Vietnamese and Chinese coast guards discuss the joint patrol. (Photo: qdnd.vn)

This is the second joint patrol this year and the seventh since the Vietnam-China agreement on fishery cooperation in the Gulf of Tonkin expired in June, 2020.

The joint patrol included a range of activities, including talks, inspections and supervisions overfishing boats operating in the waters adjacent to the demarcation line, and raising the awareness of the two countries' fishermen about law observance.

On this occasion, the Vietnamese side established an inter-sectoral working group to monitor Vietnamese fishing boats’ observance of legal regulations and the European Commission (EC)’s recommendations on combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.