Firmly protecting national sovereignty and security in general and maritime sovereignty, in particular, is the central political task of the whole political system, forces, and people, among which the Border Guards play a pivotal role. To promote that role, the Party Committee and High Command of the Ca Mau Provincial Border Guards (PBG) have attached importance to leading and directing this key task with several synchronous and appropriate measures, creating a favourable environment for the province’s rapid and sustainable development.

Ca Mau is the southernmost coastal province of the country, located near the centre of the seas of Southeast Asian countries. The province is rich in natural resources and typical forest, marine, and climate ecologies with multiple potentials and strengths for the economic development of fishery, agriculture, forestry, export processing industry, services, tourism, logistics, shipping, and economic cooperation with other countries in the region.

However, due to its strategic position and other reasons, there are still potential destabilising factors in the southeast sea. In the provincial maritime border area, there are existing cases of foreign ships violating our country’s sovereignty and fishing boats of our fishermen illegally exploiting seafood in foreign waters. Indeed, the situation of drug trafficking, smuggling, commercial fraud, etc. tends to witness complicated developments. Being faced with these challenges, the PBG needs to increasingly grasp the situation and implement synchronous and drastic measures to firmly protect the national maritime sovereignty and security, among which, importance is attached to the main contents as follows:

First, promoting propaganda and raising the awareness and responsibilities of all levels, branches, and forces about the task of managing and protecting the national maritime sovereignty and security. Considering this as a premise that comprehensively affects the results of the border guard work, the Party Committee and High Command of the PBG continue to thoroughly grasp and strictly implement higher echelons’ resolutions, directives, and decrees on national protection and border guard work. Additionally, promoting its role as a core and specialised force in the management and protection of national sovereignty and security in the maritime border area; actively researching, grasping, forecasting, and properly assessing the situation and characteristics of the area to advise the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee to lead and direct all levels, branches, and localities to successfully implement propaganda and mass mobilisation works. Focusing on propaganda to raise political awareness, the sense of law observance, and the responsibilities of officials and people for the task of protecting national border sovereignty and security as well as marine resources and environment, especially the responsibility in the implementation of urgent tasks and measures to resolve the warning of the European Commission against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.  Continuing to guide fishermen to strictly comply with regulations on installing cruise monitoring equipment on fishing vessels and maintaining connection signals; strictly implementing the commitment not to violate foreign waters for illegal fishing to gradually remove the “yellow card” imposed by the European Commission. Meanwhile, improving the efficiency of programmes and models, including charity classes  on Hon Chuoi island (Hon Chuoi border post), the “Bringing children to schools – Border guard posts’ adoptees”, “The spring brought by the border guard warms people’s hearts”, “National border guard day”, etc.

To make it effective, the Border Guard Command has advised the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee to direct and deploy measures to improve the quality of cadres engaged in mass mobilisation; promoting the roles and responsibilities of officers assigned to communes and towns; party members of border guard posts in charge of households participate in activities of coastal hamlets and villages. Organising more activities towards the sea and islands; stepping up the mass mobilisation work to help eliminate hunger and reduce poverty, thus building new-style rural areas; preventing, combating, and overcoming the aftermaths of natural disasters as well as search and rescue; promoting the mass movement to protect national security, etc. By taking these measures, the political basis of coastal communes and towns, the “people’s hearts and minds” posture, and the all-people border guard posture are enhanced, serving as a foundation for maintaining political security, order, and safety, firmly protecting the national maritime sovereignty and security in the  area of responsibility.

Second, innovating and improving the quality of training and combat readiness to meet the requirements and tasks in the new situation. Thoroughly grasping and implementing higher echelons’ resolutions, directives, and instructions on training and combat readiness, the Party Committee and Command of the PBG attach importance to leading and directing grassroots agencies and units to develop a specific training plan and programme that is close to reality, consistent, regular, scientific, and convenient for the operation and organisation of training. The units focus on the preparation of training grounds, lesson plans, lectures, models, learning tools, etc.; organising training along   the “basic, practical, and solid” motto in accordance with the viewpoints, principles, and combinations; attaching importance to synchronous and in-depth training that is close to the task situation. Furthermore, focus is put on command training, techniques, tactics, martial arts, physical strength, etc. in order to improve the capabilities of officers and soldiers to meet the requirements and tasks. Striving to achieve the results of training courses with 100% rated satisfactory (over 75% rated good and excellent, including 15% to 20% rated excellent); the results of military and professional training with 100% rated satisfactory (over 75% rated good and excellent, including over 35% rated excellent). Participating in drills, exercises, live-fire exercises, contests, and sports festivals at different levels with an aim to get high results and to ensure safety in all aspects, thus creating a breakthrough in improving the overall quality of training, combat capability, and combat practice, building a comprehensively strong, “exemplary and typical” unit that well meet the requirements and tasks of protecting national maritime sovereignty and security.

