Joint naval patrols held

Joint naval patrols held

HANOI (Reuters): Vietnam and Thailand will hold their first joint naval patrols in November to guarantee security for ships exploiting oil and gas in the Gulf of Thailand, the official Vietnam News Agency (VNA) said.

The two countries signed an agreement last August to divide overlapping oil and gas blocks along their territory in the Gulf of Thailand.

"The naval forces of Vietnam and Thailand, through joint patrols of the sea, will enhance their friendship and will ensure security for vessels to effectively exploit natural resources in the Gulf of Thailand," the VNA report, seen yesterday, said.

VNA said regulations on the joint patrols were fixed during a visit this week to Vietnam by senior Thai naval officials.

The agreement comes ahead of a planned trip to Vietnam by Cambodian First Prime Minister Ung Huot possibly in early June for talks expected to focus on disputed areas in the Gulf of Thailand.