Plotting to “depoliticize” the military, hostile forces have always stopped at nothing to incite the complete detachment of the military from the Party leadership, to provoke divisions between the military and the people, as well as to wear down the military’s fine qualities of being “loyal to the Party, pious to the people”. Against this backdrop, it is essential that synchronous measures be taken in order to promote those fine qualities, contributing to further bolstering the image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers”.

For the last 74 years, under the Party leadership, the military has matured ceaselessly and managed to defy all the odds regardless of heavy sacrifices, thereby writing glorious pages of Vietnamese history and building up fine qualities of being “loyal to the Party, pious to the people, ready to fight and sacrifice for national independence and freedom and for socialism, and willing to fulfil every assigned task, to overcome every difficulty and to defeat every enemy”. Notably, being “loyal to the Party, pious to the people” serves as an all-inclusive moral benchmark, reflects the special relationship between the military, the Party, the Homeland and the people, and constitutes the core component of the revolutionary and working-class nature of the military.

Being “loyal to the Party” refers to the military’s unswerving loyalty to the Party’s revolutionary goals and ideals, their absolute loyalty to the people and the Homeland, their single-minded devotion to assigned tasks as well as their willingness to fight courageously and to sacrifice for national independence and freedom and the happiness of the people. This is the complete opposite of being “loyal to the King” in feudal societies and diametrically opposed to hostile forces’ claims that “the military stays out of politics”, “the military represents a non-class organization”, “as a violent tool of the State, the military is not subject to the Party leadership”.

Being “pious to the people” comes from the “blood and flesh” relationship between the military and the people. It reflects the military’s practice of building, fighting and maturing, who always stick to their only and ultimate goal of fighting for the people and serving the people. Being “pious to the people” has been evidenced by not only the military’s glorious feats of arms in wartime but also their deep affection, profound respect and effective protection for the people in any circumstance. The image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” helping the people with disaster preparedness and response, the building of new-style rural areas, hunger eradication and poverty reduction has fostered the people’s trust in the military in peacetime.

Nowadays, hostile forces are stepping up their sabotage activities by means of “peaceful evolution”, “self-evolution and self-transformation from within”, “depoliticization of the military” via cunning artifices. Against this backdrop, in order to promote the military’s fine qualities of being “loyal to the Party, pious to the people”, emphasis should be placed on the following.

First, maintaining and enhancing the Party’s absolute, direct and comprehensive leadership over the military. This is a decisive factor, which serves as a common thread running through the course of the Vietnamese revolution and the 74-year-history of the military. In the new situation, it is necessary to effectively implement the 9^th Politburo’s Resolution 51 and the Central Military Commission’s Resolution 513 on “continuing to perfect the Party’s leadership mechanism and adopting the one-commander system along with the political-commissar system within the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA)”. This lays a foundation for the continued perfection of the Party’s leadership mechanism as to the military in line with the current context. At the same time, importance should be attached to enhancing the leadership capacity and combativeness of commanders, particularly at strategic level, as well as making Party organizations clean and comprehensively strong. The Resolutions of the 11^th and 12^th Party Central Committees’ 4^th plenums should be effectively implemented regarding Party building and rectification while Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and lifestyle should be further emulated. The campaign “Promote traditions and devote talent to deserve being Uncle Ho’s soldiers” should be stepped up. It is essential to foster solidarity and unity, to strictly observe the principles of democratic centralism, collective leadership and individual responsibility, to promote self-criticism and criticism, and to enhance the quality of inspection and supervision. Doing so helps to maintain and enhance the Party leadership over the military while making the latter absolutely loyal to the former, the State, the Homeland and the people.

Second, ceaselessly enhancing the quality and effectiveness of political and ideological education within the military. Imbued with Uncle Ho’s teaching that “political awareness must be heightened among soldiers…Our military must become a true army of the people”, units should continue to effectively implement Project “reforming political education in units in the new situation”. For the sake of effectiveness, Party committees, political commissars, commanders and departments of political affairs at all levels across the military should thoroughly grasp the importance and urgency of reforming political education while promoting their sense of responsibility for measures for enhancing the quality of political education in accordance with military units’ specific circumstances. While the content of  political education among soldiers should be comprehensive, the primary focus should be on Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s Thought, the Party’s lines, the State’s policies and laws, key tasks of the Vietnamese revolution, the VPA and their own units, military discipline and their own assigned tasks. By means of various forms and practical measures, it is necessary to consolidate the Party’s ideological base, to counter wrong views, “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”, as well as to combat manifestations of negligence in the study of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s thought, the Party’s lines and resolutions, and the State’s policies and laws. Manifestations should be redressed, such as lack of vigilance; opportunism; individualism; degradation in political ideology, morality and lifestyle; breaches of discipline and laws. Doing so contributes to countering hostile forces’ plots to ramp up “peaceful evolution” and to “depoliticize” the military as well as to consolidating the Party’s ideological base within the VPA.

Third, continuing to enhance the quality of mass mobilization and to cultivate the blood-and-flesh relationship between the military and the people. This is a matter of significance and urgency to the VPA today. Therefore, military units across the VPA should thoroughly grasp and strictly observe the Party’s directives and resolutions on mass mobilization, especially the 11^th Party Central Committee’s Resolution 25-NQ/TW and the Central Military Commission’s Resolution 49-NQ/QUTW on “Enhancing and renovating the Party leadership over mass mobilization in the new situation”. Education should be promoted, generating profound transformations in awareness and sense of responsibility among military personnel regarding mass mobilization. Emphasis should be placed on promoting the emulation movement “Effective mass mobilization” associated with the military’s emulation movement “Determination to win” and campaigns such as “the whole people join hands in building new-style rural areas and civilized urban areas”, “the entire country join hands for the poor - No one is left behind”, “repaying debts of gratitude”. Agencies and units should continue to accelerate the implementation of Campaign “Promote traditions and devote talent to deserve being Uncle Ho’s soldiers” associated with that of the 12^th Politburo’s Directive 05-CT/TW on further learning from and emulating Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and lifestyle. The military should actively participate in strengthening the political system at grassroots level, consolidating the great national unity, speeding up socio-economic and cultural development, improving the material and spiritual life of the people, as well as maintaining political security and public order, especially in remote, religious, border, sea and island areas. Meanwhile, it is necessary to proactively identify and opportunely counter hostile forces’ sabotage activities while fostering the people’s trust in the Party, the State and the VPA, contributing to further bolstering the image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers”.

Against the backdrop of hostile forces’ frenzied sabotage activities along with unpredictable situations in the region and the world at large, those above-mentioned measures greatly contribute to strengthening the VPA politically, making them capable of being a sharp violent tool and the loyal and reliable political and combat forces of the Party, the State and the people in the cause of building and safeguarding the socialist Vietnamese Homeland.

Sr. Col. Phan Sy Thanh, (Ph.D.), the Academy of Politics, the Ministry of National Defense