Building and defending the Fatherland are two strategic tasks of Vietnamese revolution. In particular, consolidating and strengthening national defense and security are important and regular tasks of the whole Party, the people, the army, and the political system. To meet the requirements of current practice, researching and developing the theory on national defense and security is essential and necessary.

Currently and in the coming years, the world and the regional situation continue to have complicated and unpredictable developments, both creating opportunities and posing challenges and risks that have direct impacts on the building and defending of the Fatherland. Researching and developing the theory on national defense and security in the current period include multiple issues, especially the following two main content groups.

First, to continue researching and developing the theory on building the all-people national defense and people's security in the new situation. Researching and developing the theory on building the all-people defense and people's security in the new situation should focus on the key issues, such as: reviewing the practice of building the all-people national defense and people’s security in more than three decades of innovation; supplementing and developing the theory on building the comprehensively strong all-people national defense and people’s security; and directing to the development of the doctrine on the all-people national defense and people’s security in defending the Fatherland in the new era. In particular, focusing on researching solutions for building the potentials and forces for the all-people national defense posture in association with building the potentials and forces for solid people’s security posture in strategic areas and each province and city.

Regarding the building of national defense and security potentials, to continue researching and developing the theory on building comprehensive potentials in terms of politics, ideology, organizations, manpower, material resources, funding, and material and non-material forces while focusing on the main aspects of political-spiritual, economic, scientific and technological, and military potentials. The main content of developing the theory on building political - spiritual potential is to propose solutions to build, consolidate, and strengthen people’s trust in the political system, especially the Party and the State. In building economic potentials, to pay attention to solutions that closely associate economic growth with ensuring social progress and equality, and cultural and educational development and combine economy with national defense and security by branches, regions, and territories in building defensive areas at provincial and district levels. In building scientific and technological potentials, to find solutions to effectively cope with conspiracies and tactics of “peaceful evolution”, subversion, separatist riots, and “color revolution” of hostile forces under the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and, at the same time, to propose solutions to prevent and deal with situations of armed conflicts and wars in which enemies use high-tech weapons. To continue researching and summarizing the reality of armed conflicts and wars that occurred in our country's history and the world, especially recent wars to draw scientific and practical conclusions to suit the requirements and duties of national defense in the new situation.

Regarding the building of national defense and security forces, to concentrate on researching and providing scientific evidence for the building of politically strong People's Army and People's Public Security as a basis for improving the general quality and combat power, truly the political and fighting forces loyal to the Fatherland, the Party, the State, and the People. To find solutions for building the truly clean and strong Military Party Committee and Public Security Party Committee in terms of politics, ideology, organization, and ethics; to strengthen and improve the quality and efficiency of the Party and political work in the People's Army and the People's Public Security; to build a contingent of qualified and high-quality cadres with special emphasis on creating resources, training, and employing cadres at strategic and campaign levels. To study solutions for renewing contents and methods of training of armed forces, training of cadres and professional and technical staff of the People's Army and the People's Public Security; and to improve weapons, equipment, and vehicles to suit with the requirements of national defense and security in the new situation. To study solutions for exploiting all resources and applying the achievements of industrialization and modernization to the development of military science, arts, and technology; to accelerate the improvement, renewal, and supplementation of new weapons and equipment for the armed forces in the performance of the tasks of national defense, military, security, and protection of the Fatherland.

Regarding the building of the national defense and security postures, to study and propose comprehensive solutions for both internal and external, peacetime and wartime postures. In particular, in building the internal posture, to study and propose solutions for exploiting the factors of “clement weather - favorable terrain - concord among the people”, especially building “the people’s heart and mind posture” and “communal posture”; to solutions for building the provincial- and district-level defensive postures and the military region defensive posture in combination with defense, military and security situations both in peacetime and wartime; to combine building socio-economic infrastructure with building military and civil defense works and building the all-people national defense posture with the people’s security posture nationwide. In building the external posture, to study and propose solutions for effectively implement our foreign policy of independence, autonomy, diversification, and multilateralization of foreign relations and promotion of international integration to make more friends, reduce enemies, and enlist the sympathy and support of the world's progressive people; exploit and take advantage of the consensus and contributions of the overseas Vietnamese communities for national defense, security, and protection of the Fatherland. To study and propose solutions for enhancing and improving the effectiveness of defense, military, and security foreign relations to make practical contributions to raising the national position and repelling the risks of armed conflict and war. At the same time, to complete the theoretical framework for transforming the country and localities from peacetime to wartime and improving the readiness to mobilize forces and facilities, meeting requirements and tasks of national defense and security in all situations.

Second, to continue researching and developing the Vietnam National Defense Strategy and the National Security Strategy in the new situation. Researching and developing the National Defense Strategy and National Security Strategy in new conditions should focus on the following key issues: (1) Summary of practical implementation of Vietnam National Defense Strategy and National Security Strategy to supplement and develop the general theory on national defense and security in the new period. (2) Researching to expand and develop the concept of national defense and security suitable to the context of the new period. Based on fully grasping the Party's viewpoint on identifying partners and subjects stated in the “Strategy for defending the Fatherland in a new situation”, the armed forces should continue to further concretize implications of partners and subjects in specific areas of social life, in the field of military, national defense and security, in the environments of land, sea, islands, universal space, cyberspace, ... related to the task of defending the Fatherland.

To propose solutions for thoroughly overcoming the factors of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” internally and to proactively preventing and combating all conspiracies and tricks of “peaceful evolution”, subversion, separatist riots, and “color revolution” of hostile forces and deterring wars from hostile forces to maintain political stability and peaceful environment to build and develop the country. To closely coordinate the national defense and security with foreign affairs, regularly grasp the situation, and properly assess the conspiracies and tricks of the hostile forces on a national scale, in each field, and each strategic direction to timely propose accurate and effective methods and solutions. To continue to supplement and complete plans and solutions for proactively preventing and combating conspiracies and anti-sabotage activities of hostile forces in all situations without being passive and unexpected.

Researching and developing the theory on national defense and security until 2030 and beyond should adhere to the guiding ideology summarized in the 8th Central Resolution on the Strategy on the protection of the Fatherland in the new situation: “Closely combining the protection of the Fatherland with the construction of the country and national defense with security and economy; coordinating the national defense, security, and economic activities with foreign affairs while performing two strategic tasks of building and protecting the Fatherland; closely attaching the protection of the Fatherland to the protection of the Party, the State, the People, and the socialist regime; persevering in the direction of national defense and people's war; and building the combined strength of the all-people national defense to firmly protect the Socialist Fatherland in new conditions.

In researching and developing the theory on national defense, security, and protection of the Fatherland until 2030 and beyond, it is required to thoroughly grasp the Party's guidelines and views defined in the Credo, the National Party Congress’ documents, and the National Defense Strategy in the new situation.

Ph.D. TRAN QUOC DUONG, Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics