Building politically strong armed forces with compact and lean organisational structure and improving training quality, regularity, self-discipline, etc. are the core content in enhancing the overall quality and combat strength of the entire Army. This is also a crucial issue that the Party Committee and High Command of Military Region 2 have been leading and directing with multiple coherent measures, which contributes to safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation.

Military Region 2 is an area of strategic importance in economic, cultural, and social development and the consolidation of national defence, security, foreign affairs, etc. of the Northern region and the entire country. Despite its rich potential, this region is mainly covered by mountainous and midland terrain and populated by ethnic minorities whose educational levels are uneven. Hostile forces take complete advantage of issues concerning “ethnicity” and “religion”, especially illegal missionary activities in these places to sabotage, which has a significant impact on the training, combat readiness and the building of the Military Region’s armed forces.

However, under the leadership and direction of the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of Defence and with the close coordination of local party committees and authorities, the Party Committee and High Command of the Military Region have comprehensively and effectively led, directed, implemented, and accomplish all military and defence tasks in 2022. Noticeably, the Military Region has actively coordinated with local party committees and authorities to promptly and effectively deal with all situations; directed its agencies, units and Military Command in provinces to coordinate with the Border Guard and other forces to monitor and keep abreast of the situation of airspace, border, domestic and peripherical areas, and cyberspace, especially key areas. Military agencies at all levels have promptly detected and advised local party committees and authorities to promptly and effectively prevent violations of our sovereignty, territorial integrity, and airspace in border provinces. The Military Region has also coordinated to keep track of the activities of reactionary forces and extremists in religious groups; fought and arrested reactionaries in combination with propagation to eliminate outlawed Duong Van Minh organisation and stabilise the situation in the localities. Importance has been attached to conducting advisory work to propose numerous guidelines and measures to handle all situations right from the beginning; handling and stabilising rural security. Coordination with units has been conducted to initiate the project on border patrol routes in Lao Cai; rebuild and upgrade 60 military and artillery control posts all over Ha Giang.

Commander of MR2 checks preparation work before exercise of Division 316

Additionally, the Military Region has actively directed its agencies and units to enhance the overall quality and combat strength to satisfy the requirements and tasks of protecting the localities. The Military Region has also promptly adjusted and supplemented plans and combat plans and stringently maintain order and combat readiness within agencies and units; effectively dealt with all situations, especially on the border lines and key areas to protect political events of the country, localities and activities of the Military Region’s armed forces. Importance has been attached to accelerating the implementation of three breakthroughs, enhancing the quality of training, exercises, education, the building of regularity, and discipline management to build all-powerful, “exemplary and typical” agencies and units.

In the forthcoming time, to enhance the overall quality and combat strength of the armed forces and ensure the accomplishment of all assigned tasks in any circumstance, the Military Region’s Party Committee and High Command will continue leading and directing the agencies and units to synchronously implement numerous measures, especially the following ones.

First, building politically strong Military Region’s armed forces to lay a foundation for enhancing the overall quality and combat strength. This content determines the development and maturity of the Military Region’s armed forces; ensures consistency with the Party’s absolute and direct leadership in all respects as well as full compliance with the leadership of party committees at all levels; and constantly maintains the directions and objectives for striving to accomplish all assigned tasks. To that end, the Military’s Party Committee and High Command must determine to attach much importance to good implementation of ideological and political education; enhance cadres’ and soldiers’ awareness of the Party’s guidelines, defence policies, the State’s policies and law, the conspiracies and tricks of hostile forces, and characteristics of new situations that influence the task of safeguarding the Fatherland and the localities. Agencies and units must accurately and fully implement programmes and contents on political education and legal dissemination and education; closely combine education with good implementation of Determination-to-Win Emulation movement and campaigns, especially the Campaign entitled Promoting traditions, devoting talents to deserve “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the new period. Simultaneously, the Military Region must grasp and strictly perform resolutions, directives and regulations on Party building and rectification, regulations on modelling of cadres and things that party members must not do; attach building party members to building a contingent of cadres, building party committee to building presiding cadres, building party transparent and strong committee and organisation to building all-powerful, “exemplary and typical” agencies and units; well implement the protection of internal politics, mass mobilisation, policy work, etc.

One of the key requirements at present is that agencies and units are required to concentrate on leading and directing the effectiveness enhancement of party work, political work in all tasks; the focus is placed on combat readiness, training, exercises, military and defence work in localities, and the consolidation of all-people national defence and all-people national defence posture associated with people posture. Simultaneously, it is necessary to pay attention to the building of the contingent of cadres in all respects, give prominence to democracy, discipline, and regulations and maintain internal solidarity and uniformity within agencies and units. Importance must be attached to striving for full participation in studying and testing; cadres and soldiers possess firm political zeals, a high sense of vigilance, and determination to break down the conspiracies, “pacification” of hostile forces, and manifestations of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” within the organisation.

