Attending the ceremony were: Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong, member of the Party Central Committee, member of the Central Military Commission, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, Deputy Minister of National Defense; Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Gau, member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army; Major General Pham Truong Son, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong spoke at the ceremony.

Attending the ceremony were Major General Le Quang Dao, Commander of the Coast Guard; Lieutenant General Bui Quoc Oai, Political Commissar of the Coast Guard; and delegates inside and outside the Army.

Delivering a speech at the ceremony, Lieutenant General Bui Quoc Oai stated: Established on August 28, 1998, over the past 25 years, generations of officers and soldiers of the Vietnam Coast Guard have always upheld the spirit of self-reliance, self-strengthening, intelligence, bravery, flexibility, creativity, overcoming difficulties and challenges, achieving many feats and outstanding achievements.

Notably, the Vietnam Coast Guard has done a good job of advising the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense to propose policies and measures to flexibly and effectively handle situations at sea, avoiding being passive or surprised; resolutely and persistently fighting against activities of foreign ships that violate national sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction.

Delegates attending the ceremony.

With a positive, proactive spirit, not afraid of danger, officers and soldiers of the Coast Guard have successfully carried out hundreds of rescues of people, ships and properties of fishermen in distress at sea; regularly increased patrols and control of exclusive economic zones and continental shelves, fought to prevent criminal activities at sea, handled thousands of smuggling and trade fraud cases; coordinated to destroy many large drug trafficking and transportation rings, together with functional forces to strictly maintain discipline and law, maintain security, order and safety at sea, contributing to maintaining a peaceful life for the people.

Authorized by the President, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong awarded the Second Class Military Exploit Order to the Vietnam Coast Guard.

Effectively implementing international cooperation, up to now, the Vietnam Coast Guard has established bilateral and multilateral relations and hotlines with law enforcement forces of many countries in the region and around the world.

Speaking at the ceremony, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong praised the outstanding achievements of generations of Coast Guard officers and soldiers over the past 25 years, and emphasized: The task of building the Army, consolidating national defense, protecting Vietnam's sovereignty and legitimate interests in the sea and islands poses increasingly new requirements for the entire Party, people and army, including the responsibility of the Vietnam Coast Guard.

In order to successfully fulfill the duties and tasks of the State's specialized force, to act as the core in law enforcement, to protect sovereignty, sovereign rights, national security, and order and safety at sea, the Vietnam Coast Guard needs to focus on thoroughly grasping and implementing the following contents: The Coast Guard needs to focus on leading, directing and thoroughly grasping the policies of the Party, the Central Military Commission, and the Ministry of National Defense on the task of protecting the Fatherland in the new situation. Promote the building of a "revolutionary, disciplined, elite, modern" Coast Guard force that is strong in all aspects. Build a contingent of Coast Guard officers and soldiers that is truly a specialized, professional force in law enforcement at sea and a solid support for fishermen.

Strengthening the quality of training, education, force building, the ability to master weapons and technical equipment, mastering plans to protect sovereignty over islands, preventing crimes and violations of the law at sea. Closely coordinating with relevant forces to fulfill the function of advising on policies and measures to protect sovereignty and national interests at sea, resolving disputes and conflicts by peaceful means, on the basis of law, ensuring economic security, social order and safety at sea.

Proactively adjust the force in the direction of "refined, compact, strong", build a modern Vietnam Coast Guard according to the roadmap, suitable to the conditions of national development. Build a clean and strong Party organization associated with building a comprehensively strong agency and unit that is "exemplary and typical", contributing to improving the overall quality of the entire force.

Some performances at the ceremony.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong noted that the Coast Guard needs to effectively carry out international cooperation, increase exchanges, improve capacity and effectiveness of law enforcement in island waters, especially key and sensitive sea areas; effectively control the situation and prevent and combat crimes and law violations, and properly handle foreign vessels that violate Vietnam's waters. At the same time, propagate and thoroughly prevent the situation of Vietnamese fishing vessels going to foreign waters to fish illegally, without declaration, and without following regulations.

At the ceremony, authorized by the President, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong awarded the Second Class Military Exploit Order to the Vietnam Coast Guard for its outstanding achievements in the fight against drug crimes, contributing to maintaining political security, order and social safety.

Speaking at the ceremony, Major General Le Quang Dao, on behalf of the Standing Committee and Party Committee of the Coast Guard Command, received the instructions of the Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army. Promoting the tradition of the heroic unit, uniting and coordinating to overcome difficulties, building the Vietnam Coast Guard force as "revolutionary, disciplined, elite, modern" to successfully carry out assigned political tasks, worthy of being a political force, the core of law enforcement, protecting national security, order and safety at sea, worthy of the trust of the Party, State and people.

News and photos: THU THAO-DUC TINH

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