Saturday, November 10, 2018, 12:36 (GMT+7)
Stepping up the construction of strong and stable defensive zones in the Military Region 2’s area

Building strong and stable provincial-level defensive zones is a basic point in building the all-people national defence and our Party’s consistent viewpoint in the Homeland construction and protection cause. Grasping that spirit and its area’s characteristics and conditions, the Military Region 2 has been accelerating the implementation of this task via synchronous, practical measures.

Located in the North and Northwest of Vietnam, sharing an over-1,375-km borderline with China and Laos, having great potential of land and natural resources as well as long-standing culture, history and tradition, the Military Region 2 holds a position of importance in many aspects, particularly in defence and security, to the whole country’s defensive posture. Thus, as for the Military Region, building the all-people national defence in general, provincial-level defensive zones in particular, is an objective demand and of significance to protecting the area and stepping up the cause of industrialization and modernization in each locality in the context of international integration. It should be noted that in recent years, the increase in natural disasters, especially flash floods and land slides due to climate change, and hostile forces’ intense sabotage have made the building of strong and stable defensive zones become more important. Fully aware of that, over the past years, the Military Region’s Party Committee and Command have closely cooperated with the party committees and authorities of 9 provinces in the area in making defensive zones increasingly strong and stable. That has contributed to effectively preventing and combating hostile forces’ “peaceful evolution” strategy, maintaining political security and social order, defending border sovereignty and security, and facilitating localities’ rapid, sustainable development.

Maj. Gen. Phung Si Tan inspects the combat readiness work of the Armour Company under the Provincial Military Command of Lai Chau

At present, our entire Party, military and people are making efforts to successfully implement the Resolution of the 12th National Party Congress for the sake of a wealthy people, a strong nation, and a democratic, equitable, civilized society. That goal has been imposing higher, more demanding requirements on the cause of strengthening national defence and protecting the Homeland. As for the Military Region’s people and armed forces, it is necessary to attach greater importance to building the strong all-people national defence, strong and stable provincial-level defensive zones, making the Military Region politically stable, economically strong, and powerful and capable of dealing with all possible situations. To achieve that goal, the Military Region’s armed forces should continue to grasp military and defence guidelines, resolutions and directives by the Party, the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the Ministry of National Defence (MND), particularly the 10th Politburo’s Resolution 28-NQ/TW and the Government’s Decree 152/2007/NĐ-CP on building defensive zones. Grounded on those documents, it is vital to cooperate with localities and forces in synchronously taking measures to making defensive zones increasingly strong and stable.

First and foremost, concentrating on building strong and stable politico-spiritual potential and posture of “people’s hearts and minds”. This is the basis for building other types of potential of a defensive zone. It is worth noting that taking advantages of the issues on ethnicity, religion, democracy and human rights, the hostile forces have been regarding the Military Region’s area as the centrepiece of their sabotage strategy to incite separatism, raise doubt and undermine the people’s faith in the Party and the State. Thus, the Military Region has demanded that the work of education and propagation must render all people fully aware that building strong and stable defensive zones is our Party’s strategy during the cause of national construction and protection as well as the responsibility of the whole Party, military and people with the armed forces playing the core role. All people must clearly understand that it is essential to make each zone and area, particularly each border area comprehensively strong, to expose the hostile forces’ nature, plots and tricks, and to maintain revolutionary vigilance. In addition, military offices within the Military Region must proactively counsel local party committees and authorities to build strong political system, mass organizations and socio-political organizations, especially in remote, isolated, border areas and those in extreme difficulty, thereby providing a basis for building strong and defensive zones right at grass-roots levels.

Besides, the Military Region’s competent offices should closely cooperate with localities, particularly Provincial-Level Councils for Defence and Security Education in renewing and improving content, form, and quality of defence and security education for objects, particularly grass-roots level cadres, young people, religious dignitaries, village patriarchs, and prestigious persons of clans to raise their awareness, resolve and responsibility for the cause of Homeland protection, including the task of building defensive zones. The Military Region’s offices and units must stay close to the area, well conduct the mass mobilization work, opportunely help the people deal with consequences of natural disasters and carry out search and rescue operations, join hand in building new-style rural area, and assist the people in hunger eradication and poverty reduction. That will help consolidate the people’s faith in the Party, State and Military as well as create the synergy to make the defensive zone in each locality increasingly strong and stable.

