Joint Circular No. 211/2011/TTLT-BQP-BNNPTNT guiding the coordination between the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in state management over the activities of the Coast Guard Force and the coordination of activities between the Coast Guard Force and relevant forces under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Vietnam's maritime zones and continental shelf.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for coordinating the implementation of state management between the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development regarding the activities of the Coast Guard Force and cooperation in activities between the Coast Guard Force and relevant forces under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Vietnam's maritime zones and continental shelf

Regarding the activities of the Coast Guard Force and cooperation in activities between various forces in Vietnam's maritime zones and continental shelf

on Vietnam's maritime zones and continental shelf

Based on Decree No. 66/2010/NĐ-CP dated June 14, 2010 of the Government promulgating the Inter-Ministerial Regulation on State Management over the Activities of the Coast Guard Force and Cooperation in Activities Between Various Forces in Vietnam's Maritime Zones and Continental Shelf;

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Based on Decree No. 75/2009/NĐ-CP dated September 10, 2009 of the Government amending Article 3 of Decree No. 01/2008/NĐ-CP dated January 3, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

Pursuant to Decision No. 257/2006/QĐ-TTg dated November 9, 2006 of the Prime Minister promulgating regulations on frequency band allocation for economic and social purposes, national defense, and security;

Pursuant to Decree No. 01/2008/NĐ-CP dated January 3, 2008, of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

The Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have agreed to provide guidelines for Clause 3, Article 5, Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 19 of the Inter-Ministerial Regulation on State Management over the Activities of the Coast Guard Force and Cooperation in Activities Between Various Forces in Vietnam's Maritime Zones and Continental Shelf issued together with Decree No. 66/2010/NĐ-CP of the Government (hereinafter referred to as the Regulation) as follows:

These joint circulars guide the coordination in implementing state management over the activities of the Coast Guard Force and cooperation in activities between the Coast Guard Force and relevant forces under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Vietnam's maritime zones and continental shelf.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

Relevant agencies and units under the Ministry of National Defense and relevant agencies and units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development related to the activities of the Vietnam Coast Guard Force.

Article 2. Applicability

Article 3. Responsibilities of the Ministry of National Defense (guiding Clause 3, Article 5 of the Regulation)

1. Exchanging necessary information and documents related to marine fisheries activities.

2. Participating in drafting legal normative documents concerning the fisheries sector that relate to the activities of the Coast Guard Force.

3. Directing the Coast Guard Force to coordinate with relevant forces under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the following areas of activity:

a) Patrolling, inspecting, supervising, detecting, preventing, and handling violations of Vietnamese laws and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party in marine fisheries activities in Vietnam's maritime zones and continental shelf;

b) Protecting state assets, lives, and property of individuals and vessels engaged in lawful activities at sea; protecting sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction; protecting resources; preventing marine environmental pollution; searching, rescuing, and mitigating incidents at sea;

c) Struggling against illegal activities at sea and preventing piracy and armed robbery against ships and boats;

d) Training professional knowledge in the fisheries sector and disseminating and popularizing fisheries laws for Coast Guard officers and soldiers; Disseminating and popularizing fisheries laws for organizations and individuals participating in activities in Vietnam's maritime zones and continental shelf.

4. Organizing a summary of the cooperation work between the Coast Guard Force and relevant forces under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

4. Organize the summary of the coordination work between the Maritime Police force and relevant forces under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 4. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (guiding Article 11 of the Regulation)

1. Clause 1 is guided as follows:

a) Providing legal normative documents, materials on marine fisheries activities; international treaties related to fisheries in which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member;

b) Providing various types of permit forms, documents, and professional certificates related to marine fisheries activities, including:

- Fishing permit;

- Certificate of technical safety for fishing vessels;

- Vessel registration certificate;

- Seafarer logbook;

- Fishery vessel seafarer logbook;

- Master and chief engineer certificates for fishing vessels;

- Other document templates applicable in the field of fisheries as prescribed by law.

2. Clause 2 is guided as follows:

a) Notifying the Coast Guard Bureau of the name, code, registration number, identifying features, route, and operating area of foreign vessels, vehicles, and boats hired from abroad by domestic organizations and individuals for fisheries activities in Vietnam's maritime zones at least five days before such foreign vessels, vehicles, and boats enter Vietnam's maritime zones for fisheries activities;

b) Foreign persons and vehicles participating in fisheries activities as stipulated in point a of Clause 2 of this Article, including those belonging to foreign enterprises and enterprises with foreign investment, when conducting investigation, exploration, exploitation, cultivation, collection, transportation, and fishery service activities in Vietnam's maritime zones.

