Deeply perceiving the role of the masses in the cause of building and protecting the Homeland, on 17 October 1989, the Party Central Committee Secretariat (tenure VI) issued Directive 381-CT/TW, deciding the 22 December (Foundation Day of the Vietnam People’s Army) as the All-People National Defence Festival. On 22 December 1989, the first All-People National Defence Festival was celebrated in all localities nationwide. This date has become a big event, which gathers national power to safeguard the Homeland since then. Realities over the past 30 years have demonstrated that the All-People National Defence Festival is really a festive day of the whole people and of the tradition of national construction and defence. It is also a festive day to honour and multiply fine images of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers – People’s Soldiers” – a unique characteristic of Vietnamese culture in the new era. Besides, this date is an opportunity for propagandising and educating intensively and extensively about the national tradition of national defence and salvation fighting against foreign invaders, fine dignity of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers, patriotism, and love of socialism, thus raising awareness of the whole Party, people, military, and political system of the mission to build the all-people national defence and the all-people national defence posture in connection with the people’s security posture and “the people’s heart and mind posture” in the increasingly strong direction with the aim to strengthen the power to safeguard the Homeland while motivating the whole people to give their minds to building a powerful VPA, capable of firmly defending the socialist Vietnamese Homeland in any situations.

Gen. Luong Cuong works with functional bodies of the VPA on celebrating the 30th anniverary of the All-people's Defence Festival

As a result of successfully combining propaganda activities in the All-People National Defence Festival with effectively realising regular military and national defence activities, the sense of responsibility of the whole Party, people and military for the cause of national defence consolidation is enhanced, and capabilities of defense zones and national defence are firmly established and ready for mobilisation. Attention is paid to building the VPA in a “revolutionary, regular, highly skilled, and gradually modernised” direction, in which some services, arms and forces advance straight towards modernity with increasingly high comprehensive quality and combat strength. The “people’s heart and mind posture” is constantly consolidated and promoted. The all-people national defence in connection with the people’s security posture is built in an increasingly strong manner. Attention is attached to developing national defence and security education and defence industry. Defence diplomacy and cooperation activities are broadened in both depth and degree of effectiveness. These achievements have contributed to preventing the risk of war from afar, successfully responding to national defence situations, holding the initiative, firmly preserving independence, sovereignty, unification, and territorial integrity, and safeguarding the Party, State, people, national interest, peaceful environment, and stability for the building and development of the country.
Currently, political and security situations in the world witness complex developments and is difficult to be predicted. Sovereign dispute over territories and resources, ethnic and religious conflict, acts of interference and sabotage, local wars, and cyberwarfare continue to unfold in a complicated manner in many regions. Asia-Pacific, including the Southeast Asia, continues to experience dynamic growth and occupy an increasingly vital position in the world. The region, however, is the central theater of strategic rivalry among major powers and prone to many uncertainties. Dispute over territories and sovereignty over waters and islands in the East Sea still witnesses complex developments. Hostile forces enhance the implementation of the Strategy of “Peaceful Evolution” by means of many tricks and plots in the country. Their key objectives are to depoliticise the VPA, deny the revolutionary nature of the armed forces, sow division between the VPA and the People’s Public Security (PPS), incite and damage the great national unity. More alarmingly, they propagandise, induce and incite objection to the Party and State, making part of young people decline in revolutionary goals and ideals and fall into moral and lifestyle degradation, dereliction of duty and responsibility for the cause of building and defending the socialist Vietnamese Homeland.
Moreover, sociopolitical situation in some areas potentially confronts risk of instability. The protection of waters and islands is facing numerous difficulties and challenges. Therefore, the mission of building the VPA and consolidation and development of the all-people national defence in general, successful coordination of activities relating to the All-People National Defence Festival to firmly safeguard the socialist Vietnamese Homeland in particular, places very high requirements. To satisfy those demands, the whole Party, people and military should make every effort to successful realise the following content and solutions.
