Mass mobilisation within the Military is part of the party and political work; it is a top requirement for “an army ready for work” and reflects the revolutionary nature and tradition of our Military. Being fully aware of the importance of mass mobilisation and the ethnic, religious particularities in its stationed areas, over the years, the Anti-Drug Special Task Unit No.2 under the Command of the Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG) has actively, proactively taken synchronous, effective measures to perform the mass mobilisation work under the title “the VCG with the ethnic and religious people.” Doing so has helped promote the synergy of the entire Unit, people from all walks of life, local authorities, and relevant offices in drug prevention and combat as the basis for maintaining political security, boosting socio-economic, cultural development, consolidating national defence, security, and the great national unity block, cementing the relationship between the Military and the people, and building a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds.”

A conference to disseminate the Party’s guidelines and the State’s law on the ethnic and religious work

To effectively, continuously conduct the mass moblisation work amongst the ethnic and religious people, the Unit’s Party Committee and Command have strengthened their leadership and direction, with a focus on well performing the work of political education and ideological management for cadres and soldiers. Grounded on resolutions, directives, and documents by the Party Central Committee (PCC), the Central Military Commission (CMC), the Ministry of National Defence, and the VCG Command on mass mobilisation, particularly the 11^th PCC’s Resolution 25-NQ/TW and the CMC’s Resolution 49-NQ/QUTW on “enhancing the Party’s leadership over mass mobilisation in the new situation,” and the VCG Political Department’s Guidance 3098/HD-CT, dated April 8^th, 2019 on carrying out the mass mobilisation work under the title “the VCG with the ethnic and religious people” in the period of 2019-2022 and beyond, the Unit’s Party Committee and Command have considered mass mobilisation amongst the ethnic and religious people as a political mission and a yardstick for evaluating the task performance of all-level party committees, commissars, and commanders. Yearly, quarterly, and monthly resolutions by the Unit’s Party Committee have all mentioned specific measures and assigned responsibility to each person for mass mobilisation amongst the ethnic and religious people.

Due attention has been paid to closely directing political education and ideological management to raise cadres and soldiers’ knowledge of the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies, particularly on the ethnic and religious work. Cadres and soldiers have been educated on the particularities of mass mobilisation amongst the ethnic and religious people and the importance of this work to the Unit’s task performance. All-level party committees have placed emphasis on closely combining the work of propagation and education with refresher courses to equip party committee members and mass mobilisation solders with necessary knowledge and skills, while promoting the vanguard, exemplary role of cadres and party members, especially the key ones. Doing so has enabled the Unit to make a positive transformation in its cadres and soldiers’ awareness and responsibility and improve their capability and working method for mass mobilisation. Besides, the Unit’s Party Committee and Command have included mass mobilisation amongst the ethnic and religious people in the Determination to Win Emulation Movement and the patriotic movement to opportunely honour collectives and individuals with remarkable achievements and multiply typical examples.

Great value has been attached to diversifying the contents and forms of mass mobilisation amongst the ethnic and religious people. The Unit has organised many propaganda sessions, knowledge contests, rapporteurs’ conferences, students’ extra-curricular activities, and propagation programmes via mass media, while delivering mass mobilisation-related leaflets to citizens. Emphasis has been placed on disseminating the 11^th PCC’s Resolution on “the Strategy for the Homeland Protection in the new situation,” the Party’s guidelines and the State’s law and policy on seas and islands, such as the Law of the Sea of Vietnam, the Maritime Strategy of Vietnam towards 2020, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982), the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), the Fisheries Cooperation Agreement, the Agreement on the Delimitation of the Tonkin Gulf, the Vietnam Coast Guard Law of 2018, the  Law on Drug Prevention and Combat, and other legal normative documents on illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing control. Doing so has helped raise local citizens’ awareness of the Party’s guidelines and the State’s law and policy; moreover, the people have clearly understood the strategic importance of seas and islands, the defence of seas and islands in the new situation, the VCG’s function and authority, while heightening a sense of responsibility for safeguarding fisheries, observing Vietnam’s law, international law, and other relevant countries’ law, actively fighting against and denouncing crimes, particularly the drug-related ones to competent forces. 

In addition to propagation, the Unit has effectively implemented the work of mass mobilisation amongst the ethnic and religious people. It should be noted that in 2019, the Unit signed the Agreement on Coordination in “the mass mobilisation work amongst the ethnic and religious people” in the period of 2019-2022 and beyond with the People’s Committee of Nghi Quang commune (Nghe An province). In 2020, the Unit proactively closely cooperated with the party committees and authorities of Nghi Quang commune (Nghe An province) and Thach Kim commune (Ha Tinh province) in organising high-peak activities relating to mass mobilisation amongst the ethnic and religious people. In addition to propagation sessions with the participation of thousands of local citizens, the Unit gave over 2,000 national flags and first-aid boxes to vessel owners and fishermen at the fishing ports of Nghi Quang and Cua Sot, while presenting 500 gifts and 500 kilogrammes of rice (worth about 400 million VND) and providing free medical examination and medicine for religious households in difficulty. Furthermore, mass mobilisation amongst the ethnic and religious people has always been combined with the movements, namely “clever mass mobilisation” and “units good at mass mobilisation” as well as other movements and campaigns launched by localities, such as “remembering the source when drinking water,” “gratitude,” “eradicating hunger, reducing poverty,” and “building new-style countryside.”

Giving medical face masks and sanitiser bottles to the religious people for COVID-19 prevention and control

Against the complex developments of COVID-19, the Unit has collaborated with the People’s Committees of Phuc Tho and Nghi Quang communes in organising 15 propagation sessions relating to COVID-19 prevention and control for over 30,000 people so that they could understand the impacts made by the epidemic and conform to the 5K + vaccine regulations. It has also distributed over 250,000 medical face masks, 11,200 sanitiser bottles, and 250,000 leaflets of COVID-19 prevention and control, disinfected markets, commune-level people’s committee headquarters, parish churches, kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools, and harbours with a total area of about 100,000,000 m², and supplying 250 rations and 2,000 medical face masks for citizens of Nghi Loc district coming back from the South for quarantine, which has been highly appreciated and strongly supported by local party committees, authorities, and people.

The Unit has worked with other forces and localities to maintain political security and social order and safety in their stationed areas. The Unit’s Party Committee and Command have cooperated with the Navy, the Public Security Force, the Customs, the Border Guard Force, military offices, and local party committees and authorities in regularly holding news briefings and conferences to exchange information, orientate the work of propagation, and grasp the political and social situation at sea and in the coastal areas. Grounded on those sources of information, the Unit has stepped up drug prevention and combat effectively, while opportunely carrying out the work of propagation to encourage the people to remain vigilance and resolutely fight against the hostile forces’ “peaceful evolution” strategy, wrong viewpoints, and conspiracies to take advantage of ethnicity, religion, and human rights to undermine the great national unity block and the close-knit bond between our military and people, thereby making contributions to ensuring political and social stability in its stationed areas.

In 2020, the Unit made 7 new files of basic investigation in the areas, supplemented all the files in the provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, and Quang Binh, organised 2 investigations into the sea and island areas within the provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, and Quang Tri, cracked 35 cases and special cases with more than 20 kilogrammes of drug, arrested 37 people, charging 21 individuals involving 20 cases, including 6 large-scale special ones. Besides, the Unit’s Youth Union has promoted its vanguard role in working with the District Youth Union of Nghi Loc and the Commune Youth Unions of Phuc Tho and Nghi Quang to clean up village roads, plant and take care of trees within the Unit and the stationed areas, and repair martyrs’ cemeteries. It has also cooperated with Phuc Tho High School in successfully organising the Knowledge Contest entitled “I love the Homeland’s seas and islands” and the Programme called “traditional military etiquette of Uncle Ho’s soldiers” for more than 1,200 pupils. Additionally, art performances and sports exchange programmes have been held as significant contributions to building up the solidarity, close-knit bond, and mutual understanding between the Unit’s youth and local citizens.

The achievements in mass mobilisation amongst the ethnic and religious people gained by the Coast Guard Anti-Drug Special Task Unit No.2 have contributed to making a positive change in locals’ awareness and improving their mental and material life. More specifically, the majority of Christians and priests have abided by the State’s regulations on religious activities, while the relations between the Unit, local authorities, and the Church have been fostered, thus bolstering the image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers - VCG’s soldiers” in the people’s hearts and minds.

Col. PHAN THANH HAI, Commissar of the Unit