Vietnam backs pushing up cooperation among countries in the Gulf of Thailand, especially in join patrols, search and rescue exercises and information sharing in a bid to address maritime-related issues, a Vietnamese representative has said.

Colonel Nguyen Quang Dam, General Director of the Vietnam Maritime Police, made the statement at the Gulf of Thailand 2 nd Commanders Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on December 12-13. The forum brought together nearly 50 delegates from maritime enforcement bodies of Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, and the Deputy Chief of US Mission to Malaysia Lee McClenny, the event’s sponsoring partner.

Discussions at the event focused on concrete cooperation mechanisms to deal with the four major threats in the regional waters: smuggling, illegal fishing, armed piracy and pollution.

The Vietnamese representative also proposed setting up a hotline to deal with unforeseen incidents at sea, while stepping up practical cooperation in capacity building, personnel training and disaster response.-VNA