To promptly handle different situations to firmly protect maritime sovereignty and security, the Party Committee and Command of the PBG have strengthened their leadership and direction on improving the command ability and combat readiness of grassroots units, not to be passive or stunned by the complicated developments of infringements on national sovereignty and sovereignty rights as well as illegal activities. The requirements for grassroots units are to actively study the characteristics and situation of tasks of the area of responsibility, to formulate, supplement, and adjust combat documents, regulations, and coordination plans with other forces, and to master the combat plans. Strictly maintaining the regimes of command, daily, combat, and patrol duties; actively building and consolidating combat works, ensuring weapons, means, equipment, and communications for maritime combat missions, thus being ready to promptly, accurately, and effectively handle different situations.  

Third, promoting its core role in coordinating with other forces to firmly protect the maritime sovereignty and security. This serves as a decisive measure for the performance of the central political task of the Ca Mau PBG. To make it effective, the PBG Command has thoroughly grasped and strictly implemented Resolution No. 84-NQ/ĐU issued on March 7, 2011, by the Party Committee of the Border Guard on improving the quality of border gate work in the new situation; innovated professional processes, applied information technology, and improved the quality of inspection and control of entry and exit, thus creating favourable conditions for the socio-economic development of the province. Additionally, continuing to strongly and comprehensively renew the border guard work by improving the efficiency of grasping and assessing the maritime situation; proactively resolving problems occurring in maritime border areas; successfully implementing programmes and plans on management and protection of maritime borders suitable to local characteristics; renovating and reforming administrative regulations in border guard control, closely combining measures for  people and vehicles management in sea areas. Moreover, coordinating with forces in the management of activities of fishing vessels at sea (strictly implementing declaration when entering and exiting estuaries, especially Song Doc, Rach Goc, and Khanh Hoi); promptly overcoming loopholes and shortcomings in inspection and control; increasing patrolling and control of movements to detect and prevent illegal drug trafficking, smuggling, and commercial fraud. Closely coordinating with the Provincial Military Command, the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the coastal districts to successfully grasp, register, and manage human resources, ships, and civilian vehicles ready for duty according to decrees, circulars, and decisions of the Government and the Ministry of National Defence on “Mobilising human resources, ships, and civilian vehicles to engage in the protection of national maritime sovereignty and sovereignty rights”. Coordinating with districts, including Dam Doi, Cai Nuoc, Ngoc Hien, Tran Van Thoi, etc. to strictly manage vehicles and quantity of human resources in the localities; regularly grasping, monitoring, managing, and promptly proposing changes and additions to ensure sufficient human resources and vehicles in terms of quality and quantity, which are ready to mobilise in the event of emergencies. Furthermore, promoting coordination activities with the Border Guards of Kien Giang and Bac Lieu provinces, Naval Region 5, Coast Guard Region 4, Naval Squadron 28 and 42,  Fisheries Surveillance Unit, etc. in performing the task of protecting the national sovereignty over seas and islands; combatting and preventing illegal fishing as well as smuggling and commercial fraud. Importance is attached to coordination in patrolling, controlling, and strictly managing fishing vessels at estuaries without checkpoints and in key areas to timely detect, prevent, and handle fishing vessels violating regulations on fishing; enhancing inspection and control and resolutely preventing fishing vessels from leaving ports unless they ensure required procedures, papers, and safety equipment. Border guard posts coordinate with coastal communes and towns to review the system of river dykes and sea dykes, identify landslide areas and areas at risk of landslides to implement response measures according to their competence and regulations; formulate plans and organise drills to handle emergencies; ensuring technical support for the vehicles engaged in this work, etc. Particularly, the border guard posts adjacent to Bac Lieu and Kien Giang provinces, namely Tan Tien and Khanh Tien, coordinate with Ganh Hao post in Bac Lieu and Xeo Nhau post in Kien Giang to exchange information and organise forces and vehicles to effectively implement the coordination plans of patrolling, inspecting, controlling, detecting, and preventing violations. Indeed, these posts should coordinate to advise and handle problematic cases according to their functions and law.

Additionally, continuing to improve the quality of technical work with a focus on the successful implementation of the Campaign entitled “ managing and exploiting weapons and technical equipment effectively, sustainably, safely, economically, and ensuring traffic safety”;  formulating and strictly implementing criteria for technical work at border guard posts and squadrons to raise the responsibility in management, exploitation, and use of technical equipment, ensuring sufficient quantity and high quality that meet the requirements and tasks of firmly protecting national maritime sovereignty and security in all situations.

Colonel PHUNG DUC HUNG, Commander of the Provincial Border Guard Command