Facing complicated developments in the East Sea today, the Party and State need strategic solutions to firmly protect sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction, and national interests at sea and maintain a peaceful and stable environment for national development.

The world and the region are undergoing a period of complicated and unpredictable fluctuations, but peace, cooperation, and development are still the main trend and flow for the common benefits of the countries. The multi-polar and multi-centre trend is becoming the mainstream, while the role of regional organisations on continents is being enhanced to create interwoven relationships of strengthened cooperation and strategic competition. Sovereign dispute over sea and islands in the East Sea area is increasingly fierce and complicated. In addition, the involvement of a number of big powers outside the region has made this water a potential flashpoint.

Regarding our country, the achievements after 35 years of Doi Moi continue creating momentum for socio-economic development and defence and security enhancement. The perspicacious,  decisive, and effective leadership, direction, and administration of the Party and State, especially in socio-economic development, defence and security maintenance, corruption and wastefulness prevention and combat, and proactive, drastic, and flexible response to the Covid-19 pandemic have further affirmed the good nature of the socialist regime, strengthened the people's confidence in the Party, State, Army, and the cause of Fatherland construction and defence, and enhanced Vietnam's position and reputation in the international arena. However, hostile forces always seek to promote the strategy of "Peaceful Evolution", increase the use of soft attacks to make changes in politics, thoughts, ethics, and lifestyle, foster the "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" internally, incite and separate for "depoliticisation" of the Army, and undermine and disregard the role and prestige of the Party's leadership to abolish road to socialism in our country.

The above advantages, opportunities, difficulties, and challenges have posed new requirements for the defence and security cause to protect the Fatherland, especially sovereignty over sea and islands. Therefore, in the coming time, the entire Party, people, Army, and political system need to implement synchronously and drastically multiple solutions, particularly some main following  solutions:

Firstly, to build a strong maritime sovereignty protection and   law enforcement force to proactively protect sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction, and national interests at sea from early and afar. To take advantage of opportunities, promote and exploit advantages in the fields of politics, economy, culture, society, diplomacy, science, and technology, and promote the spirit of patriotism, national solidarity to mobilise resources and creativity from all walks of life to build a strong all-people defence and people's security and solid maritime defence and security potentials, forces, and posture to be ready to protect sovereignty over sea and islands from early and afar. To fulfill this sacred task, it is necessary to step up the building of the Coast Guard and Navy to be politically, ideologically, and organisationally strong and absolutely loyal to the Party, Fatherland, and People and have increasingly high overall quality and combat power, streamlined, compact, strong, mobile, flexible, and efficient organisation, and synchronous and reasonable organisational structure among the components that are capable of adjusting, expanding, and developing to be ready to meet all combat tasks.

To accelerate the modernisation of the Navy and the Coast Guard to make them more responsive to the requirements of defence, security, and law enforcement at sea and firm protection of sovereignty over sea and islands. To proactively integrate into international cooperation under the motto of maintaining strategic principles, being smart and flexible about strategies, having proper awareness of partners and adversaries in light of the Party's point of view, and deepening the relationships with partners, especially strategic ones, neighbouring countries, ASEAN countries and major countries. In addition, to strictly maintain the combat readiness forces, strengthen patrol, inspection, and control to grasp the situation at sea, especially sensitive waters, and promptly detect and handle incidents not to be passive and unexpected. At the same time, to proactively adjust and supplement appropriate response plans, options, and measures to suit problems that may arise at sea and firmly protect sovereignty over sea and islands and maritime economic activities.

Secondly, to constantly pay attention to, consolidate, and build the "people’s heart and mind posture" to create a solid political and spiritual foundation and synergy for the cause of protecting sovereignty over sea and islands. To pay attention to building and consolidating the great national unity bloc and relationships between the Navy and Coast Guard and relevant forces and the Party Committee, authorities, armed forces, and people in coastal areas and on islands. To strengthen fishermen's confidence in the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Border Guard, Fisheries Surveillance, and maritime militia. To step up the education and fostering of defence and security knowledge for cadres and soldiers of the Coast Guard, the Navy, the Border Guards and coastal and island people to contribute to raising their qualifications and working capacity to fulfill assigned tasks. The forces in charge of protecting sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction are to continue accompanying fishermen in operating offshore, protecting fishermen and fishing grounds, propagating laws to coastal and island people. To take the people as the root and promote their patriotism, sense of responsibility, dedication, and creativity towards the cause of protecting sovereignty over sea and islands and law enforcement at sea.

Thirdly, to properly assess the situation on waters and islands as a basis for protecting sovereignty over sea and islands. Facing the current complicated developments, more than ever, the Party, State, Central Military Commission, and Ministry of National Defence, directly the forces operating at sea need to properly assess the situation to realise the advantages, opportunities, difficulties, risks, and challenges and deeply grasp the undertakings and policies for defence, security, and foreign affairs of the Party and State. To expand and diversify relationships towards both cooperation and struggling to increase cooperation, avoid conflict, confrontation, dependence, and isolation, and focus on building a strong all-people defence and people's security posture to create a solid foundation for building an increasingly solid maritime all-people defense posture and people's security posture. To make all-round preparation to create an environment that is stable internally and peaceful externally with much attention paid to internal stability to ensure the country’s quick adaptation, peace, stability, and development - the prerequisite to shatter all intrigues, tricks, and sabotage actions of hostile forces and external influences.

Finally, to enhance the Party's leadership and the State's management over the protection of sovereignty over sea and islands. This is a matter of principle and a condition to ensure the fulfillment of the task of protecting sovereignty over sea and islands. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on building clean and strong Party committees and organisations among units that directly participate in protecting sovereignty over sea and islands with comprehensive leadership and high combat power to be the leading nucleus in agencies or units. To strengthen solidarity and unity in leading and commanding and strictly implement the mechanism of inspection, supervision, and discipline enforcement of the Party. To focus on consolidating agencies and the contingent of cadres in charge of law enforcement at sea and supplementing, completing, and promoting the role of Coast Guard working measures in protecting sovereignty and law enforcement at sea under the Vietnam Coast Guard Law. Basing on the undertakings and policies of the Party and State, to continue improving the strict system of policies and laws to suite the international laws and practices to protect sovereignty over sea and islands, especially the Strategy for Fatherland protection in the new situation, Vietnam Maritime Law, Strategy for Sustainable Development of Vietnam's Marine Economy to 2030 with a vision to 2045, etc. Ministries, branches, and localities should continue developing and completing the legal documents to create a synchronous and unified legal corridor in managing, enforcing, and protecting sovereignty over sea and islands to contribute to maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for national development.

As to protect sovereignty over sea and islands is to protect the Fatherland in the maritime direction - a regular and continuous task of the entire nation, in the process of implementation, it is necessary to study and supplement solutions to suit the real situation towards the ultimate goal of firmly protecting sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction, and national interests at sea and maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for national development.

Senior Colonel DAO BA VIET, Deputy Chief of Staff of Vietnam Coast Guard