A three-day joint patrol conducted by Chinese and Vietnamese coast guards in the Beibu Gulf has been completed, playing a big role in maintaining the security and stability of the waters, according to China Coast Guard on Tuesday.

China Coast Guard said the patrol, which was carried out by two Chinese ships and two Vietnamese ships from Saturday to Monday, aimed to continuously deepen the maritime law enforcement cooperation between the two countries.

It was the first joint patrol by Chinese and Vietnamese coast guards in the Beibu Gulf this year, as well as the 27th joint patrol conducted by the two nations' maritime law enforcement agencies since 2006, according to a statement by China Coast Guard.

The two nations' coast guard fleets carried out the patrol along the maritime demarcation line of the gulf from south to north, during which they recorded and inspected vessels of the two countries and also sent cautions to fishermen, the statement said.

The patrol lasted a total of 49 hours over 255.5 nautical miles, inspecting 43 fishing boats — four from China and 39 from Vietnam — and cautioned the crews of 12 vessels, it added.

The joint patrol in the gulf, as a concrete move to implement the consensus reached by the two countries on deepening the cooperation between coast guards, is scheduled to be held twice a year, and it has become a model for maritime law enforcement cooperation in the South China Sea, it said.

The patrol has also helped conserve fishery resources in the gulf, maintain fishery production order, jointly fight against maritime crimes and guarantee regional security and stability, it added.

"China Coast Guard will continue to take the patrol as an opportunity to strengthen commercial exchanges and pragmatic cooperation with Vietnam, and properly handle maritime emergencies, so as to jointly maintain the security and stability in the waters and build the two countries into a community with a shared future that bears strategic significance," it said.