3. Clause 3 is guided as follows:

Guiding and supporting the Coast Guard force in professional and specialized fisheries work to identify violations in the fisheries sector as a basis for handling according to the provisions of the law.

4. Clause 4 is guided as follows:

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of National Defense to establish plans for controlling violations in the fisheries sector in key fishing grounds, concentrated fishing vessel areas, and maritime zones adjacent to other national territories.

5. Clause 5 is guided as follows:

Taking the lead in organizing international conferences and seminars on fisheries cooperation; taking the lead in negotiating and signing international treaties on fisheries according to the laws on concluding, joining, and implementing international treaties; ensuring compliance with Vietnamese law and international treaties on fisheries in which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

6. Clause 6 is guided as follows:

Educating and disseminating legal normative documents concerning the Coast Guard force and legal normative documents concerning fisheries to organizations and individuals engaged in marine fishing activities.

Article 5. Responsibilities of the Coast Guard Force (guiding Clause 1 of Article 19 of the Regulation)

1. Providing the Fisheries General Department and relevant forces under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development with information and materials on violations of the law by foreign fishing vessels, Vietnamese fishing vessels in the waters and continental shelf of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; names of fishing vessels violating fishing regulations, forms of handling each case checked and handled by the Coast Guard force.

2. Promptly deploying support forces when requested by relevant forces under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in case of accidents involving vessels, boats, and vehicles operating at sea, and conducting inspections, controls, detections, preventions, and administrative penalties for violations in the fisheries sector according to the Government's regulations, managing the activities of foreign fishing vessels in Vietnam's maritime zones, and the Agreement on Cooperation in Fisheries in the Gulf of Tonkin between Vietnam and China, and other legal provisions.

3. Handing over case files, equipment, evidence, and offenders to the specialized fisheries inspection force for handling cases of law violations by organizations and individuals apprehended by the Coast Guard force within the jurisdiction of the specialized fisheries inspection force.

4. Directing Coastal Guard Zones to cooperate with Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, District Offices to perform state management tasks in the fisheries sector at local levels and provincial coastal specialized fisheries inspection forces to carry out fisheries tasks.

5. Taking the lead in summarizing the coordination work between the Coast Guard force and relevant forces under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 6. Responsibilities of relevant forces under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (guidance Clause 2, Article 19 of the Regulation)

1. The Fisheries General Department shall notify the Coast Guard General Department of types of vessels, boats, and equipment participating in fishing activities of foreign organizations and individuals permitted to enter and fish in Vietnam's maritime zones; violations of regulations concerning the use of Fishing Activity Registration Certificates, protection of living environments, protection of aquatic species, management of fishing activities, and management of fishing vessels.

2. In maritime zones with many fishing vessels and equipment violating laws, the specialized fisheries inspection force shall proactively coordinate with the Coast Guard force to jointly inspect, detect, prevent, and handle violations in the field of fisheries according to the provisions of the law.

3. Vessels, boats, and equipment of relevant forces under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have the responsibility to implement mobilization by the Coast Guard force in urgent situations to pursue and apprehend violators and their equipment, rescue victims, and respond to serious environmental incidents occurring in Vietnam's maritime zones.

4. The specialized fisheries inspection force shall accept case files, evidence, equipment, and violators of fisheries law violations transferred by the Coast Guard force within its jurisdiction.

5. The Fisheries General Department shall direct local Fishery Management Agencies to perform state management tasks for fisheries at the local level, and local specialized fisheries inspection forces shall cooperate and coordinate specifically with agencies and units under the Coast Guard force to carry out fisheries tasks.

Article 7. Implementation Organization

The Coast Guard General Department and the Fisheries General Department shall take the lead, coordinate, and cooperate with functional agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of National Defense to implement this Circular and have the responsibility to direct and guide subordinate units to cooperate and coordinate specifically to maintain the law in the field of fisheries in Vietnam's maritime zones and continental shelf.

Article 8. Effective Date

1. This Circular shall take effect 45 days from the date of signature and replace Joint Circular No. 27/2003/TTLT-BQP-BTS dated March 31, 2003 between the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Fisheries guiding coordination in implementing state management over the activities of the Coast Guard force and cooperation in operations between the Coast Guard force and relevant forces under the Ministry of Fisheries on Vietnam's maritime zones and continental shelf.

2. During implementation, if difficulties arise, agencies and units are requested to report to the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for consideration and resolution./.