Ensuring political strength is the matter of principle in the cause of building a new army of the proletariat. Sticking to this principle, over the past 70 years, our Party has always paid special attention to building the Army’s political strength. This has become a lesson withdrawn from the cause of building, fighting, maturing and winning of the VPA.

Senior Lieutenant General Ngo Xuan Lich and delegates at a conference on building the Army politically strong (Photo: bqp.vn)

Nowadays, the regional and the world situation, especially the situation in the East Sea continues to be complex and unpredictable. Yet, main trends tend to be peace, cooperation and development. Our cause of national defense and construction has seen new development, but also faced higher requirements with both favourable and unfavourable conditions. Significant achievements of historical meaning brought about by the renovation process help consolidate the trust of the people and the troops in the Party and socialism.  In particular, realistic results have been gained in the correction of shortcomings. The movement of “Promoting tradition, devoting talent to be worthy of Uncle Ho’s soldiers” has been implementing proactively throughout the Army, bringing about positive effects to the building of the Army’s political strength. However, we are facing a number of difficulties and challenges. Hostile forces are pushing forward their “Peace Evolution” and “military depoliticization” strategies with insidious and furtive schemes and plots aiming at seperating the Army from the Party’s leadership, particularly, in the time of the Party congresses at all levels in preparation for the 12^th National Congress. They try to spread propagation aiming at eroding cadres and troops’ ideal, target and belief in the Party and the regime. In addition, negative phenomena of the social life, in particular corruption, wastefulness, and the negative effects of market economy have caused considerable impact on the thought of cadres and troops, etc.

In such a context, the demand of building the army politically strong must be attached importance and regarded as a fundamental and urgent issue. From the lessons learned from the past 70 years, to build the army politically strong, first we have to strengthen the absolute, direct and all round leadership of the Party over the Army. If seperated from the Party’s leadership, the Army will be politically disoriented. Reality shows that to enhance the quality of political orientation for the Army, a concensus in perception, ideology and action of cadres and troops must be created. To do this, it is necessary to renovate, enhance the quality of political education and ideological orientation for troops. Building the army politically strong, in essence, is to enhance the working class nature, people-ness, nation-ness for the Army. Thereby, cadres and troops are made imbued deeply with revolutionary cause and the objective of national independence associated with socialism, loyal to the Party, the nation, the people and socialist regime; pure in personal ethic; consistant, steady and trustful in the Party’s leadership; unite and closely connect with the people; ready to fight and sacrifice for national independence and freedom, for the people’s happiness, and for the cause of national construction and defence. Besides, it is necessary to pay attention to and promote the role and effectiveness of the party and political work to make it truly the “soul” of the army. Party committees, commissars and junior commissars as well as commanders and political offices at all levels need to pay attention to leading and directing the fields of ideology, organization, staff, internal security, mass mobilization, social affairs; pay respect to democracy and disciplines; and the maintenance of internal solidarity; to build an adequate and qualified staff for the Army; enhance the quality of personel planning in preparation for the 2015 – 2020 period and the party congress at all levels. Attach importance to renovating the contents, diversifying models of mass mobilization for each locality and unit; focusing on the enhancement of the quality of the party and political works in training, exercises, combat readiness, peacekeeping, local military and defence affairs, search and rescue, disaster prevention and humanitarian relief , etc.

Strengthening internal political security and actively countering incorrect arguments to firmly safeguard the ideological foundation of the Party in the Army are important tasks to build the army politically strong. First, Party committees must pay attention to these tasks; ensuring the pureness and political safety for organizations, personel, preventing hostile intrusion, information leak. Actively fight against incorrect viewpoints, particularly the intention to “depoliticize” the Army of hostile forces and manifestation of “self evolution”, “self transformation” in units, contributing to firmly safeguarding the ideological foundation of the Party in the Army.

In response to new requirements of building the army political strength, it is necessary to conduct theory study, reality review to set out feasible solutions. The Army has undergone a process of 70 years of establishment, struggle and development, including political aspect. There are many theoretical issues need studying and lessons from reality need reviewing to make the army politically strong.

The past 70 years show that, in any circumstances, building the Army politically strong is always a primary and fundamental matter which needs close monitor and leadership. This is the foundation for our Party to build the Army politically strong in the new revolutionary stage, ensuring the Army a truly loyal and reliable political force of the Party, State and people, ready to accomplish its mission in any situations.

Senior Lieutenant General Ngo Xuan Lich

Member of the Secretariat, Standing member of the Central Military Commission

Chairman of the General Department of Politics, VPA.