As a border and coastal province located in the Northeast of the Homeland, Quang Ninh holds a position of strategic importance to the country’s politics, economy, defence, security and diplomacy. Promoting its potential, advantages, and spirit of renewal, over the years, Quang Ninh has implemented the three-breakthrough policy, renewed its growth model, restructured its economy, and transformed from “coal-based” development to “green” growth in line with defence-security consolidation. In the process, a part from favourable conditions, the province has been confronted with a lot of difficulties and challenges. The hostile forces have been enhancing their “peaceful evolution” strategy and encouraging “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” from within. The province has been faced with issues relating to site clearance during socio-economic development projects. Cyber and religious issues, narcotic trafficking, and social evils have been increasingly complex and negatively impacted on political security and social order and safety. Against that backdrop, the provincial armed forces have promoted their core role in building the all-people national defence, the posture of all-people national defence, the posture of people’s security, and the “posture of people’s hearts and minds” as the basis for the province’s rapid, sustainable socio-economic, cultural development.

First of all, the Provincial Military Party Committee (PMPC) and the Provincial Military Command (PMC) have advised the province to focus its leadership and direction on making the all-people national defence strong. Grasping resolutions and directives by the Party, the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence, and the Military Region 3’s Party Committee and Command, the PMC has assisted the province in developing and issuing many directives, resolutions, projects and plans on the military-defence work, such as the Resolution 03-NQ/TU, dated March 29^th, 2016 on “leadership over the military-defence work in the period of 2015-2020,” the Decision 04/QĐ-UBND, dated April 27^th, 2016 by the Provincial People’s Committee, and the Action Plan for the Provincial Party Committee Standing Board’s Resolution 03-NQ/TU. At the same time, those documents have been seriously introduced to all sectors and the provincial armed forces. Under the motto of “renewal and creativity,” the PMC has proactively cooperated with the province’s committees, sectors and departments in organising refresher courses to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of management of the military-defence work for local party committees, authorities, and head of offices. It has also given advice on consolidating the organisational structure of steering boards and councils for the defence-security task and raising their quality and efficiency of operation.

Training the self-defence force within businesses

To meet the requirements set by the Homeland construction and defence, the PMC has enhanced the work of education to raise the awareness and responsibility of cadres, party members and all citizens towards the building of the all-people national defence. The PMC has proactively advised the province to enhance the work of propagation and education relating to the military-defence task and the Homeland protection for all party members, people, and military staff, with a focus on defence and security education for all groups of learners and citizens. In the process, the PMC has promoted its function as the Standing Agency of the Provincial Defence and Security Education Council, while working with the province’s sectors, committees, and departments to well implement the Law on Defence and Security Education. Emphasis has been placed on providing defence and security education for key cadres at all levels, religious dignitaries, householders, and vessel owners in the border, sea, island areas. At the same time, great value has been attached to directing localities and press agencies to disseminate legal documents on defence and security, set up the all-people national defence column and page in order to provide official, positive information, prevent negative, evil information, and combat the hostile forces’ plots of “depoliticising” our armed forces and undermining the national great unity block. Coordination has been closely maintained to carry out the work of defence and security education for students and effectively implement the “Military Semester” Programme. As a result, the awareness and responsibility of cadres, party members, and citizens towards the Homeland protection and the building of the all-people national defence have been raised.

