seas, over the years, maritime law enforcement activities of the Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG) have been implemented with drastic, synchronous and effective measures. In particular, the VCG’s Party Committee and High Command have recently strengthened their leadership and direction on law enforcement at sea based on a “comprehensive and firm” viewpoint, simultaneously implementing measures with a new attitude. Among those measures, importance is attached to the direction on reviewing and developing regulations on leadership, command, and organisation of law enforcement at sea, thus ensuring consistency, effectiveness and efficiency. On the basis of legal provisions and practical requirements, functional agencies have synthesised, systematised, and standardised regulations on the professional measures of the Coast Guard; developed and standardised teaching and training materials for legal profession; organised training and guided uniform implementation from the High Command to grass-roots level units.

Party committees and commanders at all levels promote their roles, uphold responsibility and take the initiative in leading and directing law enforcement at sea in combination with well performing joint operations to protect our sovereignty over seas and islands; strengthen measures to prevent crime and law violations; improve the ability to grasp, analyse, and forecast violations and crimes at sea, thus promptly advising and proposing appropriate policies and measures in accordance with the provisions of law and the competence of the VCG; maintain regular patrol, inspection, control and law enforcement activities in sea areas; promptly detect and handle violations of maritime security and safety, smuggling, commercial fraud, drug crimes, piracy and armed robbery against ships at sea.

Additionally, the VCG has actively coordinated with other forces and promoted international cooperation in law enforcement at sea; signed, developed regulations, and coordinated field activities with military and non-military forces, such as the General Department II, Border Guard Command, Navy, Public Security, Customs, etc. in order to constantly improve the quality of situational awareness along with fighting and handling violations and crimes at sea. At the same time, promoting bilateral and multilateral cooperation with maritime law enforcement forces of countries in the region and in the world; responsibly participating in multilateral cooperation forums and international organisations, such as the Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting, the Gulf of Thailand Maritime Law Enforcement Initiative, the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP), etc. to maintain security, order and safety in the seas.

VCG's legal training in 2022

In the foreseeable future, the situation in the East Sea region continues to pose a potential risk of instability and unpredictability. Crimes and violations, especially the ones involving foreign elements, tend to rise with complicated developments, increasingly sophisticated methods and tricks, strict organisation, and modern means and equipment, etc. requiring that the work of law enforcement at sea of all the forces in general and of the Coast Guard in particular be promoted, strengthened using drastic, synchronous and effective measures. Among which, importance is attached to the ones as follows:

First, advising on the arrangement and building of the VCG as elite, compact, strong, systematic, intensive, effective and efficient. Thoroughly grasping Resolution No. 05-NQ/TW issued on 17^th January, 2022 by the Politburo, Resolution No. 230-NQ/QUTW issued on 2^nd April, 2022 by the Central Military Commission on restructuring the Vietnam People’s Army in the 2021-2030 period and beyond, the Ministry of Defence’s Plan for implementing Resolution 230-NQ/QUTW, the Coast Guard’s Party Committee and High Command have researched and advised on building a “revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern” Coast Guard, serving as a versatile force that plays a core role in enforcing laws and protecting national security, order, and safety at sea. Promoting the renewal of management mechanism and administration of law enforcement, ensuring an effective fight against crimes and violations at sea. In order to overcome the shortcomings of human resources, the Coast Guard’s Party Committee and High Command should continue to research and propose the construction and development of a Coast Guard Training and Retraining Centre in line with the development roadmap of the Coast Guard. Besides, party committees and commanders of agencies and units should step up legal education, build a contingent of full-time officers and employers with strong political will and good ethics. They should also have a mechanism in which unqualified officers and employers or the ones who violate the law, discipline and professional ethics are replaced by better people.

Second, continuing to invest in modern and synchronous equipment, regularly patrolling, controlling and enforcing laws at sea. In recent years, with the attention of the Party, State and Army, VCG has received investment to build and purchase modern vehicles, ships, and technical equipment. However, in order to meet the requirements of regular and long-term operation at sea in complex climatic and hydrological conditions along with taking advantage of, exploiting, and promoting the features of existing means and ships, the Coast Guard Command continues to advise and propose to higher echelons on investment and procurement of synchronous and modern equipment, especially technical, observation, communication and technical reconnaissance ones, which aid the work of commanding, grasping the situations, deploying large-scale professional activities, ensuring regular patrol, control, and law enforcement at sea as well as meeting the ability to cooperate in combat and international cooperation according to the functions and tasks of the VCG.

Third, advising on the development and promulgation of a synchronous system of legal documents related to the operation of the Coast Guard. Practice has shown that the promulgation of the Law on VCG has created an important corridor and legal basis for the operation of the Coast Guard. However, at present, law enforcement activities at sea are also regulated by other legal documents, such as the Criminal Procedure Code, the Law on Organisation of Criminal Investigation Bodies, and the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations and implementation manuals. Therefore, to create a favourable legal corridor for the Coast Guard, there is a need to review, research, advise, and propose to the Government and the Ministry of Defence to amend, supplement, and develop legal documents on the Coast Guard’s working measures as well as its competence to investigate and sanction administrative violations, thus bringing into full play its pivotal role in law enforcement at sea.

Fourth, renewing the work of legal propaganda and dissemination to people. Over the past few years, the Coast Guard has well implemented legal propaganda and dissemination to encourage people, especially the dwellers in coastal provinces and cities and fishermen, to actively fight against and denounce crimes and violations, thus improving the efficiency of law enforcement at sea. To promote that achievement, in the upcoming time, agencies and units need to proactively choose the proper propaganda content and suitable methods for each subject in accordance with the motto “Each Coast Guard officer and soldier is a law propagandist”. At the same time, actively applying information technology in legal propaganda and continuing to effectively implement propaganda programmes and models, such as “The Coast Guard accompanies fishermen”, “The Coast Guard with ethnic and religious people”, “I love the Fatherland’s seas and islands”, etc. to create unity and faith between people and the VCG, thus building a firm “people’s hearts and minds posture” and a people’s security posture at sea.

Fifth, strengthening international coordination and cooperation. Law enforcement activities at sea require various stages, some of which the Coast Guard does not have the legal competence or they encounter difficulties during implementation. Therefore, strengthening international coordination and cooperation will help to forecast, promptly and correctly advise, quickly detect and effectively handle law violations. To make this effective and substantive, the Coast Guard has actively maintained relationships with functional forces in accordance with the law and signed coordination regulations, ensuring and creating consensus as well as promoting the synergy of forces in law enforcement at sea. In addition, there is a need to promote cooperation with other countries’ maritime law enforcement forces in fighting and preventing violations of security, order and safety at sea, especially the ones in non-traditional security field. Along with the regular exchange of experiences through conferences, seminars, and training, it is also necessary to strengthen joint exercises, drills and patrols. Focusing on the enhancement of the VCG’s role in implementing the cooperation institutions under international treaties and agreements to which Vietnam is a member, especially improving the operational efficiency of the Information Sharing Centre at the VCG in implementing the ReCAAP Agreement.

Law enforcement is a central political task of the VCG. Facing the complicated situation of law violations and the requirement to improve the effectiveness of law enforcement at sea in the new situation, the VCG is required to raise awareness and synchronously implement measures, promote its core role in law enforcement at sea, maintaining security, sovereignty, order, and safety at sea as well as a peaceful and stable environment for national construction and development

Major General, LE QUANG DAO, Commander of the VCG