A proposal has been submitted to the
Government to establish control forces to protect fisheries in Viet Nam’s
territorial waters, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat
has announced.

The
forces would inspect foreign fishing vessels in Viet Nam’s territorial waters or
in waters in which Viet Nam has signed agreements or conventions on fisheries
with other countries. Besides punishing violators, these forces would also
provide disaster relief and support to search-and-rescue operations, Phat said.

The
proposal was motivated in part by increasing incidents of violations and a steep
increase in cases of Vietnamese fishermen captured by foreign forces.

Phat
said that, as of now, local authorities patrolled the waters within 20 nautical
miles of shore. Central authorities were responsible for waters beyond 20
nautical miles but had operated ineffectively due to a shortage of human
resources.

Chu Tien
Vinh, deputy director of the ministry’s Directorate of Fisheries, said the
patrol forces would have the authority to demand organisations or individuals
present documentation, to impose administrative fines, to investigate possible
criminal acts, and to take preventative measures against violations of the laws
regarding exploitation, protection and development of marine resources.

Vinh
said current forces lacked such authority and could only act in co-operation
with other agencies, including marine police or naval forces.

The
ministry plan would propose the establishment of centrally-controlled patrol
offices in each of five regions: north, north central and Hoang Sa (Paracel)
Islands, south central and Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands, southeast and southwest.

Each
patrol office would be equipped with two patrol boats of at least 3,000CV,
modern and powerful enough to handle harsh weather conditions and spend long
periods at sea. Modern equipment would include MF/HF radio devices, Global
Positioning System (GPS) and marine satellite communications as well as
equipment to serve search-and-rescue operations.

The
proposal, if approved, would be implemented between now and 2020.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News