Building solid defensive zones is a central part of the building of the all-people national defence. Grasping the 10^th Politburo’s Resolution 28-NQ/TW, dated September 22^nd, 2018 on “continuing to build provinces and municipalities into solid defensive zones in the new situation” and the Government’s decrees on defensive zones, the PMC has cooperated with committees, sectors and departments in developing the Planning of the provincial defensive zone’s military posture, the Planning of the use of land towards 2020, and the Plan to use land in the period of 2016-2020 and investing in constructing provincial-level combat and logistics bases. It has directed localities to establish plans for their military postures, combat and logistics bases, and constructions within combat bases in the period of 2015-2020 and beyond. Besides, it has executed the Project on “building large-scale residential areas, giving employments to ethnic minority locals in the border area, protecting and developing border forests towards 2020” so as to bring the people to the border, island areas, build the force on the spot, and make contributions to consolidating the postures of national defence and security in the key positions. Grounded on the Master Plan for the socio-economic development of Quang Ninh province towards 2020, with a vision towards 2030 approved by the Prime Minister, the PMC has collaborated with committees, departments and sectors in closely appraising projects for socio-economic development and construction of industrial zones and infrastructures to serve both the province’s development and the defence-security task. To improve the quality and effectiveness of building defensive zones, the PMC has assisted the province in formulating projects and organising provincial defensive zone exercises, while directing localities to hold exercises of various types under the regulations. During such exercises, the province has required the armed forces to focus on some new points, such as performing the A2 mission, combating terrorism at sea, and receiving people from other countries as well as construct and complete works within combat bases. As a result, Quang Ninh has been the leading province of the Military Region 3 in the building of the military posture within defensive zones.

Furthermore, the province has focused on raising the armed forces’ synergy and combat power so that they would play a core role in building the all-people national defence. It has consolidated the armed forces’ organisational structure in a compact, strong, well-balanced, synchronous manner in accordance with each force’s function and task. Importance has been attached to building the main military force, the militia and self-defence force, the reserve force, and the public security force with the proper structure and the high quality as well as enhancing their synergy and combat readiness capacity. Over the years, the province has devoted effort to arranging and consolidating standing units, with priority given to the units tasked with combat readiness or stationed in the border, sea, island areas. The militia and self-defence force has been made “strong and extensive.” Mobile, coastal, border militia platoons have been effectively maintained, while the project on “building the militia force in the areas mainly inhabited by the ethnic minority people and improving the quality of militia units in Quang Ninh province’s border communes” has produced good results. At the same time, the reserve force has been made powerful with a high level of mobilisation. In addition to the force building, the province has placed emphasis on designing, supplementing and completing the system of combat documents and plans for coordination between Military and Public Security offices under the Government’s Decree 03/2019/NĐ-CP, dated September 5^th, 2019. Cooperation between forces has been maintained to manage border gates, sea ports, and Ha Long Bay and contribute to ensuring political security and social order and safety.

Moreover, the provincial armed forces have well performed their function as “an army ready for work” to build a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds.” Over the years, cadres and soldiers of the provincial armed forces have actively taken part in the movement titled “the Military joins hands to build new-style rural areas,” helped the people to construct rural roads, schools, and facilities, given financial assistance to poor households and families under the preferential treatment policy, and founded teams of propagation to organise the programme entitled “Tet holiday for the Military and the people.” At the same time, they have been in the vanguard of natural disaster prevention and control, search and rescue, thereby bolstering the image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the people’s hearts and minds. It should be noted that the PMC has advised the province on developing projects for COVID-19 prevention and combat. The provincial armed forces have promoted their vanguard, core role in epidemic combat and closely cooperated with offices and units in transporting citizens from other countries and territories back to Vietnam via the International Airport of Van Don. Thousands of citizens have been safely quarantined at the Regiment 244 under the regulations, which has been highly appreciated by local party committees, authorities, and people.

With its political resolve and creative, effective approaches, over the years, the PMC of Quang Ninh has always excellently fulfilled its task and made significant contributions to making the all-people national defence strong. For 9 consecutive years, it has been the leading unit of the Military Region 3’s Determination to Win Emulation Movement. It has been given certificates of merit by the Prime Minister and the Ministry of National Defence. Those achievements will provide a solid foundation for the provincial armed forces to realise the Resolutions of the 13^th National Party Congress and all-level party congresses for the 2020-2025 tenure as the basis for developing a wealthy, powerful Quang Ninh in terms of defence, security, and diplomacy and meeting the task requirements in the new situation.

Sr. Col. LE VAN LONG, Member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Board

Commander of the PMC