Vietnam, China hold first fishery patrol in 2017 The coast guards of Vietnam and China conducted a joint fishery patrol on shared fishing grounds in the Tonkin Gulf from April 18-20, Quan doi Nhan dan (People’s Army) daily reported.    Ships coded 8004 of the Vietnam Coast Guard in the patrol Ships coded 8003 and 8004 of the Vietnam Coast Guard joined Chinese ships coded 3301 and 3304 in the first patrol this year. The Vietnamese and Chinese sides were led by Colonel Tran Van Tho, Deputy Commander and Chief of the Staff of the Coast Guard High Command Region 1 under the Vietnam Coast Guard, and Liu Tianrong, Deputy Head of the China Coast Guard’s Nanhai bureau. They examined fishing boats working across nine locations in the countries’ shared fishing grounds. Vietnam and China have held annual joint coast guard patrols since 2006, with this patrol the 13th.  The activity aims to show that the Agreement on Fishery Cooperation in the Tonkin Gulf signed between the two sides in 2000 is an economic and technical agreement based on respect for sovereignty, sovereignty rights and jurisdiction of each nation.  The patrols reinforce relations and friendship between the two countries’ people.  The patrols also help enhance the efficiency of coordination in implementing an agreement on joint patrols with China, thus preserving and sustainably exploiting maritime resources in the shared fishing grounds.  In the framework of the patrol, the two coast guard forces met and joined exchange activities to share experience in monitoring fishing boats, search and rescue, protecting the maritime environment, ensuring safety of navigation, security and fishing.  They also informed violations of their countries’ fishing ships, and disseminated legal regulations to fishermen, aiming to promote economic development and safeguarde sea and island sovereignty. VNA