Vietnam Coast Guard

Vietnam Coast Guard (Cảnh sát biển Việt Nam)
Seal of the Vietnam Coast Guard
Active	28 August 1998 – present
Country	Vietnam
Allegiance	Communist Party of Vietnam
Type	Coastal defence force
Role	Vietnam maritime law enforcement, patrol, border control, search and rescue, coastal defence
Part of	Vietnam People's Army
Headquarters	Hanoi, Vietnam
Colours	Blue, White, Orange
Anniversaries	28 August
Fleet	49 Patrol boat 3 offshore patrol vessel 6 Transport vessels 5 Salvage tug 4 search and rescue ship
Engagements	MT Zafirah hijacking MT Orkim Harmony hijacking
Decorations
Website	canhsatbien.vn
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief	Trần Đại Quang
Commander	Major General Nguyễn Quang Đạm
Political Commissar	Lieutenant General Hoàng Văn Đồng
Chief of Staff	Major General Phạm Kim Hậu
Insignia
Racing Stripe
Emblem
Awards
Aircraft flown
Patrol	3 x CASA C-212 Aviocar

Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG; Vietnamese: Cảnh sát biển Việt Nam) is the coast guard of Vietnam. It is a branch of the Vietnam People's Army, and falls under the management of the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence. Since its creation in the late 1990s, the Vietnam Coast Guard plays an important role in maintaining sea security and protection of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf boundary. It has dispatched forces in waters in overlapping areas between Vietnam and foreign countries, providing protection and assistance to local fishermen when necessary. In addition, the Vietnam Coast Guard perform search and rescue duties, along with their duties of combating and preventing smuggling, piracy, and trade fraud in Vietnamese waters.

The Vietnam Coast Guard was first set up through President Tran Duc Luong's order No 3-L/CTN (7 April 1998), announcing the Ordinance on the Vietnam Coast Guard, which had been accepted by The Tenth National Assembly of Vietnam on 28 March 1998.

Previously, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam did not have a dedicated Coast Guard; the Navy had been used for offshore patrol and related military activity, along with the Border Patrol Directorate (Bộ Tư Lệnh Biên Phòng), which had checkpoints in estuarine and littoral areas. These bodies were equipped with small boats for short pursuit and related equipment intended for short-term security applications. All river patrol responsibility belongs to the Fluvial Police (Cục Cảnh sát giao thông đường thủy - Bureau code:C25), supervised by provincial and/or local police office (Ministry of Public Safety - Bộ Công An), and sometimes to the Vietnam Customs (Hải Quan), depending on the particular geographical responsibility (fluvial or fresh water only).

The Vietnam Coast Guard became independent from the Vietnam People's Navy on 1 March 2008. It has in-scope intelligence based on international exchange and co-operation with its ASEAN counterparts in smuggling and on-sea drug interdiction operations. As an organisation established to fight against illegal trafficking, it was keen to start with a fresh image, equipped with adequate technology and hardware, to deploy efficiently for its various specific missions. The current organisational pattern will serve as a role model for future extended projects.

In the internal waters, territorial waters, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of Vietnam, Vietnam Coast Guard have mission to patrol and control in accordance with the laws of Vietnam and international treaties concerned that, Vietnam is a contracting member (such as The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)) to protect the sovereignty, jurisdiction, protection of natural resources, prevention of environmental pollution; detect, prevent and combating acts of smuggling, piracy, armed robbery against ships, illegal transport and trafficking, transporting illegal narcotics, precursors.