Yesterday (Day), the ship formation composed of China Coast Guard's Meishan and Xiushan ships successfully completed the Sino-Russian Coast Guard annual joint exercises and patrol activities, and safely returned to Zhoushan. In the morning, the Meishan and Xiushan ships docked at the pier in sequence. The Second Bureau of the China Coast Guard held a grand welcoming ceremony at the pier to welcome the triumphant return of the formation.

During this event, the Chinese Coast Guard fleet set sail from Zhoushan on a specific date, passing through the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea, the Chukchi Sea, and entering the Arctic Ocean. They returned to Zhoushan on a specific date, lasting for days, with over hours of sailing and a total voyage of over nautical miles. During this period, the Chinese and Russian Coast Guards jointly held a series of activities including ship open days, deck receptions, and cultural and sports exchanges. They also conducted joint exercises in the waters near Peter the Great Bay, Russia, involving ship joint search, interception and boarding of suspected criminal vessels, rescue of people overboard, and firefighting on ships, testing their joint capabilities to respond to maritime security risks.

Captain Feng Ming of the China Coast Guard ship Meishan: We actively expand the connotation of our mission to safeguard rights and enforce the law, continuously hone the capabilities of our fleet to carry out diverse tasks, and fully demonstrate the good image of the China Coast Guard as confident, open, and professional.

On the date, the China Coast Guard entered the joint cruise phase, with both sides' vessels demonstrating close coordination and efficient collaboration, forming a fleet for the first time to conduct a joint cruise in the North Pacific high seas. They legally conducted inspection and supervision on working vessels, actively maintaining the fishing production order in the North Pacific high seas. During this period, both sides also jointly completed exercises such as joint search and rescue, joint damage control and life-saving, and joint search for illegal vessels.

Captain He Feng, Commander of the Chinese Coast Guard Vessel Formation: This mission is of great significance for consolidating and developing the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between China and Russia in the new era, deepening mutual trust and cooperation between the two countries' coast guards, and maintaining the security and stability of the North Pacific Ocean. In the next step, the Chinese Coast Guard will pragmatically carry out bilateral and multilateral maritime law enforcement cooperation, actively participate in international and regional marine governance, effectively fulfill international obligations, and demonstrate the responsibility and commitment of a major country.

China Coast Guard dispatches its main vessels for the first time into the Arctic Ocean. This mission, lasting for days, covering over hours of sailing, and a total voyage of over nautical miles, involved joint exercises and patrols with the Russian Coast Guard. Why did the China Coast Guard choose the Meishan and Xiushan vessels for this mission? What does the first entry of China Coast Guard vessels into the Arctic Ocean signify?

Reporters learned that the maritime police chose to dispatch the Meishan and Xiushan vessels, both of which are under the direct jurisdiction of the Second Bureau of the China Coast Guard. These two vessels are of a certain tonnage and can navigate in sea conditions excluding polar and ice regions, capable of withstanding certain winds. With sufficient supplies, the two vessels can sail continuously for a month.

Yang Xiao, an expert on oceans from the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations: The Meishan and Xiushan ships of this tonnage are not only the mainstay of China's (Coast Guard) fleet but also the general-purpose ships of international coast guards. Ships of this size have excellent comprehensive capabilities and are more suitable for on-site maritime law enforcement and long-term maritime presence, making them adaptable to various tactical uses. Therefore, they have become the preferred ship type for our coast guard's medium to long-distance patrols in maritime rights protection.

It is noteworthy that this Sino-Russian maritime police joint cruise is the first of its kind in history, and it is also the first time that the Chinese maritime police fleet has entered the Arctic Ocean. This not only effectively expands the maritime police's range of long-distance voyages but also comprehensively tests the capabilities of maritime police vessels in performing missions in unfamiliar waters.

Chen Xiangmiao, Researcher at the Huayang Ocean Research Center: This joint patrol with Russia in the Arctic Ocean, including around the Arctic shipping route, I think first of all, it is a breakthrough in the maritime domain. The sea conditions in this area are quite special. As an observer of the Arctic Council, China, in fact, Russia as a coastal state, the joint patrol between the two countries is also a very important attempt for the governance of the Arctic shipping route, which has great potential for the future.

Building the "Community with a Shared Future for Mankind in the Ocean" Demonstrates the Responsibility and Commitment of Major Maritime Law Enforcement Powers In recent years, China has actively fulfilled the relevant resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and the provisions of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fishery Resources in the North Pacific Ocean. What significance does the Chinese Coast Guard's maintenance of security and stability in the North Pacific Ocean have?

Yang Xiao, a maritime expert from the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations: Maritime law enforcement cooperation itself is a constructive act to maintain regional peace and stability. The maritime law enforcement cooperation between China and Russia (Coast Guard) actually sets an example for other countries, demonstrating the importance of friendly and constructive maritime law enforcement cooperation, and making constructive contributions to regional peace and stability through such cooperation.

The China Coast Guard's public reports indicate that in the year, the China Coast Guard Bureau focused on enhancing the standardization of maritime law enforcement, revising and issuing the guidance directory (Maritime Administrative Law Enforcement Matters Guidance Directory for Coast Guard Institutions (2023 Edition)), and formulating the administrative law enforcement procedure regulations (Administrative Law Enforcement Procedures for Coast Guard Institutions). Simultaneously, the bureau held 12 working-level meetings and high-level consultations with Cambodia, South Korea, Peru, and other countries, as well as 12 international exercises, strengthening bilateral maritime law enforcement cooperation. In the protection of fishery resources, the China Coast Guard Bureau, in collaboration with other departments, deployed and implemented special law enforcement actions during the marine summer fishing moratorium, successfully completing the fishery law enforcement patrol mission in the North Pacific high seas.

Yang Xiao, an expert on oceans from the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations: Over the years, especially with measures such as summer fishing moratoriums, maintenance of maritime traffic, control of oil spills, and management of marine environmental destruction, including the dumping of waste and wastewater, we have been upholding our maritime rights and interests in accordanceance with the law. More importantly, we have been leading neighboring countries and global partners to jointly protect the marine ecological environment, develop marine resources and energy together, and form a community with a shared future for the oceans.