With the rapid development of science and technology, cyberspace becomes irreplaceable and plays an increasingly important role in developing the knowledge economy of each country and our country. However, it is also exploited to the full by hostile forces to sabotage our country, including our national defence and security. Thus, maintaining vigilance and fighting against distortions in this field is an important task in today’s ideological struggle.

Cyberspace is the combination of advanced technologies, such as the Internet of Things, quantum computing, cloud computing, big data, and quick access, allowing people around the globe to connect with each other multi-dimensionally and making the world borderless. In that current, Vietnam is among top countries which have the highest Internet growth rate, and at the top of the number of national domain names among ASEAN member states. Cyberspace and smart devices become increasingly popular and facilitate the development of our information society and knowledge economy. Our Party and State’s policy to foster the E-Government has helped minimize administrative procedures, enhance the efficiency of state management, and create a favourable condition for the people and enterprises to access the information. In addition, the efforts by many localities to build smart cities have bettered the living environment, facilitated the socio-economic development, and strengthened national defence and security.

However, cyberspace is being exploited by hostile forces, which poses risks and challenges to the country, such as the increase in large-scale, serious cyber attacks, the appropriation of property via e-commerce, fraud on the Internet, telecommunications networks and social networks, trans-national gambling, blackmail, depraved cultural products, illegal e-money business. It should be noted that taking advantage of quick, multidimensional circulation of information in cyberspace, a number of organizations and individuals both at home and abroad collude with one another to sabotage our country’s ideological foundation and political institution severely. On some websites and blogs, such as VOA, BBC, RFI, “Dan luan”, “Nguoi buon gio” as well as facebook pages, they distort and deny Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s thought, the Party’s Political Platform and guidelines, and the State’s policy and law, particularly our national defence and security. According to them, our Party’s guidelines on socio-economic development are dogmatic and not appropriate for the country’s condition; our policy on defence, security and diplomacy seems mistaken and lowers Vietnam’s status in the international arena. In addition to slandering and defaming cadres and party members, they flatter discontented elements, political opportunist, “democrats”, and “pioneers in democratic and progressive movements”. They support extremist nationalism and incite “patriots” to stage protests with a view to encouraging “street revolution” and “colour revolution” as well as political regime change.

On YouTube and several blogs and facebook pages, they publicly support the establishment of the so-called “civil societies”, “Former Vietnamese Prisoners of Conscience”, and “Brotherhood for Democracy” with the participation of several discontented elements and political opportunists to discuss the plots to sabotage national security and circulate documents on defaming leaders and distorting Central and local guidelines and policies. More than that, they act as “coordinators” in gatherings and demonstrations against the Party’s guidelines on maintaining stability for national development. Typical examples are the demonstrations against the Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation in the central sea environment incident and the protests against the Cyber Security Law and the draft Law on Special Administrative-Economic Units in Binh Thuan. Taking advantage of our Party and State’s efforts to prevent and combat corruption, they seek to steer public opinion while alleging that every cadre and party member commit corruption, the current regime is degenerate, and the Party’s fight against corruption is only the struggle among factions within the Party. When several cadres, including senior level ones are punished with disciplinary action, they immediately speak in an ironic voice that those are “fall guys” only.

Besides, hostile forces and political opportunists make best use of social networks to attack the Military and Public Security Forces. The centrepiece of their sabotage is that they deny the principle of the Party’s absolute, direct leadership over the People’s Army, the People’s Public Security and the national defence and security cause. They aloud ask for the depoliticization of the Military and the Public Security, and distort the Party’s guidelines on defence and security and the building of the people’s armed forces and the all-people national defence posture associated with the people’s security posture. At some forums of VOA, BBC and personal blogs, “democrats” judge that the Military is now “loyal to the Party” only instead of the Homeland and the people and that it is so engrossed in economic development that it ignores the task of defending sea and island sovereignty. They invent stories about “the real situation” in border, sea and island areas while distorting the significance of defence exchange programs in border lines to damage the relationships between Vietnam and its neighbours. Also, they post the intentionally staged clips and images on the Internet which are related to negative phenomena of the Public Security Force and relations between officers and soldiers and the military-civil relations in some military units to undermine the people’s faith in the Public Security and Military Forces. It is noteworthy that in early September 2018, before the Cyber Security Law took effect, on some blogs, they deliberately distorted the Law and believed that “when coming into force, the Law will kill the democracy in Vietnam or come to an end”.

History in the past 70 years has shown that hostile forces both at home and abroad have always closely colluded with one another to sabotage the revolution and the cause of strengthening defence and security. They make best use the achievements in science and technology to perform extremely subtle and cunning sabotage artifices. Thus, it comes as no surprise to see that when the National Assembly passed the Cyber Security Law, oppositional organizations and individuals both at home and abroad immediately simultaneously voiced their protest and alleged that the Law would deprive the people of the right to using the Internet and restrain Vietnam’s development. It should be known that the more developed our country and science and technology, particularly information technology become, the more severe hostile forces’ sabotage against the country’s reform in general, national defence and security in particular is. Thus, our Party and State should take effective measures to fight against hostile distortion while actively, opportunely providing official information for the people and well implementing the Cyber Security Law.

In the fight against wrong, hostile notions encroaching on national interests, defence and security in cyberspace, the most important thing is to defend the values of Vietnamese revolution. Realities in our revolution have proved the truth that thanks to the steadfastness in and the flexible application of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought, the Communist Party of Vietnam has united the people as one to defeat all enemies and gain glorious victories in the wars for Homeland protection and today’s national reform and construction. In the process of national industrialization and modernization, particularly in the context of the 4^th industrial revolution, hostile forces spare no effort to sabotage us in cyberspace. Therefore, we need to actively refute all distortions and defend the true values of the nation, the times, and our people’s cause of national reform, construction and protection. In this struggle, it is necessary to tap the synergy of all forces, particularly cadres, party members, the Military, Public Security, intelligentsia, and young people. At the same time, it is vital to promote the role of research centres and press agencies in fighting to unmask hostile forces’ distortions, clarifying scientific and practical foundations for the Party’s guidelines on national reform and military-defence tasks, and propagating our people’s achievements in socio-economic development and national defence and security.

Besides, we have to actively maintain the information battlefield. Defence and security is the matter of life and death for the country and the regime. Thus, people from all social strata and public opinion both at home and abroad have deep concern for this matter. To neutralize all hostile distortions, we need to provide official information for the people and press agencies both at home and abroad opportunely and transparently. In addition, we must be fully aware that the strengthened defence and security will help create a favourable, peaceful environment for the country’s development. Consequently, the people will thorough grasp the nature of events; all hostile distortions of national defence and security will be neutralized; all illegal propagation activities and gatherings will be exposed. It is certain that the process of implementation must be in accordance with legal regulations on speech and provision of information for the press.

To achieve the efficiency in the fight against hostile distortions and acts of sabotage, competent offices at all levels should widely and deeply propagate laws, including the Cyber Security Law while well implementing this Law. By doing so, we could settle the problem that a section of people are incited to commit acts of sabotage against political security and social order and safety. At the same time, it is necessary to affirm that promulgation of the Cyber Security Law is an objective demand and in accordance with the Constitution and the international conventions to which Vietnam is a signatory. The effective implementation of this Law will help protect the people’s benefits, political security, social order and national sovereignty, and greatly contribute to preventing and eliminating acts of sabotage in cyber space. More importantly, the Cyber Security Law will provide the legal basis and create effective mechanisms for us to proactively fight to thwart all hostile plots and sabotage; to refute all wrong arguments, to repel crime of all types and social evils, thereby greatly contributing to enhancing national defence and security.

Vinh Hien