Fuzhou, FUJIAN - Multiple vessel accidents in recent years caused severe casualties and property loss in China's coastal regions. Coastal areas in four southern China provinces - Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan - are closely linked, mostly through business. While the provinces' business relationship is financially beneficial, multiple accidents have occurred due to frequent and intense shipping transportation.

At the 2010 joint meeting for maritime search and rescue work, officials presented statistics showing the four provinces in Southern China rescued 22,159 people in 2,853 rescue missions during the "Eleventh five-year period". The rescues also involved 8,704 vessels and 1,897 planes. During the meeting, rescue teams from China Marine Search and Rescue Center shared their experiences and collectively analyzed the past year's cases.

"On December third this year, 12 seamen were successfully saved by provinces' joint efforts on the Panama freighter named Hong Wei," a Fuzhou Marine Bureau official said.

Since 2002, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan provinces initiated a joint search-and-rescue mechanism. Through this platform, they are trying to strengthen the area's integration and coordination and share the resources with each other to achieve advantageous cooperation.