Fully understanding that economic potential is the material element which directly creates the strength of a defensive zone, the Military Region and provinces have focused on fostering economic development, closely combining economy with national defence, and ensuring that each step in economic development will consolidate the potential of defence and security. Based on each zone and province’s characteristics and conditions, military offices at all levels should advise local party committees and authorities on implementing economic programs in order to promote the area’s potential, such as natural resources, water resources, tourism, specialized agriculture, etc. It is necessary to persuade the people to settle down, assist them in production and business, transfer science and technology to them. At the same time, significance should be attached to aligning the planning of socio-economic development with the building of defensive posture in each province and the Military Region. As a result, in recent years, the economy in the area has witnessed sustainable development, and the people’s living standards have considerably improved (the rate of poor households has decreased from 29.63% in 2009 to 26.11% in 2011), thus creating important material condition for building defensive zones. The Military Region has also cooperated with localities in rearranging residential areas, particularly in border provinces, the areas of hydroelectric power projects and those vulnerable to land slide and flash flood, such as Dien Bien province’s residential areas, resettlement areas for Son La, Lai Chau, Tuyen Quang hydroelectric power projects, in order to both ensure social welfare and economic development and contribute to building strong and stable posture of the defensive zones. It is noteworthy that the Military Region has cooperated with localities in developing projects for economic-defence zones until 2020, vision to 2025 and in effectively carrying out projects on electricity, traffic, irrigation, school, clinic, cultural house. This is a matter of strategic significance to combining socio-economic development with national defence and security and the building of defensive zones in remote, isolated, border areas, which should continue to be implemented and multiplied.

To enhance the military potential – the core element in a defensive zone, the Military Region has improved the synergy of its armed forces in association with the completion of the posture of defensive zone. First and foremost, the Military Region’s Party Committee and Command have focused on building strong armed forces comprehensively, particularly in political, organizational and ideological terms. To do so, the Military Region has consolidated the organizational structure of its main forces, local forces, militia and self-defence forces and reserve forces under the MND’s regulations, with priority given to units tasked with combat readiness and A2 mission as well as to specialized forces. Moreover, it has stepped up the work of political education and ideological orientation, effectively implemented the MND’s Project on “renewing political education in units in the new period” in order to maintain the Party’s ideological front within each office and unit. At the same time, it has made a breakthrough in training work, with importance attached to the task-based and situation-based training, the improved quality of training, and the alignment of school-based education with hands-on training. Great value has been attached to renewing and improving the quality of all-level defensive zone exercises; to combining training with discipline management and regularity building. During the course of building the militia and self-defence forces, the Military Region has focused on improving the political quality and increasing the rate of party members. As for the reserve forces, in addition to the work of personnel preparation, registration, management, training and policy, due regard has been paid to training a contingent of reserve officers and enhancing their capabilities in organization, command and on-spot settlement of situations.

Furthermore, the Military Region has cooperated with localities in carrying out the work of planning and building the defensive zone’s military posture. Focuses have been placed on building combat works, such as campaign key positions, groups of defensive anchors, combat bases, headquarters, tunnels in parallel with making use of and upgrading natural caves into military works. In addition to the above-mentioned measures, the Military Region has directed functional offices to cooperate with and assist local party committees and authorities, especially border provinces in leading the work of defence diplomacy to contribute to creating the strength of the defensive zones.

In the upcoming time, the socio-economic situation in the Military Region 2’s area is still faced with difficulties and challenges; the hostile forces will step up their acts of sabotage with more cunning tricks; social evils and natural disasters will continue to be complex and unpredictable and impact on political security, social order and the task of economic development and defence consolidation in the area, including the building and operation of defensive zones. Thus, the Military Region will continue to tap the combined strength of all sectors and forces as well as adopt various measures to make defensive zones increasingly strong and stable, contributing to political stability and defence and security consolidation, meeting the requirements of Homeland protection.

Maj. Gen. Phung Si Tan, Commander of the Military Region 2

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