The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has been exerting a powerful, multidimensional effect on every aspect of our country, including the mission to safeguard the Fatherland. Therefore, awareness of its opportunities and adverse effects is essential to the cause of safeguarding the Fatherland from afar today.

The emergence and influence of the 4IR are the most prominent features currently. The revolution, characterised by the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VA), Augmented Reality (AR), Social Network, Cloud Computing, Mobility Technology, Big Data Analytics, etc., brings about substantive changes in the evolution of productive forces. Among these advances, digital technology has witnessed enormous developments, produced breakthroughs in many fields, and brought about both opportunities and challenges for all nations. In the military aspect, many achievements in scientific research and technology have been applied extensively such as smart weapons, cruise missiles, combat robots, simulation training systems, command and control systems, intelligence, reconnaissance, and so forth. This application has a huge, comprehensive influence on operations command and direct combat on the theatre of war; changes training methodologies. It is within this context that the research and prediction of effects of the 4IR on national construction and defence in order to work out strategies to prevent the risk of war and conflict from afar are pressing requirements of our country today.

In fact, the cause of national construction and defence of our entire Party, people, and military in general, the mission of protecting the Fatherland from afar in particular, will be greatly affected by many factors, including the increasing influence from the 4IR. On the positive side, achievements of this revolution, especially in information technology and digital technology, have established an invisible connection, which creates intertwined interests among nations, including Viet Nam. This provides a firm foundation for promoting peace and cooperation for development and minimising the risk of war and conflict. In addition, our country is well placed to take advantage of the 4IR in order to speed up economic growth, creating material basis for strengthening potential and power in all aspects to safeguard the Fatherland from afar while giving rise to new conditions for further consolidating people’s confidence on the Party, State, and socialist regime and building a robust “people’s heart and mind posture” in the protection of the Fatherland. Nevertheless, the revolution is exerting an adverse effect. In the competition for political influence, the small, weak states will be induced to take sides. This is a challenge that Viet Nam is facing. Moreover, the 4IR results in great changes in lifestyle, culture, and ethics, which potentially leads to the emergence of individualism, egoism, and money eagerness, undermines values of the socialist culture, and weakens the strength of the great national unity. Advances in science and technology also enable hostile forces to make the most of tools and devices, especially the cyberspace, to do damage to the revolution in our country. In this context, to take advantage of positive effects while reducing the adverse influences of the 4IR on the mission to safeguard the Fatherland from afar, we need to identify and implement appropriate measures as follows:

First, raising cadres’, soldiers’ and people’s spirit of readily defending the Fatherland against influence of the 4IR. Protection of the Fatherland from afar is of significant importance in today’s cause of national construction and defence. This makes a huge demand on proactively preparing the country in every aspect, first and foremost in political and spiritual terms. Therefore, the most important solution is to conduct propaganda and education to improve cadres, soldiers, and people’s awareness of the relation between humans and weapons. Although the 4IR may lead to the emergence of AI and modern weapons and equipment, these weapon systems and equipment are all made by humans and used by humans regardless of their modernity. Humans are the primary factor, not the weapons and equipment. Consequently, levels, industries, and forces need to enhance education and propaganda with the aim of bolstering cadres’, soldiers’ and people’s confidence in the Party’s military, defence guidelines, military art of Viet Nam, ability to master weapon systems and equipment. More importantly, special attention should be attached to building “people’s heart and mind posture” and bringing into play people’s solidarity both at home and abroad to build and protect the Fatherland.

Second, enhancing ability to anticipate the influence of science and technology on the mission of safeguarding the Fatherland. The 4IR will continue to evolve and affect every aspect in both depth and width, which potentially make situations in the region and the world change in a rapid, complex, unpredictable way. Thus, to protect the Fatherland from afar requires studies and anticipation of factors having influence on national defence and security in order to work out responses without being surprised. Accordingly, strategic bodies need to apply modern tools and technical solutions to aid information collection and analysis and prediction of situations, most notably the risk of cyberwar; plots potentially undermining political, economic, social stability of the country; intrusion, collection of information and state secrets; spread of computer viruses and spyware. This will help to timely detect and defeat all plots to exploit modern means of communication for propagandising, distorting, and undermining the Party’s ideological foundation; prevent hostile forces’ and reactionaries’ plots and acts of “peaceful evolution,” riot, terrorism, and sabotage, avoiding being surprised in any situations.

Third, seizing opportunities offered by the 4IR to strengthen economic potential of the all-people national defence. According to Marxist-Leninist philosophers, economy is the key factor that decides on the scope, organisation, and staffing of the armed forces as well as the way of staging wars. Friedrich Engels affirmed that “there was nothing more dependent on economic conditions than the militaries and fleets.” Consequently, to create deterrence and firmly protect the Fatherland in any situations require the country to possess powerful economic, military potential and make every preparation since peacetime, including taking advantage of achievements of the 4IR for development. To do so, besides promoting comprehensive development of the country, there needs to proactively transform values of science and technology into economic potential of the all-people national defence, especially those of digital foundation, digital technology, modern technologies into realising the Party’s standpoint on “closely, effectively combining economic, cultural, social development with diplomacy, national defence, and security and vice versa”, ensuring that every step in socio-economic development is a step in strengthening national defence and security. Exploitation of scientific, technological achievements for socio-economic development must be associated with generating resources for building the revolutionary, regular, elite, gradually modernised People’s Army and People’s Public Security with some services, arms, and forces advancing straight into modernity, laying a solid foundation for building a revolutionary, regular, elite, modern People’s Army and People’s Public Security from 2030 onwards.

Fourth, increased application of the 4IR’s achievement to development of the defence industry of Viet Nam. The defence industry is most rapidly and deeply influenced by the 4IR. It is also a vital element of the national industry and national defence and security potential; plays an important role and creates premises for safeguarding the Fatherland from afar. The defence industry, therefore, needs to further grasp the Party’s viewpoint on “establishing and developing a modern, dual-use defence industry and security industry, which are capable of both  meeting the requirements of defending the Fatherland and making vital contribution to socio-economic development”; successfully implements the Directive No. 16/CT-TTg, dated 4 May 2017, of the Prime Minister on increasing capacity to approach the 4IR and the project of the Ministry of National Defence on “standpoints, objectives, and policies on proactively participating into the 4IR through 2030”, thereby taking initiative in creating breakthroughs for the defence industry in the new period. Attention should be paid to application of technologies to research and development of new weapon systems. It is necessary to continue to carry out some research projects that have gained initial outcomes; apply new technologies and 3D printing to production of the defence industry; innovate, modernise, and intelligentise existing weapons and technical equipment; design and develop new types of modern weapons and equipment to create material basis for establishing new units suitable to types of operations in the war to safeguard the Fatherland in age of the 4IR.

Synchronous, effective implementation of the above-mentioned solutions is one of measures to take advantage of opportunities and minimise challenges caused by the 4IR, contributing to successfully complete the mission of defending the Fatherland from afar.

Senior Colonel, Doctor., NGUYEN KIEM VIEN, Head of the Department of Military Science, General Department of Politics