Building Vietnam Coast Guard, which is professional, modern and on a par with the tasks, is an essential duty in order to make this force deserve their core roles of law enforcement and protection of national security, order and safety at sea. However, this is a major issue relating to many levels, branches, forces, etc., which cannot be realised in one day but requires a system of synchronous, long-term and effective solutions.

To improve the efficiency of the State management in protecting the sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction; protecting the national security and maintaining the order and safety over the seas and continental shelf of the country, on 28/8/1998, the Vietnam Marine Police (now the Vietnam Coast Guard) was established. Over the past 25 years of construction, combat and growth, Vietnam Coast Guard have raised their responsibility, proactively overcome difficulties to not only strengthen, build and develop itself but also enforce the laws, protect the sovereignty over the country’s seas and islands according to the Party’s viewpoints and guidelines, the State’s policies and laws and the international rules, making contribution to firmly protecting the sovereignty over seas and islands, cultivating the tradition of “Being determined and brave to overcome difficulties, preserve the unity and maintain the law”. In recent years, given the complicated happenings with unforeseen dangers in the South China Sea, Vietnam Coast Guard Party Committee and Command have led and directed the whole force to proactively hold, anticipate and rightly evaluate the situations, counselled the Party, State, Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence with policies, solutions and solved timely, flexibly and effectively all situations at sea, avoided the unexpectedness and suddenness. Accordingly, Vietnam Coast Guard have regularly maintained forces and vehicles in the sea waters, firmly and patiently struggled against violations of laws and sovereignty at sea; proactively coordinated with other forces and coastal localities to build the strong posture of defence and security at sea; conducted patrols, examinations, controls to timely discover, propagandise and request foreign boats to leave Vietnamese waters; propagandised and mobilised our people not to trespass the foreign seas for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU); actively struggled against crimes and other violations at sea, ensured the maritime safety and prevented the marine environmental pollution, at the same time, widened the international cooperation in the way of closely combining the defence, security and foreign relations, making contribution to the maintenance of the peaceful and stable environment for developing the country, etc. Being acknowledged with these achievements, Vietnam Coast Guard have been awarded the title of Hero of the People’s Armed Forces in the renovation period and many other noble awards.

General Phan Van Giang, Minister of National Defence and heads of the delegations participating in the first Exchange Programme hosted by the Vietnam Coast Guard in 2022

Presently, activities of military affairs, legal execution, reclamation of islands, sandbars and other entities in the East Sea, especially in Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands, etc. are increasing, making the situations at sea more complicated and potentially unstable. Besides, challenges of maritime safety, smugglings, trading frauds at sea, armed pirates, terrorism, illegal drugs trading and transporting, human trafficking, illegal migration, IUU fishing, etc. have been setting high demands for building and protecting the Homeland generally, maintaining the security, order, safety and protecting the environment in our islands and seas particularly. Therefore, building the Coast Guard which is professional, modern and on a par with the tasks has become a vital requirement, demanding the synchronous implementation of many solutions including the main ones as follows:

Firstly, enhancing the construction of the politically-strengthened Coast Guard as the basis towards the professionalism and modernity. This is a primarily important, decisive factor and a regular requirement for the Coast Guard because their nature and tasks are to face and struggle against violations of sovereignty, laws, security, order and safety at sea; their working areas are marine border areas, seas and islands where contain many sensitive and complicated factors; cadres and soldiers work long-term under severe weather conditions in the waters, and even face many unforeseen difficulties, dangers and risks, etc. These issues significantly affect their thought, emotion and life. Hence, in order to build the politically-strengthened Coast Guard, it is, first and foremost, necessary to strengthen the leadership and direction from the Party and State, and directly from the Central Military Commission and Ministry of National Defence for the Coast Guard, making sure that they could firmly maintain and improve their working class nature, combatting targets and ideal, their absolute loyalty to the Party, Homeland, the People and the socialist regime.

Offices and units in the whole force should promote the education for cadres and soldiers to thoroughly understand Marxism -Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s thought, the Party’s guidelines, the State’s policies and laws, the Army’s and units’ duties, and cultivate their revolutionary quality and morality, patriotism, pure lifestyle, discipline observance, high determination to overcome difficulties and challenges, etc. in order to build their firm political spirit and the absolute trust in the Party’s leadership; to be politically clear-headed, often raise the vigilance, be determined to struggle against all plots and tricks by the hostile forces and criminals, opportunistic and pragmatic lifestyle, be ready to receive and successfully accomplish all assigned tasks. Besides, it is necessary to improve the leadership ability and combat strength of the party committees and party cells at all levels, especially the competence of the leading officers; well carry out the management and training for cadres and party members in order to create the prestige, trust and support for fishermen to do their fishing and take part in protecting the Homeland’s sovereignty over seas and islands.

