The Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN; Vietnamese: Hải quân nhân dân Việt Nam), or the Naval Service (Vietnamese: Quân chủng Hải quân (QCHQ), lit. ‘Service of Navy’), also known as the Vietnamese People’s Navy or simply Vietnam/Vietnamese Navy (Vietnamese: Hải quân Việt Nam), is the naval branch of the Vietnam People’s Army and is responsible for the protection of the country’s national waters, islands, and interests of the maritime economy, as well as for the co-ordination of maritime police, customs service and the border defence force.