First, promoting the leadership and direction of party committees and organisations from the Central to grassroots levels on national defence construction and consolidation, ensuring the All-People National Defence Festival a true convergence of power to defend the Homeland. The Party exercises absolute, direct and comprehensive leadership over every social activity, including the building of the all-people national defence. First of all, party committees and organisations at all echelons need to be deeply aware of the role and necessity to build the all-people national defence and organise the All-People National Defence Festival, regarding this as one of the key political tasks undertaken parallel to socio-economic development, contributing to cultivating and maintaining sociopolitical stability and firmly upholding a peaceful environment conducive to the development of the country. The history of Viet Nam has proved that any regimes at any time would be defeated by foreign aggressors if they failed to attach importance to closely combining the two missions of national construction and defence. Consequently, consolidation of national defence and acceleration of economic development will create fundamental premises for accomplishing the two strategic tasks of the revolution, namely building and defence of the socialist Vietnamese Homeland. In other words, this is the inheritance and leverage of the tradition "National construction must go together with national defence" in the new era.
To make the All-People National Defence Festival really implant in people’s hearts and minds and mobilise people from various walks of life, party committees and organisations, commissions, ministries, sectors, and unions at the Central and local levels should thoroughly grasp positions and guidelines on military and national defence as well as new thinking about national defence of the Party, especially the guideline on building the all-people national defence in the process of stepping up national industrialisation and modernisation, open-door policy, international integration, etc., which are concretised into goals, requirements, content, missions, and measures to build and develop the all-people national defence in Viet Nam’s Military Strategy, National Defence Strategy, Strategy to Safeguard National Borders, Strategy to Safeguard the Homeland in Cyperspace, the 2018 Law on National Defence, etc., notably Decree 21/2019/ND-CP, dated 22 February 2019, of the Government on defense zones.
Second, continuing to enhance propaganda and education with the aim to raise awareness and responsibility of authorities at all levels, sectors and the whole people for the cause of building the all-people national defence and safeguarding the Homeland. It is important to promote propaganda and education to enable the whole Party, people and military to deeply perceive the Party’s positions and guidelines on building the all-people national defence and the people’s armed forces in the new situation. The propaganda and education focus on making cadres, party members and the masses well aware of our national defence, which is of the people, by the people and for the people, under the leadership of the Party and management of the State, and developed in the all-people, comprehensive, independent, self-mastery, self-reliant, resilient, and increasingly modern direction. The cause of strengthening national defence and firmly maintaining national security, political stability, social order and safety is an important, regular mission of the Party, State, the whole political system, and people, in which the VPA and PPS play the key role. Power of the all-people national defence is the overall power of the great national solidarity and the political system under the leadership of the Party. The All-People National Defence Festival serves to propagandise and educate authorities at all levels, sectors and the whole people in the goals, mottoes, directions, and missions of safeguarding the Homeland expressed in resolutions and strategies, the great role of people in the cause of strengthening national defence and protecting the Homeland, and fundamental content of building the all-people national defence in the new situation as may be prescribed by the 2018 Law on National Defence. Besides, it is necessary to heighten vigilance, resolutely and patiently struggle to defeat the hostile forces’ plot and trick of “peaceful evolution,” and prevent and combat “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” within the Party.
Third, innovating and improving the quality of organising the All-People National Defence Festival and the VPA’s Foundation Day to generate momentum for enhancing the revolutionary action movement nationwide. Pairing the All-People National Defence Festival’s celebration activities with those of the VPA’s Foundation Day presents an opportunity for the whole Party, people and military to look back on our people’s traditional history "National construction must go together with national defence" and the VPA’s glorious, effervescent tradition and the country, express our gratitude to the fallen heroes, honour prominent collectives and individuals of the armed forces and in people’s national defence activities, and multiply fine images and dignity of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” in the new era. Thus, the whole Party, people and military must have a proper understanding of the aforementioned position and significance so as to develop a sense of responsibility for execution. To achieve this goal, apart from effectively undertaking regular military and national defence activities, commissions, ministries, sectors, and unions at the Central level as well as party committees and authorities at the local level need to concentrate on innovating vigorously and comprehensively both content, forms and methods to organise the All-People National Defence Festival, attach importance to organising emulation activities, and combine the enhancement of productive labour, economic development, and the building of robust departments, units and localities with national defence and security activities. It is important to make good preparations and step up propaganda before organising the event. Both military and national defence activities as well as those in other aspects should be led and instructed in a close, considerate and comprehensive manner, avoiding flaunt, boilerplate, rigidity, and boringness. There needs to be more investment in time, money, energy, and intelligence for accomplishing the goals and demands laid out so as to make the All-People National Defence Festival truly meaningful and expedient while creating a healthy military and national defence cultural environment for all people and families to be ready to devote human and material power to the mission of safeguarding the Homeland.