Secondly, proactively rearranging and building the suitable, elite and compact organisations and staff to improve the capacity of doing the tasks. The whole force continue to seriously grasp and implement resolutions by the Politburo, the Central Military Commission and plans by the Ministry of National Defence on organising the Vietnam People’s Army in the period of 2021 - 2030 and the following years, directly Resolution No. 594-NQ/ĐU, dated 20/7/2022 by the Coast Guard Party Committee, Plan No. 7118/KH-BTL, dated 25/7/2022 by Coast Guard Command on organising the Vietnam Coast Guard in the period of 2021 - 2030 and the following years, considering this as the core content deciding the development of the Coast Guard. Accordingly, functional offices should research and counsel to build specialised offices to grasp and evaluate the situations, define the determination to combat and protect the sovereignty over seas and islands; merge the supporting offices to unitedly command and manage; reorganise the professional and legal offices which are suitable with their functions and tasks; reorganise the system of regulatory agencies and establish the Coast Guard’s judiciary agencies as planned. For units, it is necessary to check and adjust the structure of officers, non-commissioned officers and warrant officers, soldiers suitably with their tasks, especially the ones doing the law enforcement at sea, to meet the demands for building the Coast Guard which is professional, modernised and keeping pace with the task of protecting the sovereignty over seas and islands, foreign relations and international cooperation in the new situation.

Thirdly, attentively building the Coast Guard’s staff of cadres, non-commissioned officers and soldiers who are professionally competent with scientific working methods and civilised behaviour. As the Coast Guards regularly work with many kinds of people with diverse and complicated backgrounds, which requires the cadres, non-commissioned officers and soldiers to not only raise their political spirit, bravery and sacrifice but also to be ingenious, creative, flexible and professionally competent. Hence, it is essential to build and improve the leading and commanding ability, professional competence, scientific and effective working methods, civilised and cultural behaviour, etc. for cadres, non-commissioned officers and soldiers, at the same time, actively hold, investigate and correctly anticipate the situations to timely recommend the party committees and commands to prevent and effectively and legally solve all issues at sea, avoid the passiveness and suddenness, arising contradictions, divergences and conflict.

Offices and units should promote the renovation of their training contents, forms and methods, appreciate the synchronous and professional training, consider the task of protecting the sovereignty, enforcing the law and building the professional and modern Coast Guard as the training target; thoroughly understand Vietnamese and international laws. They need to enhance the training on using and handling all weapons, equipment, vehicles, especially the modern ships. Besides, they need to promote the implementation of the Project of “Training and improving foreign languages for Vietnam Coast Guard in the period of 2022 - 2030” in order to improve the foreign languages, especially the specialised foreign languages, for technical cadres and staff, meeting the demands for the law enforcement at sea and international integration.

Fourthly, continuously investing into purchasing and newly building the modern and synchronous vehicles, weapons and equipment. Basing on the Project of “Building Vietnam Coast Guard to 2025 and the following years” approved by the Prime Minister, the Coast Guard Party Committee and Command continue to take full advantage of all sources to modernise  weapons and technical equipment, making sure their synchronicity, high mobility and multi-purposes to meet the demands for commanding and operating the combats, firmly protecting the sovereignty, sovereign rights and national jurisdiction at sea. At first, it is necessary to prioritise the addition of some modern ships having the capability of long-term operation in distant sea waters and good adaptation, and synchronously build the infrastructural system for units; at the same time, regularly improve the technical support, scientific and technological knowledge, put in order and discipline the management, usage and maintenance of weapons, equipment, vehicles and technical materials, making sure their highly technical standards to timely support the tasks of training, combat readiness, patrols, protection of sovereignty, law enforcement at sea, search and rescue, and international tasks, etc.

Building Vietnam Coast Guard, which is professional, modern and on a par with the tasks, is an urgent demand. This, however, requires us to have detailed plans, itineraries and steps which are suitable with the capabilities and conditions of the country. With the close leadership and direction from the Party, State, Central Military Commission, Ministry of National Defence; the support and favourable conditions from levels, branches, localities and the whole people together with the whole force’s highly political determination, unity and effort, Vietnam Coast Guard will definitely accomplish all tasks successfully, making contribution to firmly protecting the sacred sovereignty over seas and islands of the Homeland.

Major General LE QUANG DAO, Commander of the Vietnam Coast Guard