The 1^st Naval Region is tasked with training, combat readiness and acting as the core for firmly managing and defending the sovereignty over the sea, islands and northern continental shelf of the country. Currently, the East Sea situation is seeing complicated and unpredictable evolutions, seriously threatening the peace and stability of the region and the investment and development environment. This has posed increasingly high requirements for the management and protection of sovereignty over sea and islands of the country undertaken by the Region. In order to fulfill its tasks well, the Regional Party Committee and Command are determined to lead and direct the synchronous implementation of many guidelines and solutions to improve the overall quality and combat strength of the Region to meet the requirements of its assigned duties.

Missile lauching during the TL-17 mission

First of all, the Regional Party Committee and Command focuses on leading and directing the building of a strong region in politics. Thoroughly grasping and strictly implementing the upper level’s resolutions and directives on Party building, directly the Resolution No. 5863-NQ/ĐU, dated July 8, 2008 of the Party Committee of the Naval Military Service on improving the leadership capacity and fighting strength of grassroots party organizations and the quality of cadres and party members in the new stage, the Region’s  concentrates on leading and directing the building of strong party organizations in politics, ideology, organization and ethics with comprehensive leadership abilities and high combativeness. Accordingly, all levels of Party committees and organizations have associated the building of clean and strong party organizations with the building of “3-typical Units”, comprehensively strong agencies and units; strengthened the management, education and training of the contingent of strong party members in all aspects. At the same time, they have focused on leading the conduct of the party congress at all levels for the XIII Congress of the Party in a serious manner in accordance with the prescribed principles and procedures. Moreover, the Region has strengthened its leadership to improve the quality of political and ideological education under the project “Renovating the work of political education at units in the new period”. During the implementation, the region has closely combined basic education with continuous education, education with political activities and ideological orientation for troops. Promote the emulation and commendation work and the Determined to Win Emulation movement; direct the emulation content into the implementation of political tasks, new and difficult tasks to overcome the weak points. Promote well the role of the task forces; proactively counter the plots and tricks of “peaceful evolution”, “self-evolution”, “self-transformation” and “depoliticisation” the Army of hostile forces. Regularly review and firmly grasp the internal political situation; grasp and manage the thoughts and aspirations of cadres and soldiers. The Regional Party Committee and Command have instructed its agencies and units to continue implementing strictly the Directive No. 05-CT/TW of the Politburo (12^th tenure) on promoting the learning and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and style associated with the implementation of the Central Resolution 4 (12^th tenure) on Party building and rectification and the Campaign “Promoting tradition, dedicating talents, deserving Uncle Ho's soldiers and the naval soldier”, with practical and effective works. Focus on overcoming the weak side, promptly removing difficulties and problems and promoting the role of a pioneering and typical role of cadres at all levels, etc. Thereby, equipping the cadres and soldiers with strong political zeal, absolute loyalty to the Fatherland, the Party, State and People, high will, determination, and the willingness to receive and complete all assigned tasks well.

As far as force development, regularity building and discipline management are concerned, thoroughly grasping and implementing the resolutions and decisions of the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence and the Service on adjusting the payroll organization, force development, the Regional Party Committee and Command lead and direct the breakthrough in staff organization, force building towards the “streamlined, compact, strong, mobile, flexible” direction, meeting the requirements of the mission of protecting the sovereignty of sea and islands and building the Region “revolutionary, regular, elite and modern”. Accordingly, the Region has actively reviewed and adjusted the reasonable number of payroll between agencies and units. Priority is given to units on combat readiness. At the same time, direct agencies and units to continue to thoroughly grasp and strictly implement thematic Resolution No. 130-NQ/ĐU, dated November 25, 2016 of the Regional Party Committee on leadership to strengthen regularity and disciplining and ensure safety, meeting the mission requirements in the new stage; strictly implementing the Directive No. 07/CT-TM, dated March 10, 2020 of the Chief of the General Staff on the implementation of “Disciplinary Year 2020” in the Army. The Regional Party Committee and Command strengthened the direction and guidance of Brigade 147 to build a pilot model for the Service in the period of 2017 - 2020 on the management of the soldiers, ensuring traffic safety and requesting agencies and units to continue to effectively implement the existing models. In the process of implementation, the Region attaches special importance to the positiveness and self-awareness of cadres and soldiers; bring into full play the responsibilities of the functional agencies and the pioneering and exemplary role of the commissar and commanders at all levels in inspecting, urging and resolutely overcoming the weak points at the agencies and units. As a result, a positive change has been made in regularity building, disciplining, ensuring high consistency in management, and command, administration, and effectiveness, efficiency in task execution, actively contributing to the construction of building a comprehensively strong and “exemplary and typical” unit.

In the context that its forces are diverse and its training is conducted on a large scale, in many different environments, while some forces often operates far from the unit, the Regional Party Committee and Command focus on improving the quality of training, combat readiness in order to raise the combat level and ability. The region has directed its agencies and units to thoroughly grasp and effectively implement Resolution No. 319-NQ/ĐU, dated December 5, 2013 of the Regional Party Committee on improving the quality of training in the 2013 – 2020 period and beyond. Focus on renewing the leadership, direction, management and administration of the training in the direction of: concentration, unity, and synchronization; promote decentralization in training; clearly separating the responsibilities of the commanders and functional agencies at all levels in coordination, direction, management, administration and training practice. At the same time, proactively make careful preparation for training, renovate and improve the quality of training and retraining of cadres at all levels, especially the new, supplemented and modified contents. Party committees and commanders at all levels have stepped up political and ideological education and the building of self-awareness, responsibility and determination for cadres and soldiers in performing the task of training and combat readiness.

Adhering to the motto: “Basic, practical, and solid” and implementing the breakthrough of the Service of: “Basic and intensive training in the exploitation and use of technical weapons and equipment, and adhering to safety rules”, the Region has led and directed its agencies and units to actively renew the contents and methods of training and drills, attaching importance to comprehensive and intensive training according to combat plans and tasks. Actively direct and guide Brigade 170 to implement the pilot model for the Service in the 2017 – 2020 period on “Regular in training and combat readiness” for replication throughout the Region. The region attaches importance to closely combining training with regularity construction and disciplining; strengthens command training and physical training for its troops. Thereby, the level of organization, command, management, administration and training of cadres at all levels, and the skills of non-commissioned officers and soldiers have been increasingly improved. Every year, the Region completes 100% of the training contents and programs for the subjects; its tactical rehearsals with live-firing meet 100% of the requirements, with over 85% of the contents are rated good and excellent, ensuring absolute safety.

In addition, the Region strictly maintains combat readiness regimes. The Regional Command has deployed measures to observe, regularly grasp, forecast and accurately assess the situation and activities of foreign forces in the East Sea. Proactively makes preparation in plans, forces, means, weapons, equipment, techniques, and be ready to handle situations, especially acts of violating the sovereignty of sea and islands by foreign forces in accordance with the Party's, State's guidelines and policies and international law; maintains a peaceful environment for firmly protecting the waters and islands under their assigned authority. In addition, the Region also focuses on leading and directing the good implementation of logistics and engineering, ensuring adequate and timely supply for activities, contributing to improving the overall quality and combat strength of the Region, and firmly defending the sovereignty of the Fatherland's sacred seas, islands and continental shelf in all circumstances.

Senior Colonel HO THANH HOAN, Political Commissar of the Region