China-Myanmar Cooperation Adds New Energy

呜—" At 8 o'clock on the 28th July (9:30 GMT), a long siren rang on the Yangon River in Myanmar. This was the first time that the "Sea Patrol 01" round completed the Myanmar-China joint search and rescue exercise. The traditional and friendly maritime officials of neighboring Myanmar bid farewell.

“The four-day visit time was short, but the two sides exchanged their respective operating mechanisms, shared maritime management experience, and instilled new vitality into the traditional friendship between China and Myanmar.” For the first visit to Burma by the Maritime Tours 01 visit delegation of China Maritime Affairs Xu Guoyi, head of the delegation and director of the Shanghai Maritime Affairs Bureau, commented.

Various forms of communication

During the visit, the maritime personnel of the two sides were divided into several groups, not only the overall exchange of maritime business, but also a lot of topic exchanges; visits to the Myanmar Maritime Organization on the spot, and visits by Myanmar maritime officials to the “Ocean Patrol 01” ship; not only There are exchanges in maritime business and technology, and there are various types of cultural exchanges such as basketball friendly matches and Tai Chi performances.

The joint search and rescue exercises in Myanmar and China are even more interesting. During the simulation of the "Sea Tour 01" round sailing to a water area outside Yangon Port, the Myanmar Search and Rescue Center received a report that a 2000-ton freighter cabin was in flames and requested the "Hai Tour 01" round with fire-fighting towing function. Afterwards, the “Hai Zhou 01” round rushed to the site of the incident to implement fire extinguishing, and quickly towed the ship in distress to safe waters. The Myanmar Bureau of Maritime Affairs sent four boats to participate in the exercise.

“The exercise was very successful and pushed Sino-Burmese technical exchanges and cooperation to a new height.” After the joint search and rescue exercise in Burma and Myanmar, the commander of the Burmese side exercised heartfeltly to the captain of the “Sea Patrol 01” via a high-frequency telephone.

Encountered media "containment"

During his visit to Myanmar, the delegation visited many local media.

On the same day, the “Sea Patrol 01” berthed on the Yangon Port Terminal. Looking through the ship’s telescope, more than 40 local media reporters held the “guns and cannons” and waited on the pier early. After a brief welcoming ceremony, the media could not wait to visit and interview. At the subsequent media meeting, media reporters scrambled to ask questions. After the questioning time was set, some media reporters were still full of ideas. The relevant person in the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar said that the local media had signed up to participate in the interview one month ago.

In the following days of visits and exchanges, the delegation visited the local media as a "chasing" object; the contents of many visits have become the headlines of many local newspapers and the heavy news of television and online media. In the course of the China-Burma joint firefighting towing exercise, nearly 20 media once again boarded the "Sea Tour 01" round for close coverage.

Win a new opportunity

"It was too hard!" After the "Sea Patrol 01" round left Yangon Harbor, after talking about the feelings of Myanmar's maritime affairs department, the Chinese Maritime Mission "Sea Tour 01" round commander and the deputy director of the Maritime Affairs Department Yujiu Gang Still a little excited. He said that although the economy of Myanmar is currently underdeveloped, during the visits and exchanges, the Myanmar side is very enthusiastic and very motivated.

This is inseparable from the frequent exchanges between China and Myanmar and the frequent exchanges between China and Myanmar in recent years. Over the years, there have been one or two exchanges between China and Myanmar Maritime events each year. In recent years, China Maritime also trained a large number of professionals for Myanmar Maritime Affairs.

“Not only that, but China and Myanmar have a new opportunity to further enhance connectivity and achieve win-win results.” Yu Longgang said that China and Burma are both countries in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin, and the management of commercial vessels on this international river requires the two sides to further strengthen cooperation. Recently, the China-Myanmar oil transportation pipeline was officially opened, and the 300,000-ton crude oil terminal that it was supporting was also completed. In the future, China's imported crude oil can be transferred from Burma crude oil terminals and transported directly to China through pipelines. How the two sides can ensure the smooth flow of the new part of this new oil transportation channel is a new topic facing the country and a new opportunity for deepening cooperation.

Myanmar Marine has a deeper willingness to cooperate with China Maritime Affairs. The Minister of Maritime Affairs of Myanmar, MAUNG MAUNG OO, said that Myanmar’s society is currently undergoing a period of change, and that maritime development ideas urgently need to be adjusted and the pace needs to be accelerated. However, many experiences in China’s maritime affairs can be used for Myanmar’s reference.

The reporter learned that in the next step, China's Maritime Affairs Bureau will increase the export of Myanmar Maritime technology and management experience, and appropriately provide Burmese boat equipment, training equipment and other assistance.