Binh Phuoc is a border province, connecting the Southeast region with the Central Highlands and Cambodia, holding significant importance in terms of economy, society, national defence, security, foreign relations while also having great potential and advantages for comprehensive development, especially in agriculture, industry, services, and energy. However, in reality, the socio-economic infrastructure conditions and the lives of people in remote areas of the province still face many difficulties and various factors causing instability. In recent times, there have been many illegal religious activities in the districts and towns of Phuoc Long, Bu Dang, Bu Gia Map, Phu Rieng, and Hon Quan; hostile forces have increased their activities to undermine unity among ethnic groups and people on both sides of the border; drug crimes, smuggling, and illegal immigration continue to occur; growing in the trend of Cambodian people with Vietnamese descent returning to live in certain border communes, etc.

Leader of Military Region 7 at the opening of the provincial defensive area exercise 2023

Thoroughly grasping and implementing the Party's guideline and direction on the two strategic tasks of building and safeguarding the Fatherland, in recent years, Binh Phuoc Province has focused on leadership, direction, and effective implementation of the task of building a defence area based on the comprehensive and solid principle, achieving significant results. The most notable improvement is the continuous strengthening of the overall potential of the defence area; completing the leadership, management, and operational mechanisms of party committees and authorities at all levels in the construction and operation of the defence area and functioning it synchronously and effectively. The armed forces have been strictly built and trained, with their overall quality and combat readiness being continuously improved; the whole-people national defence posture linked with the people's security posture, and the military posture at its core, has been consolidated and strengthened while the “people's heart and mind posture” has been firmly built. As a result, the situations of political security, social order and safety become stable, the national territorial sovereignty and border security are maintained, creating a favourable environment for the province's rapid and sustainable development.

These results are due to Binh Phuoc promoting the strength of the entire political system and the people, implementing numerous policies and solutions synchronously and effectively. First and foremost, the province emphasises building a firm “people's heart and mind posture”, strengthening and enhancing the trust and consensus of the people in the Party's leadership and the success of the cause of building and safeguarding the Fatherland, identifies this as a consistent issue that determines the results of building political and spiritual potential within the defence area. To achieve effectiveness, the Military Party Committee and the Provincial Military Command proactively advise the Provincial Party Committee, the People's Council and the People's Committee of the province to strengthen leadership and direction at various levels, sectors, and localities to effectively carry out the work of education, fostering national defence and security knowledge for different subjects; placing special attention to religious dignitaries, household heads in border areas, etc. Therefore, making the people, especially party committees, authorities, cadres, and party members, thoroughly grasp the significance, importance, and necessity of building a solid defence area. By utilising various resources, the province has constructed 5 border residential clusters and 11 residential points adjacent to border militia combat posts and border stations with 635 houses, ensuring synchronised infrastructure; providing adequate production land and stable employment, contributing to build a more solid “people's heart and mind posture” along the border. Following the policy of Military Region 7 regarding “Strengthening friendly bonding, supporting, and assisting ethnic and religious communities”, since 2019, the province has built 5 cultural and sports facilities within religious establishments with a total investment of nearly 4 billion VND. The “Repaying the Favour” movement has also been extensively implemented with high effectiveness, providing practical appreciation for war invalids, families of martyrs, and those who have contributed to the revolution, creating widespread resonance. The social welfare works have been carried out meticulously and properly by the province. The new rural development movement has been strongly promoted, achieving significant results. The entire province currently has 80 out of 86 communes meeting the new rural standards; with 27 out of 80 communes meeting the advanced new rural standards; 3 district-level units have achieved the goal of building new rural areas, significantly enhancing the rural landscape. Notably, the province has effectively implemented the Central Party's resolutions on Party building and rectification, creating a streamlined and efficient political system. Party committees and organisations at all levels are consistently strengthened, enhancing leadership capacity and combat effectiveness; the Vietnam Fatherland Front and various political and social organisations are built robustly, operating according to their functions and tasks; the basis democratic regulations are strictly implemented based on the principle: “People know, people discuss, people do, people inspect, people supervise, people benefit”, etc. On the other hand, the province directs departments, agencies, sectors, and localities, especially border districts, to enhance diplomatic potential and strengthen friendly relations with the government and people of Cambodia in the border areas, especially the value of historical sites in the X16 area,... promoting unity, building a peaceful, friendly, and cooperative border for mutual development, contributing to enhance the political and spiritual potential of the defence area, providing a foundation for early and remote protection of the locality.