Fourth, concentrating on developing potential, forces and the all-people national defence posture to generate the overall power to successfully complete the mission of defending the Homeland in the new situation. Building the all-people national defence covers a great deal of content, most notably capabilities, forces and national defence posture. As for as building of the all-people national defence capabilities is concerned, priorities are given to developing those in terms of politics, spirit, economy, science and technology, military, security, and diplomacy. In particular, the building of political potential is of paramount importance. Regarding the building of national defence forces, attention is paid to building strong people’s armed forces capable of playing the key role in building the all-people national defence, and building a “revolutionary, regular, highly skilled, and gradually modernised” VPA with enhanced overall quality and a higher combat readiness. The Reserve is to be made strong, possesses appropriate quantity and increasingly high quality, and is ready to be mobilised to reinforce the standing force, when necessary. The Militia and Self-Defence Force is designated as “robustness, extensiveness,” a faithful, trustworthy political force, fighting force, and working force of party committees, local authorities, departments, units, businesses, and so on. The building of the national defence posture must ensure uninterruptedness, robustness, suitability for areas, the posture of people’s war and the military art of Viet Nam, ability to combine the on-the-spot posture with the mobile one, and establishment of an extensive posture with the building of key posture focusing on vital directions, regions, targets, and strategic areas. There needs to renovate terrain, develop infrastructure and military, defence facilities within provincial, municipal defence zones, and take initiative in adjusting the disposition of the armed forces, contributing to establishing defence posture in each military region and strategic direction, and shaping a national defence posture which is uninterrupted, strong, in-depth, flexible transformation, and ready to deal with any situations successfully.
Fifth, stepping up studies, summation of practice, supplementation and development of theory of building the all-people national defence and propaganda work, and encouraging the masses to participate in the All-People National Defence Festival. Functional agencies, military colleges and academies need to closely collaborate with commissions, ministries, and sectors concerned to enhance studies, summation of practice, supplementation and development of theory of building the all-people national defence and people’s war to safeguard the Homeland, and renew content and modes of organising the All-People National Defence Festival. Based on outcomes of such activities, they advise the Party and State to issue legal normative documents, improve the Party’s mechanisms and modes of leadership as well as policies on promoting the effectiveness of state management on national defence in the new situation. Theory of building and consolidation of the all-people national defence to safeguard the Homeland is an important factor, which serves to guide practical activities. Outcomes of practical activities will, in turn, lead to continued summation, supplementation, and development of theory to satisfy the practical demands of building the all-people national defence. Thus, in the coming time, it is necessary to equip the corps of cadres, especially the key ones at various levels, sectors and localities, with knowledge and theory suitable to development of realities, enabling them to research, apply and develop the all-people national defence in the new condition in conformity with the Party’s standpoints and the State’s policies and laws with practical effectiveness.
Building the all-people national defence, strengthening national defence power, and enhancing defence capabilities of the country are critical, regular, urgent, and long-term missions, which require great effort and high political resolution of the whole Party, people and military. In particular, there needs to propagandise, incentivise and mobilise the masses to actively organise and implement the All-People National Defence Festival with an increasingly higher quality and effectivenss, making it truly become a festive day of the country – a point of convergence, pervasiveness and leverage of power to safeguard the Homeland.

General Luong Cuong, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Member of the CMC’s Standing Committee, Chief of the General Political Department, Viet Nam People’s Army