The High Command of Mobile Police Force under Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security has formed a new special police force tasked with ensuring security on Phu Quoc Island, off the southern province of Kien Giang.

The Special Police No.2 (E21), under the command of the Mobile Police’s Southwestern Regiment, is an elite force with high alertness, ready to respond to protect the island from terrorists, hijackers, kidnappers and other dangerous criminals.

“Phu Quoc is considered a special administrative-economic unit so ensuring political security for the island is a crucial task,” Lieutenant-General Pham Quoc Cuong, chief of the High Command of Mobile Police Force, said at the unit establishment ceremony on Friday.

“This is why Minister of Public Security [To Lam] has decided to establish the E21 on Phu Quoc.”

Lt. Gen. Cuong expressed his belief that the young officers under the E21 force will fulfill all assigned tasks with the best results.

Phu Quoc chairman Dinh Khoa Toan also hailed the special police establishment as a timely decision, at a time when crimes are on the rise on the island.

“Phu Quoc authorities and residents are all happy to see the Minister of Public Security taking action to help ensure security for the island,” he said.

Addressing the E21 officers, who are newcomers on the island, Toan said Phu Quoc authorities will create conditions to them to feel like home and effectively fulfill their duty.