Militia group get ready for patrol task

Focusing all resources on promoting socio-economic development in connection with strengthening national defence and security, creating a solid economic potential within the defence area, is a key concern of the province. To achieve effectiveness, the province emphasises strict and unified leadership and direction from perception to policy, ensuring that this is embedded in development proposals, master plans and implementation plans at all levels. During implementation, the province prioritises key economic sectors where it has advantages and competitive capabilities. Direct military, police, and border guard agencies of the province to closely coordinate in appraising projects, especially those with foreign elements, ensuring harmonious and sustainable development. Additionally, the province has researched, supplemented, and completed the system of legal documents on urban management and construction, industrial zones in joint ventures with foreign partners, ensuring that economic interests do not harm national interests and national defence and security. Up to now, the province has completed the Master plan for socio-economic development for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, the Master plan for the integration of national defence with socio-economic development and the military posture planning for the provincial and district-level defence areas. Fulfilling its assigned functions, the Provincial Military Command has advised to concentrate on upgrading and building the transportation network, creating a leverage for economic development and meeting the requirements of force deployment within the defence area. The province has completed over 200 km of border patrol roads, built and upgraded 16 border stations, 5 border gate checkpoints, 11 permanent militia posts along the border, and 1 permanent militia post in the Hoa Lu border economic zone. The transportation infrastructure in the area has been prioritised for investment. Since 2019, the province has repaired, upgraded, and constructed new strategic transportation routes such as QL13 and QL14; ĐT741, 759, 759B, and 751; expanded roads to military bases, enhanced the connection between socio-economic development and national defence and security; the province is also preparing to start the construction of the Ho Chi Minh City - Binh Duong - Chon Thanh Expressway and the Dak Nong - Chon Thanh (Binh Phuoc) Expressway. The province has planned to upgrade the Hoang Dieu and Tan Tien border gates, open the Hoa Lu international railway border gate, the international border gate in the X16 area, and the Dak O auxiliary border gate. Additionally, the province collaborates with ministries and sectors to effectively implement national programmes and goals; the poverty rate of the province has rapidly decreased, reaching only 0,4% by the end of 2023, and the average GRDP per capita reached 93,94 million VND (an increase of 50,3% compared to 2019). Particularly, the province has promoted the core role of the armed forces in advising and implementing the construction of the military posture within the defence area. In recent years, Binh Phuoc has invested hundreds of billions of VND in executing the Master plan for combat structures, defence structures, command headquarters at all levels, combat bases, rear bases, logistics and technical bases at the provincial and district levels for the period 2021-2030 and the following years, with many important defence structures such as command headquarters systems, support points, clusters of support points, campaign outposts, border militia combat posts, buffer zone militia posts, combat structures at border stations, and border gates. These efforts have initially formed a robust, interconnected defence posture within the defence area.

Building strong forces within the defence area is a crucial task, directly enhancing the strength and military and security potential of the defence area. Therefore, the province always focuses on developing local armed forces with strength in politics, ideology, ethics, organisation and personnel, ensuring comprehensive quality, combat readiness, and high combat strength. Accordingly, the province vigorously consolidates the organisation, building an “elite, compact, strong” regular force; a “strong, widespread” militia force; and a “strong, high-quality” reserve force suitable for each locality. The province actively and effectively implements the project of “Organising forces, training, operating, and ensuring policies for the militia and self-defence forces in Binh Phuoc for the period 2021-2025” and directs reforms in military recruitment, closely combining recruitment with creating a reserve force in the area. Up to now, the militia and self-defence forces in the entire province account for 1,61% of the population (with party members account for 26,23%); the reserve force is registered and managed according to regulations, ready for mobilisation when ordered.

To enhance the combat readiness of the forces, the province actively directs the renewal of training content, programmes, and methods; adhering to the principles of “basic, practical, solid” for the regular force, “basic, practical, quality” for the militia and self-defence forces, and “basic, practical, effective” for the reserve force. Additionally, the province innovates the content and methods of defence area exercises, civil defence exercises, and combat exercises within the defence area to suit the characteristics of the locality, combat missions, and the capabilities of each level; contributing to enhance the leadership and direction capabilities of party committees and authorities at all levels, the advisory roles of departments, sectors, and organisations, the command ability and coordination ability of the armed forces within the defence area.

With these positive and comprehensive policies and solutions, in the upcoming time, the Binh Phuoc provincial defence area will continue to be built more solidly, creating favourable conditions for socio-economic development in the province and contributing to the firm protection of the nation's territorial sovereignty.

Senior Colonel VO THANH DANH, Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Commander of the Provincial Military Command