Grasping the policies of the Party, Central Military Commission, Defence Ministry on international integration and defence foreign affairs, the 1^st Coast Guard Region has been synchronously implementing many practical, flexible and effective solutions to make these issues thorough and realistic, creating a peaceful and stable environment on the assigned waters, meeting the task requirements of protecting the Fatherland in the new situation.

The 1^st Coast Guard Region is tasked with training, maintaining operational readiness, patrolling, controlling, law enforcement, protecting the natural resources and environment, keeping security, order and safety, searching and rescuing at seas from the Bac Luan river (Quang Ninh province) to Con Co island (Quang Tri province), which are large in area, stretching 760km across 10 coastal cities, provinces and large ports in the “National marine spatial planning for the period of 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050” and owning an extremely important position regarding politics, security, national defence, foreign affairs, maritime economic activities, etc.

Clearly understanding these responsibilities, in recent years, together with the synchronous and comprehensive implementation of other work, the defence foreign affairs has been seen by the Region’s Party Committee and Command as a main content which needs to be intensely led and directed, contributing to improving the overall power to successfully accomplish its assigned tasks. In fact, the awareness and responsibilities of cadres, party members, staff and soldiers for doing the foreign tasks have been gradually improved; the coordination with other countries’ forces doing the law enforcement to exchange experience or coordinate to prevent transnational crimes, search and rescue, prevent IUU fishing, etc. has been deeply and practically performed. Activities of training, exchanges, visits and exchanges with the coast guards from other countries have been frequently and effectively conducted. Especially, the Region has frequently made a close coordination with Nanhai Department in China Coast Guard to propagandise and supervise the implementation of the Agreement on fishing coordination, the Vietnam-China Agreement on the Gulf of Tonkin boundary, contributing to building the peaceful and stable sea waters and developing the friendship and cooperation between the two forces.

Conducting drill with the Korean Coast Guard

At present and future time, the situations in East Sea in general, the sea waters under the Region’s management in particular are predicted to become more complicated with various issues of traditional and non-traditional security, threatening the peaceful, stable, free, secure and safe environment of marine and aviation. Meanwhile, the task scales of the Region have been larger with its forces doing their tasks independently and long at sea; the visits, exchanges and greetings of other countries’ Coast Guard to visit being more frequent; the specialised cadres doing the foreign affairs being insufficient, unexperienced and irregular of foreign languages, etc., which have caused many difficulties and challenges in conducting this important task. In this reality, in order to improve the effectiveness of foreign affairs, the Party Committee and Command of the Region intensely leads and directs the implementation of some tasks and solutions as follows:

At first, the Region enhances the education for the party committees and commands at all levels, cadres, staff and soldiers to have full and deep awareness of the importance, position and role of international integration and defence foreign affairs in the new situation; clearly see the complex and sensitive difficulties in working in the international environments, etc. so that they could define their motive, attitude and responsibilities to become united, proactive and creative to overcome difficulties and challenges and successfully accomplish all assigned tasks. The training contents should be comprehensive but focused, concentrating on the viewpoints and policies of the Party, guidelines of the Central Military Commission, Defence Ministry on the international integration and defence foreign affairs; aims, requirements, regulations and rules in international cooperation for the Coast Guard, especially the high demands when working in the international environment; standards of politics, ethics, lifestyle, knowledge of international law, professional competence, foreign languages, IT; plots and tricks of hostile forces, etc., through which, to help cadres and soldiers have deep and wide awareness, ceaselessly strengthen their viewpoint, cultivate the noble qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers – Vietnam Coast Guard Soldiers”, learn and perfect themselves – “accomplish any missions, and surmount any difficulties”. The Region pays attention to training and cultivating cadres to be sharp in politics, comply with the high-level public awareness, be cautious about solving any problems existing and arising in the relations with other countries, assuring all activities and situations are properly handled according to the Party’s viewpoints and policies, and the international law. To gain the practical effectiveness, the Region continues to enhance the renovation and diversity of training forms and solutions closely to the features of the areas, learners, functions and tasks of units through activities such as: seminars, conferences, training courses, specialised subjects, contests, exchanges, experience exchanges, etc.