Second, proactively coordinating with forces, mobilising all sources in the building of solid all-people national defence posture, especially in border areas, ethnic, religious, and key regions for national defence and security. Agencies and units under Military Region 2 are required to accelerate their coordination with local party committees and authorities to drastically and effectively implement military and defence tasks; organise a mid-term assessment on the implementation of goals and targets for building potentials and postures in the defence of the Military Zone and the defence areas of the provinces in accordance with the Resolution of the 9^th Party Congress of Military Region 2. Attention should be paid to bringing into play the synergy, mobilising and effectively using all sources to strengthen the defence capabilities and posture of the Military Region and localities. The Military Region must renovate and improve the quality of education, and foster and popularise defence and security knowledge. It is necessary to effectively implement projects in economic-defence zones and projects on combining economy with national defence, national defence with economy; improve the effectiveness of economic-defence delegations; continue to deal with shortcomings in the management and use of defence land. Importance should be attached to appraising local socio-economic development plannings, schemes and projects; closely supervising the construction of combat works, border patrol routes, mines and explosives clearance projects (phase 2) on schedule. Besides, The Military Region must coordinate with Tuyen Quang and Yen Bai Provincial Party Committees to organise provincial defence exercises as planned; direct the Provincial Military Commands to organise defence exercises at district and commune levels; drills on preventing natural disasters, forest fire, and search and rescue so that effectiveness, thrifty, and absolute safety can be ensured. The focus should be put on the building of reserve forces, militia and self-defence forces, especially standing militia and self-defence forces in enterprises to handle all arising problems right from grass-roots levels.

Third, accelerating measures for the organisation of compact, lean, and strong forces in accordance with Resolution No. 230-NQ/QUTW issued on April 2^nd, 2022 by the Central Military Commission, the Plan of the Ministry of Defence on organising Vietnamese People’s Army in the 2021-2030 period and the next. The process of organising the structure of its agencies and units must produce a marked shift in comparison with the previous structure and satisfy the Ministry’s requirements. In particular, the process of merging and dissolving the agencies and units must follow the plans and regulations; it is important to review and adjust the structure to ensure 95% of full strength in all units and full strength in infantry divisions and regiments so that the mobilisation of all forces can be at the ready when necessary. All agencies and units must direct the registration, management, training, drills, and mobilisation of reserve forces and technical means as stipulated so that absolute safety can be ensured.

Fourth, improving training quality and combat readiness. The Military Region must thoroughly grasp and implement Resolution No. 1659-NQ/QUTW issued on December 20^th, 2022 by the Central Military Commission on enhancing training quality in the 2023-2030 period; organise the training in accordance with the viewpoint, principles, and combinations; attach importance to synchronous and in-depth training and prioritise practice so that modern weapons and technical equipment can be mastered. The Military Region must intensify the training for cadres at all levels, night training, manoeuver training, task-based training, and high-intensity training in all conditions, according to targets and combat plans; strive for the best performance in all units. To satisfy the requirements of modern warfare, the Military Region must direct its agencies and units to focus on manoeuver training, prevention and fight against firepower offensive, associated with the operations in defensive areas in the people’s war posture; form and flexibly transform the posture in combination with improving the capability to handle complex situations when the enemy uses high-tech weapons. The organisation of practice, exercises, contests and sports festivals at all levels should ensure practicality, quality and absolute safety. Projects on education and training at schools should be implemented in combination with combat readiness capability at units.

The Military Region must continue to direct its agencies and units to strictly maintain combat readiness at all levels. Combat readiness plans to protect important holidays, Tet and political events of the State, Army and localities should be designed and implemented. It is important to regularly check, review and supplement combat documents, plans and combat plans; prepare forces and vehicles to readily perform the task of responding to and overcoming consequences of incidents, and natural disasters, and conduct search and rescue in the localities.

Fifth, synchronously and drastically implement measures to create a seismic shift in the building of regularity and full compliance with laws and discipline within the Military Region’s armed forces. The Military Region must strengthen measures to educate, manage and train soldiers in discipline compliance; minimise cases of serious disciplinary violations and unsafety. Cadres at all levels, especially at company and platoon levels must strictly follow the regulations: eat, live, work, and share with soldiers to grasp and manage the ideological situation, especially those in difficult circumstances; promptly solve arising problems to create great unity between superiors and subordinates, cadres and soldiers. Simultaneously, it is important to intensify inspection, keep abreast of discipline and law observance, resolutely fight, prevent and strictly handle disciplinary violations in the unit. Additionally, agencies and units should step up logistics and technical work to ensure all tasks and activities of the Military Region. The material and spiritual life of the soldiers should be paid much attention so that they can commit to work, and readily accept and accomplish all assigned tasks.

Major General PHAM HONG CHUONG, Commander of Military Region 2