According to the Resolution of the 13^th Party Central Committee’s 8^th Plenum on “the Strategy for Fatherland Protection in the New Situation”, provinces, centrally-run cities, and military region defence will be built into strong defensive zones. Thus, Military Region 4’s Party Committee and Command have focused their leadership and direction on realising this major, consistent line via synchronous measures to meet the requirements of Fatherland protection in the new situation.

Military Region 4 acts as a key strategic area of the country in many aspects, especially in defence and security. Over the years, basically, political and social situation within the Military Region has been stable; economic development has been restored; defence, security, and diplomacy have been strengthened; the people’s faith in the Party, State, and armed forces have been cemented. However, for objective and subjective reasons, the people’s life in some localities have been in difficulty; budget for military and defence tasks has been limited. Religious security, border security, rural security, and industrial zones in several localities have been faced with potential destabilising factors. Extreme weather, natural disasters, and epidemics have directly impacted on the building of potential and postures within the Military Region’s defensive zones. Fully aware of the Military Region’s importance to the whole country’s defensive posture, grasping the Party’s resolutions and directives, particularly the Resolution of the 13^th Party Central Committee’s 8^th Plenum on the Strategy for Fatherland Protection in the New Situation and the Government’s Decree 21/2019/NĐ-CP, dated 22 February 2019 on defensive zones, bringing into play national tradition and lessons drawn from the national liberation cause, the Military Region’s Party Committee and Command have exercised their leadership and direction over the building of increasingly strong defensive zones, thereby obtaining many significant results.

Ha Tinh provincial defensive zone exercise of 2023

First of all, the Military Region has directed offices, units, and localities to grasp and seriously execute directives, resolutions, and conclusions by the Party, the Central Military Commission (CMC), and the Ministry of National Defence on building defensive zones. Regulations on coordination between the Military Region Party Committee and provincial-level party committees in leadership and direction over military and defence tasks and the building of increasingly strong provincial-level zones and military region defence have been promulgated. At the same time, the Military Region has directed all-level military agencies to give advice to local party committees and authorities on consolidating steering boards for defensive zones and defensive zone supply councils at provincial and district levels. Mechanisms of Party leadership, State management, and coordination in staff work between Military, Public Security, and Border Guard forces and local organisations have been operated in an inter-connected, synchronous, gradually effective manner; the potential and postures within military region defence and defensive zones have been developed in a “basic, inter-connected, solid” fashion as the basis for political stability, socio-economic development, and mobilisation in the event.

The Military Region’s Party Committee and Command have paid due regard to developing political, spiritual, cultural, social potential within military region defence and defensive zones via proper, effective measures. Offices and units have promoted coordination in propagation and education to raise awareness and responsibility among cadres, soldiers, and citizens towards Fatherland protection, arouse patriotism, and bring into play national cultural values and the indomitable spirit of the Military Region’s armed forces and citizens in the new period. Besides, defence and security education has been enhanced to contribute to raising all people’s awareness and responsibility for Fatherland protection. Notably in 2023, the Military Party Committee Standing Board collaborated with party committees of 6 provinces to establish military party cells in all communes, wards, and townships, thus making contributions to strengthening the Party’s leadership at grass-roots level over military and defence work and the building of military region defence and defensive zones.

Under the mottos of “taking the people as the root” and building a “firm posture of people’s hearts and minds” within military region defence and defensive zones, the Military Region has directed offices and units to actively take part in building strong political bases, strengthening national great unity, stepping up “paying debt of gratitude” activities, and building new-style rural areas. At the same time, offices and units have been directed to raise the effectiveness of the fight against wrong, hostile viewpoints to protect the Party’s ideological foundation and opportunely orientate public opinion. The Military Region’s armed forces have promoted their core role in natural disaster and epidemic prevention and control, search and rescue to protect the life and property of the people and State. They have cooperated with other forces to patrol the border, opportunely prevent and crack trans-national drug trafficking and smuggling rings, and maintain political security in their stationed areas. The Military Region has directed offices, units, and localities to assist Lao authorities in building clusters of villages of development and collaborate with the Lao side to search, collect, and repatriate the remains of Vietnamese martyrs who died in Laos. Doing so has helped achieve a consensus within society, cement the people’s faith in the Party and State, and build an increasingly firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds”.

In the building of economic and scientific potential of military region defence and defensive zones, the Military Region has worked with provinces to closely combine socio-economic development master plans with military and defence strategic disposition. Priority has been given to building key, dual-purpose works for socio-economic development, defence and security tasks, and technology transfer for the manufacture of logistics materials. The planning of industrial zones has been closely appraised in terms of defence. The Military Region has worked with local committees and sectors to do planning for the period of 2021 - 2030, with a vision towards 2050 under regulations, thereby meeting the requirements of defence and security tasks and local socio-economic development in the long and medium term. At the same time, it has directed its units to develop a solid, smooth military communication system for leadership, direction, and coordination in the performance of different tasks. Due regard has been paid to developing infrastructures, equipment, means of transport, and both military and civilian health networks from grass-roots to military region levels, thus maintaining their readiness for mobilisation in the event.

Regarding force building, the Military Region has grasped and strictly executed resolutions of the Politburo and CMC on leadership over the organisation of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) in the period of 2021 - 2030 and beyond, with a focus on building its armed forces in an “adept, compact, strong, balanced, synchronised” manner and re-organising its offices and units under the pre-set road map. Due attention has been paid to building a strong, extensive militia and self-defence force and establishing the structures of reserve units under regulations. The Military Region has actively renewed and improved the work of training, exercise, and combat readiness, while reaching all targets of defensive zone exercises at provincial and district levels in line with strategic operations on the Central battlefield and civil defence exercises. Resources have been exploited to develop components and postures within defensive zones, especially combat bases, logistics and technical bases, and key combat positions of the standing militia force along the land border. Doing so has enabled the Military Region to keep raising the strength of military region defence and defensive zones and firmly protect the Fatherland in the new situation.

Currently, the Military Region continues to step up the execution of the CMC’s Resolution and the Plan of the Ministry of National Defence on the organisation of the VPA in the period of 2021 - 2030 and beyond, making preparations for holding all-level Party Congresses for the 2025 - 2030 tenure and elections of deputies to the National Assembly and all-level People’s Councils for the 2026 - 2031 tenure. However, there are a lot of difficulties in socio-economic development and the people’s life. Hostile forces are promoting their sabotage strategy. Religious security, cyber security, rural security, industrial zones, and the Military Region’s Western border area are confronted with many potential destabilising factors. To build increasingly strong military region defence and provincial defensive zones, the Military Region’s Party Committee and Command will adopt some basic measures as follows.

First, strengthening all-level party committees and commands’ leadership and direction over the building of military region defence and defensive zones. This is a matter of principle to ensuring that the building of military region defence and provincial and district-level defensive zones will meet targets and requirements set by the Party’s Resolution on the Strategy for Fatherland protection in the new situation. The Military Region will direct all-level military agencies to give advice to local party committees and authorities on maintaining the Party’s absolute, direct, all-round leadership over military and defence tasks and the building of defensive zones. All-level party committees will focus their leadership on making a breakthrough in building all types of potential within defensive zones, particularly consolidating political bases, cementing the “posture of people’s hearts and minds”, and enhancing economic potential and military postures within strategic, key areas. Importance will be attached to raising the efficiency of organisations within defensive zones, especially Steering Boards for military region defence and all-level defensive zones. Coordination between relevant forces will be maintained to make situational assessments as the basis for giving advice to local party committees and authorities on dealing with situations.

Second, combining socio-economic development with defence and security consolidation, creating material and technical resources for the building of military region defence and defensive zones. In the medium term, emphasis will be placed on implementing socio-economic development projects in tandem with defence and security. Priority will be given to building dual-purpose works for both socio-economic development and defence and security consolidation. Due regard will be paid to constructing defensive works at provincial and district levels, key combat positions of the standing militia force along the border, headquarters of commune-level military commands, all-level training grounds and shooting ranges for combat readiness exercises of the Military Region’s offices and units. Besides, defence works, military zones, and the system of natural caves within the Military Region will be closely managed.

Third, promoting the core role of the Military Region’s armed forces in building military region defence and defensive zones. The Military Region will continue to effectively execute decisions on the organisation of the VPA in the period of 2021 - 2030 and beyond, building “adept, compact, strong” armed forces of the Military Region with high combat readiness and great capability in performing the task of defence mobilisation. Consideration will be given to building a strong, extensive militia and self-defence force and a powerful reserve force, raising the quality of training, exercises, and combat readiness, concentrating all resources on building components and postures within military region defence and defensive zones, and encouraging the armed forces to take part in building a pure, strong local political system to contribute to improving the operational quality of the political system at grass-roots level, particularly in the key, remote, isolated, border areas. The Military Region will well implement our Party and State’s policies for ethnicity and religion work, for the VPA and military families, and for the building of all-people great unity. Coordination will be fostered to foil all plots and artifices of hostile forces and opportunely orientate public opinion among cadres and soldiers of the Military Region and citizens. The Military Region will synchronously take measures to step up defence and people-to-people diplomacy to build a border of peace, stability, and development and create a solid protection corridor for military region defence and defensive zones.

Building increasingly strong military region defence and defensive zones is a strategic line of our Party and State. It is also a central task of the Military Region and a duty of the entire political system to increase the whole country’s defensive capability, ensure political stability, and create a favourable condition for fostering socio-economic development and protecting the Fatherland early and from afar.

Lt. Gen. TRAN VO DUNG

Political Commissar of the Military Region