Summation of 30 years of reform and the Political Report at the 12th Party Congress have emphasised five lessons learnt, including the lesson about “putting national interests first; persisting in independence and self-reliance while proactively and actively undertaking international integration on the basis of equality and mutual benefit; combining national power with power of the age in building and firmly safeguarding the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland”. Accordingly, the interests of the nation deserve further debate in order to generate consensus in terms of perception and action of the entire Party, people, and military in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland.

The interests of the nation have broad connotations, which include what constitutes necessary conditions for the longevity of a community in the name of a nation state enjoying sovereignty, independence, unification, and territorial integrity. They simultaneously reflect upward, comprehensive development of a nation in the direction of increasingly enriching and bettering the spiritual, material life of the community; ceaselessly improving the overall power, position, role, prestige, and national competitive capacity in the international arena. All nations around the world consider the interests of nation and people the core issues, most notably national independence, unification, prosperity, territorial integrity (including land, airspace, sea, offshore islands, continental shelf), people being the masters of their own countries.

Necessary conditions for the longevity of a nation state, which are content of the interests of nation, include independence, sovereignty, unification, territorial integrity, political regime in close association with the nation; peace and stability for national building and development; ceaseless enhancement of people’s spiritual and material life, overall power, competitive capacity, position, and prestige of the nation state in the international arena.

The interests of nation are made up of people’s interests and those of the class. However, these interests are not always coincident. When interests of the class and those of the nation contradict with each other, the country will fall into decay or even be destroyed. When nation’s interests and those of the class are homogeneous, the country will become prosperous and developed. The interests of nation are eternal while the interests of class are finite.

In Viet Nam, in the history of national building and defence, in the heyday of the feudal regime, special importance was attached to a harmonious combination of interests of class, ruling circle and people. Most of Vietnamese feudal dynasties were ready to put aside all private or family discord for the sake of the interests of nation, thus the king and his followers were unanimous, brothers were united, the entire country joined hands to protect and preserve the national borders. These factors served to bring into full play the people’s power to defeat many powerful enemies to gain independence, unification, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

In the Ho Chi Minh’s era, the interests of the working class, whose pioneer team is the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV), are always coincident with those of nation, of which the most sacred, important thing of Viet Nam is national independence, national unification, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity. Our Party has made clear that the CPV is the pioneer team of the working class and the pioneer team of the working people and Vietnamese people; a representative faithful to interests of the working class, working people, and the entire people. The Party’s goals are to build a Vietnamese country that is independent, democratic, prosperous, and powerful; an advanced, equal society free from exploitation, and successfully establish socialism and finally communism. The Party has no other goals. Thanks to the steadfastness, our country becomes stable and developed, our people enjoy a life of comfort. In the comprehensive reform period, the interests of nation and people remain unchanged, but have a broader connotation and various dimensions, including fundamental interests and development interests. While persisting in our fundamental interests, i.e. firm defence of independence, sovereignty, unification, territorial integrity, protection of the Party, State, people, and socialist regime, and preservation of peace and stability for building and developing a socialist-oriented nation, it is also necessary to attach importance to development interests, i.e. enhanced international integration and cooperation, ceaselessly improved prestige, position, and competitive capacity in the international community. The interests of nation and people are reflected through some basic fields.

In political terms, it is people’s choice of political regime and political system, where the interests of the nation and class are coincident; people enjoy independence, freedom, and masters of their own fate and society. In a political regime, which is imposed in nature, the interests of nation and people in political terms no longer exist. This is because the people always link to a certain political regime. When the political regime is in accord with the people, it will exist. In contrast, when the political regime is outdated, it will be automatically replaced by a more progressive, suitable one. As for Vietnamese people, our Party, Uncle Ho, and people have opted for socialism, where the interests of people and class are not only coincident, but also reformed and developed ceaselessly, ensuring that they match our people and our time. It is the socialist regime we need to protect.

Economically, it is the choice of economic system and economic mechanism, where the people are free to work and live, the productive forces are liberated and developed, and have advanced, suitable production relations. People have equal access to achievements of the economy. Their spiritual, material life is ceaselessly enhanced. Viet Nam becomes a strong country with prosperous people and a fair, democratic, civilised society. When an economy is imposed, exploitative in nature, the interests of nation in economic terms will be trampled on. In Viet Nam, the socialist-oriented market economy is a right selection. It is this selection that facilitates significant economic development, gradually improves people’s life, and ensures social security.

In social, cultural terms, it is the rights to bring into play the cultural values with our own characteristics, i.e., an advanced culture deeply imbued with national identity. The culture can be characterised by fine traditions of the country such as patriotism, community cohesion, indomitable spirits in the struggle against foreign aggressors, diligence, self-enhancement, safe and secure society, and people being the masters of their own fate. It is also the absorbance of mankind’s cultural quintessence in order to enrich national culture.

In diplomatic terms, it is the position and prestige of nation and people in the international community, the country’s ability to undertake deep and wide international integration, and competitive power of the interests of nation and people in the international community. It is equal international relations based on mutual benefit, respect for independence and self-reliance, and refraining from confrontation, dependence, and doing harm to the interests of nation and people.

In defence, security field, it is the national overall power in terms of politics, economy, culture, society, national defence, security, and diplomacy, manifested through military strength and deterrence in defence, security situations. It is also peace and stability for national building and development; social, cultural, economic, political security, national defence, and diplomacy; safeguarding of independence, sovereignty, unification, territorial integrity, the Party, State, people, socialist regime, and the cause of reform, industrialisation, and modernisation; building of a modern, elite, regular, revolutionary force.

The fundamental principle of Vietnamese revolution is to put the interests of nation and people first. The interests of nation and people provide a firm foundation for stability, development, and great national unity; create huge resources for the cause of reform; rule over all decisions of a nation regarding internal affairs and its behaviour in the international arena. These interests are also key factors that dominate planning of the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies and law. Our Party always affirms that the interests of the nation and the people are coincident, interests of the working class are identical to those of the working people and the entire country, it puts the interests of nation first, thus successfully establishing a robust great national unity.

The interests of the nation in the identification of goals in the Strategy to Safeguard the Fatherland. The Resolution of the 8th Plenum of the Party Central Committee (11th tenure) on the Strategy to Safeguard the Fatherland in the new situation specifies general objectives namely “firm protection of independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the Fatherland; safeguarding of the Party, State, people, socialist regime, the cause of reform, industrialisation, and modernisation, the interests of nation and people, political security, social order and safety, culture, and so on”. If awareness of the interests of nation and people is like what has been described above, the objective of safeguarding the Fatherland has categorised the interests of the nation as a content on a par with its own contents. Therefore, while developing a new resolution on the general goals of the Strategy to Safeguard the Fatherland, it is possible to rewrite as follows: “There needs to put the protection of the interests of the nation first, which includes firmly safeguarding independence, sovereignty, unification, and territorial integrity of the Fatherland; protecting the Party, State, people, the cause of reform, industrialisation, and modernisation, political security, social order and safety, culture, position, prestige, and capacity to undertake international integration of the country; upholding political stability and a peaceful environment conducive to building and development of our country in the socialist-oriented direction”.

Lieutenant General, Associate Professor, Doctor TRAN THAI BINH