Building the all-people national defence in general, and that in Binh Phuoc Province, in particular is a key and regular content which has been drastically carried out by the Provincial Party Committee, government, forces and the whole provincial people with many suitable and synchronous solutions, creating the power and a favourable environment for the fast and sustainable development.

As a border province, the economic and cultural gateway between the Southeast and Cambodia, Binh Phuoc plays an important role in economy, politics, defence, security and foreign relations of the region and Military Region 7. Fully aware of this, in recent years, the province has thoroughly grasped the resolutions and directions by the Party and State on defence and security, especially Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW by the Politburo (10^th tenure) on the defence zones; the Central Resolution 8 (11^th tenure) on the Strategies of safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation. On those bases, it has promulgated many resolutions, directions, programmes, projects and plans on the tasks of defence, security, building the strong all-people national defence combined with the people’s security, at the same time, paid attention to leading and directing the implementation, making it comprehensive, focused and close to the reality, and gained significant results. The awareness of cadres, party members and people on the tasks of building and safeguarding the Fatherland has been raised; the all-level political system has been regularly reinforced and worked effectively. The combination of socio-economic development and defence, security has been closely and deeply enhanced. Up to now, the Province has completed the plan on the military posture of defence zones; the general plan on socio-economic development combined with defence and security, and gradually built the defence works, logistic-technical bases; adjusted and arranged the population in each area, the borders in particular, to fit the defence posture of the Military Region. The Provincial armed forces, which have been built in the “elite, compact and strong” way, have regularly improved its general quality and combat power to handle any defence and security situations.

Deputy Chief of the General Staff and leader of the province visit an unit of the provincial armed forces

Basing on the gained results and the requirements of building and safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation, Binh Phuoc shall continuously grasp the Party’s defence and security guidelines, especially the new viewpoints and thoughts on safeguarding the Fatherland according to the Central Resolution 8 (13^th tenure), attentively built the strong all-people national defence, making the basis and favourable environment for the fast and sustainable development.

To reach the target, at first, the Province attentively builds the “elite, compact and strong” political system, improves the efficiency and effectiveness in leading and directing the defence and security; builds the stable “people’s hearts and minds posture”. On thoroughly grasping Reolution No. 18-NQ/TW, dated 25 October 2017 by the Party Central Committee (12^th tenure); Decision No. 999-QĐ/TU, dated 10 April 2018 by the Provincial Party Committee on “Some issues of continually reforming and rearranging the organisation of political system which is elite, compact, efficient and effective”, the Province should check and rearrange the political system from the provincial to the grassroots level, improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the leadership and direction by all-level party committees and governments on different working fields including defence and security, through which, to improve the quality of researching, building, issuing and effectively implement resolutions, directions and programmes on the local defence and military work, plans and projects on defence and security support, and building the armed forces. The Province should focus on socio-economic development combined with the enhancement of defence, security and foreign relations; build the defence and security potentials, the posture of defence zones with the key of building the strong “people’s hearts and minds posture” which is stable and suitable with the demands and requirements of the Province.

The Province should continuously direct services and departments to strengthen the political propaganda and education, improve the quality of defence and security education for cadres, party members and all classes of people, the leading cadres in the political system, religious dignitaries and people in border areas to create changes in the awareness and responsibility for the task of safeguarding the Fatherland, effectively struggling against the sabotages by the hostile forces in the grassroots level; well implement the policies on ethnic minorities, religions, army rear, “Gratitude repayment” activities, the movement of “The whole people building the cultural lifestyle in the residential areas” combined with the campaign of “The whole people being united to build the new rural areas and civilised cities”; enhanced the assistance of medical insurance, houses and vocational training for people in rural areas, development for minority households to shorten the development gap among areas, completely solve the complaints and reports from the grassroots levels, and create the high agreement between the party committees, governments and the people in executing the Party’s and State’s guidelines and policies, assuring the security for people, and building the stable political, mental potentials and the “people’s hearts and minds posture”.

