Located in the Northeast of Vietnam, Quang Ninh holds a position of strategic importance to national economy, defence and security, sharing a border of over 300 km with China, having more than 2,000 islands. Its total area of sea is about 6,000 km2. Quang Ninh is described as a “miniature Vietnam”. That geographic condition facilitates the province’s integration and comprehensive development but poses many issues to the work of border guard. In fact, in recent years, security and social order in its border and sea have witnessed complex developments, particularly violation of the Agreement on regulations on border management, intelligence and spying activities, and cross-border crime of all types, such as drug-related crime, smuggling, trading fraud, illegal immigration, etc. Violations of national waters, disputes over fishing ground, and fishermen’s use of explosives and smuggling have been on the rise.

Against this backdrop, adhering to the function and assigned task, the Party Executive Committee and Command of the Provincial Border Guard (PBG for short) have seriously grasped higher authorities’ resolutions and directives, and focused their leadership and direction on synchronously and comprehensively adopting measures for the work of border guard. In this regard, due attention has been paid to grasping the situation in border area, maintaining readiness for combat, improving the quality of anticipating the situation, giving recommendations to the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee and the Vietnam Border Guard’s Party Committee and High Command on guidelines and measures for managing and protecting national border security, and building comprehensively strong border area. Moreover, the PBG  has promoted the core role in cooperating with other sectors in counselling the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee to draw up and implement resolutions and directives related to border, such as the Directive 04/2009/CT-UBND on further managing and protecting the border after delimitation and demarcation; the Directive 06/2013/CT-UBND on increasing management and protection of sea border security; the Directive 19/2010/CT-UBND on improving the quality of border defence diplomacy in the new situation.

During the course of implementing the task, the PGB has directed units to closely cooperate with sectors, forces and people in implementing the plans for patrol and control. Over the past years, the PGB has captured and handled thousands of cases of drug trafficking, smuggling, trading fraud, while detecting and opportunely settling violations of the Agreement on regulations on border management, thereby contributing to safeguarding border security and social order in the border area. In 2017, the PBG captured and expelled 85 foreign ships violating national sovereignty and illegally exploiting seafood, while handling 5 cases of violation of the Agreement on regulations on border management, detecting and capturing 446 cases of drug, explosive, petrol and goods smuggling.

Currently, the demand for trade, international integration and immigration, and especially the flow of tourists, goods and vehicle in the province’s area are rising sharply. In the border gate of Mong Cai only, over 10,000 people cross the border every day. To successfully carry out the work of inspection and control, the PGB has synchronously taken measures for the improved quality of managing border gates. To this end, the PBG has actively modernized equipment for inspection and control, focused on consolidating organizational organization, built the border gates’ staff qualitatively, and accelerated administrative reform with the motto “one gate, one-time stop”. As a result, the PGB’s quality of managing border gates has considerably improved. In 2017, the PGB approved immigration of more than 5.2 million people and over 15,000 vehicles, which increased by 1 million people and nearly 4.2 thousand vehicles in comparison with 2016.

Delegation headed by Sr. Col. Dang Toan Quan inspects the system of border landmarks in the area of Binh Lieu district (photo: quangninh.gov.vn)

To provide the basis for safeguarding border sovereignty and security, the PGB has attached importance to counselling local party committees and governments to build political bases, boost socio-economic development, improve the material and spiritual life of the people in border area, build strong all-people border defence and people’s security, and bring into play the combined strength of the entire political system and people to conduct the work of border guard. Since 2013, Quang Ninh province has assigned 24 border cadres to be president and deputy secretary of border communes and wards, while 5 border cadres have been elected to district-level party executive committees, thereby strengthening the leadership of party committees and authorities of border localities. In addition, the PGB has counselled the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee to actively implement the projects to take people to Tran island to live in, to establish new hamlets and villages in the key border areas of the 2 border districts (Binh Lieu and Hai Ha) and Mong Cai city, to implement the project of embankments for protecting border landmarks and river banks, to build observing station on Tra Vi island, thereby fostering socio-economic development in line with the building of strong all-people border defence posture. The PGB’s offices and units have kept a close eye on the area, regularly carried out the work of mass mobilization, brought culture and medical services to hamlets and villages, while counselling localities to improve the quality of “all-people border defence day” and movement of people taking part in self-management and protection of borderline, landmarks, sea and islands, especially to maintain the operation of groups and households for protecting borderline and landmarks as well as that of hamlet-level security groups and fishing vessel groups. It is noted that the border post of Po Hen (Mong Cai city) has flexibly cooperated with China’s border management forces in propagating and disseminating 3 legal documents on border management to thousands of people from the both sides in shifts. The PBG has regularly given advice to the Provincial People’s Committee on approving projects in border area, while signing and effectively implementing programs and plans in cooperation with departments and sectors to facilitate socio-economic development, hunger eradication, poverty reduction, and construction of cultural hamlets and villages. Also, the PBG has effectively promoted the role of military-civil clinics in providing health services for the people, while successfully implementing movements and campaigns, such as “Home for the poor in border, sea, island areas”, “Border Guard joins hand in building new-type rural area”, and “supporting students’ schooling”, greatly contributing to building the all-people border defence posture, consolidating the bond between the Border Guard and the people in the border area.

Moreover, the PBG has proactively worked with the Provincial Military Command, the Naval Region 1, the Coast Guard Region 1 to exchange and provide information, to hold joint patrol and control to fight against crime, and to organize training courses, defensive zone, fire and explosive prevention and control exercises, anti-piracy and search and rescue drills in the sea. It has also cooperated with the Provincial Public Security Force in implementing the Government’s Decree 77/2010/NĐ-CP to well manage the area, prevent and fight against crime, maintain border security and social order. In cooperation with China’s Border Guard, it has organized dialogues, exchanges, joint patrol, search and rescue operations in the sea. In 2017, the PBG held over 40 meetings and carried out tens of joint patrols with China’s border management forces. Up to now, the province’s 7 border posts have twinned with border stations and posts of Fangchenggang city (China).

Actively, synchronously adopting the measures mentioned above, the PBG has successfully fulfilled the task of managing and protecting border sovereignty and security, greatly contributing to exploiting and promoting potential of border and coastal areas and sea ports to facilitate socio-economic development. In 2017, the PBG was given the Flag of Emulation by the Prime Minister.

Bringing into play its recorded results and experience, in the upcoming time, the PBG will continue to step up the building of comprehensively strong border offices, posts and stations, to regularly maintain vigilance, to grasp the situation, and to play the core role in closely cooperating with relevant forces in safeguarding border security and sovereignty, contributing to building Vietnamese-Sino border of peace, friendship, cooperation and development.

Sr. Col. Dang Toan Quan, Commander of Quang Ninh Provincial Border Guard