In the face of the strong impact and unpredictable consequences of non-traditional security threats on the cause of Fatherland protection, it is required that we deeply grasp and creatively apply the Party's viewpoint of Fatherland protection to determine the content and solutions to effectively respond to non-traditional security challenges, contributing to firmly protecting the Fatherland and successfully implementing the goals and tasks of the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress.

Building the national defence and security of countries in general and that of ours, in particular, is mainly for successfully dealing with traditional and non-traditional security challenges. Traditional or non-traditional security challenges may emerge as national security threats depending on different context and time. Meanwhile, Fatherland protection tasks are not only about defeating foreign aggressive attacks, but also preventing, repelling, and effectively dealing with internal challenges, as well as non-traditional security threats, such as: international terrorism, transnational crime, high-tech crime, environmental degradation, climate change, natural disasters, epidemics,... in order to maintain stability and foster the development and prosperity of the nation.

Non-traditional security challenges have, actually, been happening at different degrees and scales and greatly affected all aspects of social life, including defence and security sectors in the theatres of air, land, sea, cyberspace,... When those impacts cannot be controlled or handled ineffectively, they will cause defence risks. The risks caused by non-traditional security threats directly or indirectly will reduce defence potential and strength, destabilise the country's political security and may lead to conflicts and wars. Thus, national defence risks, especially conflicts and wars, are caused by many reasons, both subjective and objective, internal and external, including the impact of non-traditional security threats. Therefore, preventing, responding to, and repelling non-traditional security challenges has become an important task in the cause of Fatherland protection today.

Fully aware of the issue, the documents of the 11th and 12th National Party Congresses all mentioned non-traditional security challenges and specified that it is necessary to have accurate assessment and forecast of the situation and proactively take preventive measures to effectively prevent and respond in order to ensure security, safety, and maintain stability for national development. In particular, in the Documents of the 13th National Congress, our Party continued to stress that: "Global issues, such as: protecting peace, human security, natural disasters, epidemics, social security and non-traditional security issues, especially cyber security, climate change, sea level rise, environmental pollution... continue to develop complicatedly. Therefore, it is necessary to have proactive prevention, respond promptly and effectively to non-traditional security threats, especially the tasks of rescue and relief, prevention and control of natural disasters and epidemics". Implementing that policy, in recent years, the entire Party, people, and Military have actively and proactively strived to prevent and minimise the harmful consequences caused by non-traditional security challenges with synchronous and drastic solutions, contributing to firmly protecting the socialist Fatherland of Vietnam. However, in order to meet the requirements of protecting the Fatherland in the new situation, it is necessary that the following solutions be further thoroughly grasped and implemented:

Firstly, continuing to improve the policy and legal system regarding non-traditional security issues. Currently, the legal system concerning non-traditional security has been built relatively complete, such as: Law on National Security 2004; Law on Environmental Protection 2014; Anti-terrorism 2013; Law on National Defence, Law on Cyber Security 2018; Civil Defence Law 2023,... and many related legal documents. These are an important basis to prevent, respond to, and repel traditional and non-traditional security challenges in a systematic way from the Central to the grassroots levels. Nevertheless, due to the development of the situation and new requirements of tasks, many contents in those documents are no longer appropriate, even outdated,... which need to be reviewed, supplemented, and guaranteed to make them complete and effective.

Second, building the cyberforce really "elite, compact, strong, and modern", becoming a high-tech combat force of regional and international standards. In the new period, ensuring adequate forces and equipment for cyberforces to promote their core role in protecting the Fatherland in cyberspace is an inevitable and objective requirement, which must be paid due attention. Accordingly, it is necessary to proactively prepare resources, hold training and drills to improve their specialised technical and tactical skills; predict scenarios and make plans to successfully deal with cyber warfare situations, contributing to firmly protecting the independence and sovereignty of the Fatherland on land, air, sea and cyberspace theatres, thereby protecting the Fatherland early and from afar.

Third, preventing the risk of non-traditional security issues from transforming into traditional ones. Current practice shows that, in the context of the fast changing, complicated, and unpredictable security situation of the world and the region, many non-traditional security challenges can be transformed into traditional security ones, such as: maritime security, sea and island security; aviation security; religious and ethnic issues, and free migration; taking advantage of history to distort and incite ethnic hatred in strategic areas, etc. Especially, caution is needed for "proxy" wars and "unconventional" wars, which initially begin from non-traditional security issues, then leading the way to foreign invasive war. Accordingly, at first, hostile forces try to distort the nation's history, create pretexts, incite and divide the solidarity between Vietnam and its neighbouring countries, causing political instability and creating excuses for intervention, disputes, and conflicts at different scales. In the process, "proxy" entities will provide finance, weapons, equipment, consultants, and special forces to support, maintain pressure to gradually weaken us, then divide our territory or put pressure to claim territorial sovereignty,... which complicates the security and safety situation in the region.

Fourth, closely combining preventive measures with effective countering to non-traditional security challenges. Presently, non-traditional security threats are occurring every day and every hour at different scales and levels, in different forms and fields, on a regional and global scale, and are constantly changing, affecting all countries including Vietnam. Therefore, the effective prevention and response to non-traditional security challenges must be conducted continuously, without stopping. There should be a combination between prevention and response, preparation and practice, fighting and perfecting the mechanism, etc. The entire Party, Military, people and political system must show strong vigilance, be proactive, positive and determined to win in the fight against non-traditional security threats, contributing to preventing, repelling the risk of conflict and war, for protecting the Fatherland early and from afar.

Fifth, strengthening international cooperation in dealing with non-traditional security challenges. Unlike traditional security, non-traditional security covers non-military elements, exists not only within a country or nation, but may develop, influence, and spread quickly beyond the border, requiring the attention and involvement of the international community. Therefore, to create synergy in fighting, preventing and repelling non-traditional security challenges, it is necessary to promote cooperation with foreign countries and partners, especially neighbouring and regional ones. Areas of cooperation should be selective, focusing on issues, such as: training, exercises, disaster relief, humanitarian assistance, anti-terrorism, transnational crimes,... contributing to minimising the impact of non-traditional security on national defence, security, and firmly protecting the Fatherland in all situations.

Major General, Doctor TRAN MINH TUAN, Deputy Director of the Institute for Defence Strategy Study