Building regional defence capabilities in general, and political and spiritual strength in particular, in accordance with Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW dated September 22, 2008, of the Politburo (10^th tenure), is one of the important and regular tasks of the entire Party, People, and armed forces, especially in strategically important areas. For the specific characteristics of the border area West of the 4^th Military Region, the building and enhancement of this potential strength are of great significance. Therefore, implementation and realisation of the objective of the aforementioned Resolution in this area require high determination and consistent and appropriate measures.

The 4^th Military Region is a strategic area, consisting of 6 provinces, from Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien-Hue, bordering 7 provinces of Laos, with a land border stretching 1,247.8 km. This region has rugged mountainous terrain, underdeveloped infrastructure and economy; with a population of generally low intellectual level and issues such as drug trafficking, illegal migration across the border, cultist activities, and so on. It is also a key area where adversary forces often exploit “ethnic” and “religious” issues to sabotage and cause division in the unity between ethnic groups and people on both sides of the border.

Recognising building political and spiritual strength as the fundamental and dominant factor in building the “people’s hearts and minds posture”, as the “soul” and a unifying element to mobilise and enhance the strength of other potential factors in the cause of building and defending the Motherland, the Party Committee and the Command of the 4^th Military Region always attach importance to leadership, guidance, creating consensus and unity among Party committees and local authorities, especially in border areas, focusing on building this important strength in accordance with the practical conditions of each locality and border area. In addition, deeply adhering to the Party’s standpoint and principles on defending the Motherland early and from afar, Party committees, local authorities, and forces in the Military Region actively coordinate with adjacent localities of the neighbouring country to organise exchanges and establish twinship to create understanding between each other, setting up a peaceful, friendly, and cooperative environment for mutual the development of a stable Vietnam-Laos border. As a result, so far we have been able to timely detect and effectively address emerging issues, preventing adversary forces from creating hotspots to sabotage our political security, order, and social safety, and building the combined strength and a robust defence at the border.

Currently, the task of defending the Motherland and protecting our independence, sovereignty, political security, order, and safety in the border area imposes high demands, especially in building trust and consensus among all social classes in the Party’s leadership and the success of the cause of building and defending the Socialist Motherland of Vietnam. Meanwhile, the global and regional situation is complex and unpredictable, and the border area West of the 4^th Military Region remains a focal point of sabotage by adversary forces. This practical reality requires the armed forces of the Military Region and the Party committees and local authorities to continue strictly adhering to Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW of the Politburo and develop specific, practical, and appropriate leadership directions and measures to build political and spiritual strength in the border area in order to meet the assigned requirements and tasks. In this regard, the focus should be on effectively implementing the following key solutions:

First, intensify the work of propaganda and education for cadres, Party members, and the general public to allow them to have a deep understanding of the position, role, and objectives of the work of building political spirit in the new situation. This is the foremost and key solution to consolidate awareness and foster consensus from Party committees, local authorities, and institutions within the political system and armed forces regarding the position, role, and objective of the work of building political and spiritual strength in defence zones in general and land border areas in particular. An effective implementation of this content will establish a solid foundation to leverage the combined strength in building other capabilities for the Military Region’s defence zone. To achieve effective results in the work of propaganda and education for cadres, Party members, and the general public, it is necessary to flexibly apply and implement a range of practical and suitable measures, with particular emphasis on the ethnic communities in the border area. The content should focus on propagating the Party’s principles and guidelines regarding the task of protecting the Motherland in the new situation, the State’s policies and laws, and resolutions and directives of Party committees at all levels concerning socio-economic development, material and spiritual lives for the people, social security, and sustainable poverty reduction goals, etc. As the core force, the agencies and units of the Military Region must continue to enhance political education, raise awareness among the military and the people regarding the special relationship between Vietnam and Laos, as well as the important role and position of the mission of building a border area of peace, stability, friendship and mutual development. Through this, consensus among Party committees, local authorities, and the local population can be fostered to build increasingly solid political and spiritual strength, contributing to the overall strength of each locality in defending our land border.

Second, strengthen the comprehensive development of the grassroots (communes, wards, and townships) political system in the border area. To effectively implement this, the armed forces of the Military Region need to continue close coordination with local Party committees and authorities, implementing coherent measures to build a comprehensively strong land border area. This includes establishing an all-people defence posture and integrating it with the border defence posture and the all-people’s security posture. Additionally, these forces must actively participate in socio-economic development and the improvement of the material and spiritual lives of the people in the border area. Local military Party commissions should effectively develop and implement leadership regulations, and expand the establishment of military Party cells in communes (wards, towns), especially in communes located in the border area in accordance with Guidelines No. 35-HD/BTCTW, dated October 15, 2009, of the Central Organisational Commission. In addition, they should also provide advice and propose measures to enhance the capacity for management, administration, and organisation in task implementation of authorities at all levels, particularly in border communes and districts. They should also leverage the role of their cadres in effectively managing, administering, and implementing tasks of socio-economic development and border protection. Local Party committees and authorities should comprehensively focus on political, ideological, ethical, organisational, and personnel development to establish the foundation and momentum to lead the task of building political and spiritual strength. Specifically, the focus should be on translating the resolutions of higher-level authorities into the reality of local situations and strengths. At each level, it is necessary to fully understand the aspirations and sentiments of the people and anticipate potential risks in the border region, such as illegal border crossings, smuggling, subversive activities against local authorities, and attempts to cause division among ethnic communities by adversary forces. Based on this, appropriate and practical management strategies and measures can be developed. Through these efforts, the strength of the great national unity bloc can be enhanced and leveraged for the cause of defending the Motherland and maintaining peace along the border region in all situations.

Third, enhance the key and specialised role of the armed forces of the Military Region in building political and spiritual strength. Building political and spiritual strength in the land border area is the responsibility of all levels, branches, and the entire political system; in which the Military and the Police are the key and specialised forces. These forces perform their duties based on the assigned functions and tasks closely tied to the border area and the activities of the local population. One of the practical and effective measures to contribute to building the “people’s heart and mind posture” is that agencies and units must continue to effectively implement the directive of the Military Region’s Party Committee on “Building secure, proactive and combat-ready grassroots asset groups”. Accordingly, grassroots asset groups in the border area should focus on propagating the Party’s ideology and guidelines, the State’s policies and laws, and coordinate with localities in maintaining security, order, crime prevention, and socio-economic development. To effectively implement these tasks, agencies and units should focus on effectively implementing the Project “Promoting the role of the People’s Army in disseminating legal education and mobilising the population to comply with the law at the grassroots level in the period 2021-2027”. Additionally, they should regularly conduct public relations activities, especially in remote and border areas. The work of grassroots asset recruitment teams in border communes should be maintained effectively, with a focus on resolving incidents occurring in the area, mobilising ethnic communities to refrain from illegal migration and opium cultivation, actively detecting and reporting cross-border crimes, and building and strengthening resilient mobile militia platoons, and so on. For the Border Guard, it is necessary to continue to appoint cadres to deputy secretary positions in Party branches in border communes in order to improve the leadership quality of Party committees and cells in these places.

Fourth, prioritise the material and spiritual lives of the people and ethnic communities in the land border area. To win the people’s hearts and minds and align them with the Party’s ideology, it is necessary to stabilise the people’s livelihoods, enhance their social welfare, and improve their material and spiritual lives. The people’s improved living conditions are the foundation for securing their support, which is a vital factor in building political and spiritual strength. Therefore, local Party committees and authorities need to closely monitor the real-life situation and identify emerging issues related to the economy, politics, culture, society, national defence, security, and foreign affairs. This will enable timely leadership and guidance for socio-economic development, strengthening the defence of the region, and creating a borderline that is: strong in defence, economically developed, and friendly towards the neighbouring country, contributing to the maintenance of a peaceful, stable, and developed environment.

The armed forces of the Military Region must fully grasp and effectively implement the Party’s directives and the Prime Minister's decision on the planning and development of economic-defence zones along the border areas, especially those in strategic areas with difficult terrain, harsh weather conditions, low population density, and economically struggling population. Specifically, the focus should be on building infrastructure, transportation, irrigation reservoirs and dam, water supply systems, post-harvest processing facilities, agricultural seed husbandry breed centres, agricultural and forestry promotion establishments, providing financial support for production and afforestation, and the construction of combined military-civilian health clinics, etc., to help the people alleviate poverty and build a strong political foundation. At the same time, there should be close coordination with specialised forces in combating and preventing subversive activities by adversary forces, maintaining border security and stability, and building a strong “people’s hearts and minds front” in the border area under the new situation.

Major General, Associate Professor, Dr LUONG THANH HAN, Deputy Director of the Political Academy, Ministry of National Defence