Given the demanding tasks of building and safeguarding the Fatherland, the Province should continuously enhance the economic development combined with the defence and security enforcement. On seriously grasping and executing the seniors’ resolutions and directions, especially Resolution No. 24-NQ/TW, dated 07 October 2022 by the Politburo on “Developing the socio-economy and ensuring the defence and security in the Southeast to 2030, with a vision to 2045”, the Province should pay attention to building the strategies and systems of policies and plans on the comprehensive and synchronous development. In particular, attention should be given to restructuring the economic sectors, with industry as the centre, trying to be an industrial province in 2025 with a good economic scale in the Southeast. In the short term, the Province shall speed up the progress of traffic projects to connect to other provinces in the key economic zones in the South, Southeast and Central Highland (including Ho Chi Minh City - Chon Thanh - Dak Nong highway, Hoa Lu - Di An - Cai Mep railway, etc.); gradually improve the urban infrastructures, provincial roads and systems of roads to communes; check and adjust the policies on attracting investment into key economic sectors, prioritising the processing industries of cashew, rubber, wood, fruit, etc.; continually implement the Project on developing the dynamic economic regions to 2030, etc., and enhance the equal development in all areas in the Province.

In order to make sure that each stage of the socio-economic development is connected to the enhancement of the defence and security potentials, the Province should continuously direct services, departments and localities to carefully check, assess and supervise the zoning and planning of economic regions, industrial zones and new residential areas connected with the plans of defence and security. In particular, emphasis should be placed on  checking and completing the plans of using the defence land in the 2021-2030 period; adjusting the General plan of national defence connected with socio-economic development in the 2021-2030 period, and a vision to 2050; planning and rearranging the population to the border areas according to Project No. 811/ĐA-BTL, dated 01 April 2019 by the 7^th Military Region’s Command on exemplarily building the residential areas closly to the militia posts and border stations in the 2019-2025 period; improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the state leadership and management on the defence and security of all-level party committees and governments, especially of the Steering Committee on building the defence zones; bringing into play the key role of the Army, Police and Border Guard in advising, guiding and organising the implementation; actively mobiliing the sources of fund from the localities and society to build the military posture suitably with the determination, combat and defence plans of all levels; dirtecting the plans, closely managing the dual-purposed industrial facilities and technical vehicles, readily transferred from defence potentials to abilities, making the plans of changing the localities from peacetime to wartime scientific and highly feasible.

On grasping and implementing Resolution No. 05-NQ/TW, dated 17 January 2022 by the Politburo (13^th tenure) on leading the organisation of Vietnam People’s Army in the 2021-2030 period and the following years; Resolution No. 12-NQ/TW, dated 16 March 2022 by the Politburo on building the People’s Public Security which is pure, strong, regular, highly-skilled and modernised, the Province should attentively lead and direct the construction of the strong armed forces which have suitable structure, high general quality and combat readiness, being the loyal and reliable political and combat forces of the party committees, governments and local people. Accordingly, for regular forces, the Province focuses on making them “elite, compact and strong”, with priorities being given to building military and police officers and agencies strong at all levels and able to advise the party committees and governments to do the military and defence work in localities and at grassroots levels; implements the project on organising forces, training, activities and policies for the militia in the 2021-2025 period; attentively adjusts the plan on widening the militia in the defence statuses suitably with the tasks of each locality, especially the mobile and permanent militia in the key localities of defence and security; builds the mobilisation reserve forces which are powerful, near, intense and ready to be tasked in any situations. Together with building the forces, the Province directs offices, units and localities to regularly check, complete and adjust the systems of the combat documents, coordination plans among forces of Army, Police and Border Guard according to Decree No. 03/2019/NĐ-CP and Decree No. 02/2020/NĐ-CP by the Government; hold and exactly forecast the situations, especially the ones related to borders to avoid passiveness and suddenness in all situations; well organise the exercises of defence zones, civilian defence, exercises of support of services and departments, etc. in order to improve the leading skills for the party committees, the management for the governments, the advisory role for the Army, Police and Border Guard, and the combat readiness for the local armed forces.

Together with the above solutions, the Province pays attention to leading and directing all levels, departments, unions and the armed forces to promote the public relations, help people prevent and overcome natural disasters and diseases, develop the economy and stabilise their living, especially in the difficult localities, borders and the regions of ethnic minorities; strengthens the defence foreign affairs, public diplomacy according to the Party’s viewpoints and guidelines; well maintains the relations with the facing provincial governments, armed forces and people in Cambodia, especially protects and brings into play the values of the memorial complex of former Prime Minister Hun Sen’s journey to save the country in X16 as the destination of the Vietnam-Cambodia friendship; builds the peaceful, stable and developed borders, contributing with the whole country to the success of the task of building and safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation.

TRAN TUE HIEN, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee