Vice Admiral Gerard Valin, accompanied by the French Deputy Consul General and a small party of French naval officers, called at Marine Region on June 18 during a visit to the HKSAR on the French Navy Ship VAR.

Marine Regional Commander Chang Mo-see hosted the visit, the first session of which was an informal discussion on matters of mutual interest, including maritime anti-terrorist and anti-piracy response capabilities, disaster relief operations and promotion of bilateral co-operation. The Vice Admiral then toured Regional Command and Control Centre Marine and received a short briefing on the role and function of the Marine Police in Hong Kong.

The Vice Admiral is the French Military Commander responsible for a very large area from the east coast of Africa across to the eastern Pacific coast, including the Mainland. He emphasised the close links between law enforcement agencies and naval forces in combating common threats such as terrorism and piracy. He was full of praise for the professional and modern set-up of Marine Region and discussed the possibility of conducting some forms of appropriate joint training when the French Navy next visits the HKSAR, such as the forced-boarding of target vessels.

Marine Regional Commander Chang Mo-see exchanging souvenirs with Vice Admiral Valin