A vessel of the coast guard patrols near fishing boats at sea on Aug. 16, 2020. Chinese coast guard authority has dismantled more than 10 major criminal gangs engaged in illegal sea-related activities in the past three years. China's coast guards at all levels have launched campaigns and investigated more than 190 tip-offs, arresting more than 140 suspects, said the authority. (Photo by Zhai Shaohua/Xinhua News Agency)

Chinese coast guard vessel 5103 rendezvoused with Vietnamese coast guard vessel 9003 on Tuesday morning, successfully completing the handover of a Vietnamese fisherman rescued by the China coast guards, according to media reports.

Chinese coast guard vessel 5103 rescued a Vietnamese fisherman, who had been floating in the sea for three days before being rescued, while cruising in the southern part of the South China Sea on August 18.

After rescuing the fisherman, coast guard officers promptly provided him with drinking water, food and other daily necessities, and checked his physical condition.

It is one of the important duties of the China coast guard to carry out international cooperation in maritime law enforcement, and the coast guards of China and Vietnam signed a memorandum of cooperation in June 2016 to establish institutional cooperative relations.

In recent years, the coast guards of the two countries have been working together to build a model of maritime law enforcement cooperation in the region, holding regular high-level meetings, organizing exchanges between young police officers, and carrying out a series of pragmatic cooperation projects such as ship visits, joint patrols and joint exercises.

The Chinese coast guards and Vietnamese coast guards conducted their first joint cruise in the Beibu Gulf in 2022 from April 19 to 21, which was also the 23rd joint cruise between the two countries since 2006.

During the joint cruise, coast guard vessels from both countries observed and recorded the ships of the two countries operating at sea, conducted education for fishermen, and maintained the order of maritime production and operation. The two sides also organized joint search and rescue exercises.

Global Times