To make each action of cadres, staff and soldiers correct, flexible, creative and effective, the Region’s Party Committee and Command pay attention to improving the ability of leadership and direction for all-level party committees and commands. Thoroughly grasping the policies of the Central Military Commission, directives and plans of the Defence Ministry and Vietnam Coast Guard on being proactive and intense in cooperation and improving the effectiveness of defence international integration, the Region’s Party Committee built Programme No. 750/CTr-ĐU, dated 07 June 2024 on “Implementing Resolution No. 2662-NQ/QUTW, dated 26 February 2024 by the Central Military Commission on the international integration and defence foreign affairs to 2030 and the following years”, which clearly defined contents, solutions, steps, time and detailed goals; assigned responsibility to each individual, office and units. The Region’s Party Committee, on this basis, directs the party committees and party organisations at all levels to strictly grasp and implement the Programme, and carefully check the related contents to include in their periodical resolutions; commands all levels to concretise them into detailed plans, assuring the unity and synchronicity, gaining the practical and sustainable results.

From the fact that cadres and staff have frequently had a close contact and worked with many people from other countries and territorial regions, the Region’s Party Committee had intensely led and directed offices and units to well implement the protection of internal politics, raise the vigilance, keep the State and military secrets, proactively prevent and struggle against plots, tricks and activities of infiltration, getting contacts, temptation and sabotage by the hostile forces, at the same time, effectively conducts the inspection and monitoring; makes initial and final summaries of the defence foreign affairs as the bases to draw experience and improve the quality and effectiveness, meeting the task requirements in the new situation.

As foreign affairs are a special task, any manifestation of incompetence or immaturity of military, social knowledge, etc. leads to bad consequences. Hence, the Region has paid attention to education and training to improve the competence and skills of foreign affairs for cadres and staff. The Region has intensely invested into building the contingent of cadres and staff doing the foreign affairs sufficiently in quantity and highly in quality, who are professional and modern, having a stable political spirit, good ethics, professional expertise and foreign languages; being clearly aware of the international, regional and national situations, and the task requirements of the units; being good at international law, diplomatic etiquettes, traditions and cultures of other countries, etc. To gain the above goals, the Region has intensely directed offices and units to enrich knowledge of international law, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), bilateral and multilateral agreements signed by Vietnam. To continue to implement the Project on “Educating and further training foreign languages for Vietnam Coast Guard in the 2022-2030 period”, the Region has sent cadres and staff to training courses of translation and interpretation, foreign languages, foreign reception, etc. in order to improve their foreign language capabilities. To turn the process of “education” into “self-education”, the Region’s Party Committee and Command have required the contingent of cadres and staff to clarify their responsibilities and tasks, be self-aware of their learning and researching, endlessly make renovation and creativity, meeting the higher requirements of the international integration. Every cadre and staff needs to clearly see the contradiction between the higher task requirements and their skills to continuously improve the comprehensive capacity, especially the “soft skills” when doing the foreign affairs activities, the ability of dealing with “sensitive” cases and other international-level problems, etc.

Implementing the policies of the Party on “enhancing the developing the multilateral foreign affairs closely combined with bilateral foreign affairs”, the Region has closely coordinated with other forces to create the general power, bringing the Coast Guard cooperation to a deeper and wider scale; closely coordinated with forces of Police, Navy, Border Guard, Fisheries Surveillance, etc., brought into play the all-people national defence, people’s security at sea to exchange information, research, forecast and timely solve the related issues without any passiveness and suddenness; combined with departments and units inside and outside the Army to effectively conduct the regulations on greeting foreign delegations to visit and work in the Region, assuring secrecy and absolute safety. To enhance the sharing and exchange of information, the maintenance of friendship and cooperation relations with forces conducting law enforcement at sea from other countries, the Region has directed all units to select forces to attend the training courses held by these countries; attend the exercises of searching, rescuing and solving natural disasters; attend the bilateral conferences, scientific workshops, forums, exchange of “Vietnam Coast Guard and friends”, etc. to greatly improve the professional competence, skills of solving situations at sea, and experience of working in the international environment for cadres and staff. Especially, the Region has closely coordinated with Nanhai Department in China Coast Guard to frequently update the information on any fishing boats violating the mutual sea waters, or information of sudden search and rescue; annually organise the joint patrols to prevent the crimes violating the law at the sea waters close to the allocation line in the Gulf of Tonkin between Vietnam and China, etc., contributing to maintaining the secure, safe and law-abiding environment at sea.

With a high political determination and many scientific, effective and through-breaking solutions in leading, directing and implementing, it is believed that the quality of the defence foreign affairs by the 1^st Coast Guard Region will have a stable development, meeting the requirements of managing and enforcing the law, maintaining the national security, order and safety on the seas and islands of the Fatherland.

Major General TRAN VAN THO, Commander of the 1^st Coast Guard Region