Continuing the 10th Vietnam - China Border Defense Friendship Exchange program, on the morning of March 19, at Fangchenggang port (Guangxi, China), General Phan Van Giang - Member of the Politburo, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Minister of National Defense of Vietnam and Senior Lieutenant General Dong Quan - Minister of National Defense of China and delegations of the two Ministries of National Defense attended the Launching Ceremony of the 40th Joint Patrol, Joint Training in the Gulf of Tonkin Sea between the Vietnam People's Navy and the People's Liberation Army Navy of China.
Immediately after arriving at Phòng Thành port, General Phan Văn Giang and Senior Lieutenant General Đổng Quân visited the photo exhibition area of previous joint patrols between the two navies; visited Ship 568 of the Chinese Navy, Ship 015 of the Vietnamese Navy and visited and encouraged commanders, officers, and sailors of both sides.
Reporting to General Phan Van Giang and Senior Lieutenant General Dong Quan, the commanders of the two Border Guards said: At Phong Thanh port, officers and sailors of the two countries have successfully completed cultural and sports exchanges and organized full coordination of joint patrol tasks.
In this joint patrol and joint training trip, the Vietnamese Navy used Ship Flotilla 015, 012; the Chinese Navy used Ship Flotilla 568, 627.
The two sides will conduct patrols on 8 routes, passing through 9 points, with a total journey distance at sea of 247 nautical miles, total time of 28 hours.
The vehicles and technical equipment of the two Border Guards operated well; officers and sailors on both sides thoroughly grasped and were ready to perform their duties.
The naval flotilla of Vietnam and China will perform training subjects: formation movement, maritime escort, light information, anti-piracy (with live-fire with light weapons), search and rescue, and struggle to protect the life of ships.
Before this patrol, the Vietnamese and Chinese navies successfully organized 39 joint patrols in the Gulf of Tonkin and deployed many joint exercises at sea within the framework of joint patrols.
After the commanders of the two Border Guards requested instructions to leave the port and with the consent of the two Ministers of National Defense of Vietnam and China, the Vietnamese and Chinese Navy ships deployed formations to leave Fangchenggang port, starting to perform joint patrol and joint training missions in the Gulf of Tonkin waters.
At the talks between the high-level delegation of the Ministry of National Defense of Vietnam and China on March 18, Minister Phan Van Giang affirmed that the Vietnam - China Border Defense Friendship Exchange, China - Vietnam has become a bright spot in the defense relations between the two countries.
Starting from 2014, to date, after 12 years with 10 organizations, each organization has developed both in breadth and depth...
Many activities are becoming more and more substantive, especially this year, for the first time, the two sides witnessed joint training activities between the two countries' navies.
