Crewmen of ships 8004 and 8003 receive gifts from the Vietnam Coast Guard High Command before departing for the joint patrol with China, April 9, 2023. (Photo: People's Army newspaper)

This is the first such activity in 2023 and the sixth between the two sides in this area. It will take place from Tuesday to Thursday. 

The patrol aims to contribute to the effective implementation of international law, especially the provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Agreement on the Delimitation of the Territorial Seas, Exclusive Economic Zones and Continental Shelves in the Tonkin Gulf signed between Vietnam and China in 2000. 

It contributes to maintaining order and security in the Gulf of Tonkin to help strengthen cooperation and mutual understanding between the two forces, conserving and sustainably exploiting marine resources and creatures, and disseminating and educating laws to fishermen when working at sea. 

The patrol also aims to ensure that fishermen's activities can take place normally while the two countries hold negotiations to determine the next cooperation contents after the Agreement on Fishery Cooperation expired on June 30, 2020.