Addressing 4 Non-Traditional Security Issues at Sea

With the theme: "Strengthening cooperation, sharing information, ensuring security and safety at sea", the 3rd Conference of Chiefs of Maritime Law Enforcement Forces of the Gulf of Thailand countries was held in the coastal city of Da Nang. The Conference was chaired by Major General Nguyen Quang Dam - Commander of the Vietnam Coast Guard. Attending the conference, in addition to the delegations of the coast guard forces of the 4 countries in the Gulf of Thailand (Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam), there was also Ms. Rena Bitter - US Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City and delegates from the Export Audit and Border Security Program of this country.

Conference overview.

The conference assessed the results of cooperation, the security and order situation in the Gulf of Thailand; shared experiences in improving the effectiveness of law enforcement at sea. At the same time, it created trust, understanding and consensus among maritime law enforcement agencies of the countries in the Gulf of Thailand in dealing with existing challenges to maritime security. From there, it determined the goals and areas of common cooperation between countries to ensure security and safety in the seas in the region. At the conference, delegates also raised situations at sea such as illegal immigration, illegal fishing and search and rescue to discuss, handle and find specific solutions to resolve these situations.

This conference of the Commanders of Law Enforcement Forces of the Gulf of Thailand countries is a good opportunity for responsible agencies of countries in the region to exchange, learn, and share experiences on maritime security as well as strengthen cooperation to develop bilateral and sub-regional relations in ensuring security and safety in the region's waters.

Major General Nguyen Quang Dam said that through forums, in the past two years, the law enforcement forces in the Gulf of Thailand of the four countries have had close connections. The four countries in the Gulf focused on four basic issues related to non-traditional security. The first is maritime security, piracy, armed robbery in the Gulf; the second is smuggling, trade fraud and drug crimes; the third is illegal immigration and the last is the issue of fishing vessels of one country violating the other country's waters to illegally fish. These are also the four prominent issues in the Gulf of Thailand in recent times.

Conference delegates

The Coast Guard and other forces have played a good role, on the one hand, strengthening law enforcement forces at sea to ensure security, safety and order, ensuring stability in the sea for our fishermen to go offshore, to ensure the legitimate rights of our fishermen and most importantly, to create an environment for us to develop the marine economy.

Our activities demonstrate that our country has an increasingly important voice in ASEAN countries and especially in the Gulf countries. “I believe that after this conference, countries in the region will promote bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The activities of the Coast Guard and law enforcement forces of the Gulf countries demonstrate their role as law enforcement forces, core forces, and leaders in maintaining security, order, and safety in the Gulf of Thailand. I believe that the delegations have many initiatives on cooperation such as: sharing information, establishing hotlines to resolve issues arising at sea within the jurisdiction of each force; training human resources, search and rescue, etc.,” Major General Nguyen Quang Dam emphasized.

At the forum, Ms. Rena Bitter, US Consul General, also delivered a speech emphasizing the US shift to the Asia-Pacific region. She affirmed: “The rapid development of Southeast Asian economies emphasizes the importance of freedom of navigation, commercial waterways, responsible law enforcement and multilateral cooperation. Cooperation among Southeast Asian countries – like today's forum – is the solution to maintain and promote a more secure and stable environment, helping to maintain long-term peace and prosperity for all of us.”

According to VOV