Building provinces and municipalities into strong defensive zones represents a strategy of our Party and State and a central, routine task of sectors, localities, and the whole political system and people. Therefore, the Party Committee and People’s Committee of Chi Linh city have focused their leadership and direction on performing this task via synchronous, proper measures as a favourable condition for the city’s rapid, sustainable development.

Chi Linh city (Hai Duong province) is located in the economic triangle of Hanoi – Hai Phong – Quang Ninh and many crucial traffic networks from Northeast to the capital city of Hanoi. Chi Linh is considered a sacred land with extraordinary people and linked with brilliant feats of arms in the national history of fighting foreign invaders, while holding a position of importance in terms of economy, society, defence, and security to not only Hai Duong province and Military Region 3, but also the whole Northeast region.

Chi Linh city’s defensive zone exercise in 2023

Grasping the guidelines set by the Party, the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence, and Hai Duong province’s Party Committee and People’s Committee on military-defence work, over the years, the city’s Party Committee and People’s Committee have advocated combining socio-economic development with defence and security strengthening, particularly building a strong defensive zone. Thanks to its great political resolve and synchronous measures, the city has gained comprehensive achievements in building its defensive zone. More specifically, the awareness and responsibility of party committees, authorities, the armed forces, and the people for Fatherland building and protection have been raised. The equipment of defence and security knowledge for groups of learners have been valued and maintained effectively. Political security and social order and safety have been maintained. The city has witnessed economic, cultural, social, scientific, and technological developments. In 2023, the city produced nearly 150 pieces of news and articles about defence and security work in mass media, launched 6 training courses on defence and security for the 4^th group of learners, organised defensive combat exercises in 9 communes and wards, fulfilled all targets of conscription, and gave 1 House of Charity, 1 House of Great Unity, and 22 presents to families under preferential treatment policy, Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, and Heroes of the People’s Armed Forces.

The all-people national defence and the postures of all-people national defence and people’s security have been made increasingly strong. The city’s armed forces have been made strong in terms of politics, ideology, morality, organisation, and personnel, and they have played a core role in performing defence and security tasks. Defensive works have been constructed with the dual purposes of socio-economic development and defence consolidation.

However, in addition to the above-mentioned good results, several party committees, authorities, and citizens’ awareness of the building of the city’s defensive zone has been insufficient. The construction of military works within the city’s defensive zone in the 2015 - 2020 tenure has yet to be on track. The effectiveness of combining socio-economic development with defence and security consolidation has yet to be really high.

In the foreseeable future, the city’s political security situation will be basically stable. The city will continue to enjoy socio-economic development. However, rural security, social evils, natural disasters, and epidemics will pose many challenges to the city. In order to maintain social stability and opportunely effectively settle possible defence and security situations, the city’s Party Committee and People’s Committee will continue exercising their leadership and direction over the performance of defence and security tasks, with importance attached to implementing several measures to build an increasingly strong defensive zone as follows.

First of all, continuing to raise all sectors, forces, and people’s awareness and responsibility for the building of the defensive zone. This is a basic, important measure aimed at achieving a consensus among party committees, authorities, unions, and all people about the building of the defensive zone. To that end, the city will direct its sectors, committees, unions, and particularly the City Command to enhance propagation and education to render cadres, party members, and citizens fully aware of the importance of defence and security tasks, especially the building of an increasingly strong defensive zone. The content of propagation and education will be wide, deep, comprehensive but focalised. Emphasis will be placed on Resolution of the 13^th Party Central Committee’s 8^th Plenum on the Strategy for Fatherland Protection in the new situation, the 10^th Politburo’s Resolution 28-NQ/TW, dated 22^nd September 2008, Decree 02/2016/NĐ-CP dated 5^th January 2016 and Decree 21/2019/NĐ-CP dated 22^nd February 2019 by the Government on defensive zone building as well as resolutions, directives, and guiding documents by Military Region 3, Party Committees and People’s Committees of Hai Duong province and the city. In the process, it is necessary to diversify forms and methods of propagation and education. A part from central and provincial-level media, the city will closely cooperate with military units in its area in conducting the work of propagation and education. Besides, it is important to organise field trips to historical sites for offices, units, and students in order to bolster the love for their hometown and country and the aspirations for devotion among each cadre, party member, and citizen, particularly the youth.

Leaders of Hai Duong province encourage newly conscripted soldiers of Chi Linh city

Second, fostering socio-economic, cultural development as the basis for building an increasingly strong defensive zone. As a new and dynamic city rich in natural resources and beauty spots, such as Yen Tu – Vinh Nghiem – Con Son and Kiep Bac, Chi Linh has a lot of advantages for boosting socio-economic development and building a civilised, cultural urban area towards developed industry and tourism. Therefore, the city will direct its sectors and localities to turn their potential and advantages into resources to raise the quality of economic growth and improve the people’s life, while recommending the Government and province to more invest in its traffic infrastructure, historical relic sites, and beauty spots. Emphasis will be placed on building synchronous, modern infrastructures, creating a favourable investment environment as a motivation for economic growth, continuing to complete and develop industrial zones and industrial clusters to attract businesses and investors, particularly Cong Hoa Industrial Park. Moreover, the city will attract investments in developing services in the ecotourism zones of Thanh Long lake, Ngu Dai Son, and Thanh Mai pagoda. The city will continue developing green, clean industry, alternative energy, and modern waste management technology, actively transforming crop and animal husbandry, forming large-scale farms, multiplying forest economic models, and applying science and technology to growing clean produce in the areas of Nhan Hue, Hoang Tien, and Hoang Tan.

Based on sustainable economic development, the city will continue investing in building defence and security potential and mobilising resources for building its defensive zone. Due to its limited budget, the city will concentrate on building crucial works within its defensive zone; those works, especially traffic, health, and telecommunications infrastructures must serve the people’s life, facilitate the resolution of defence situations, and realise the close combination of economic development and defence and security.

Third, building comprehensively strong armed forces with a high level of synergy and combativeness, capable of playing a core role in defensive zone building. This measure acts as a decisive factor in the quality and effectiveness of defensive zone building. Thus, the city will direct the building of strong armed forces in terms of ideology, morality, organisation, and personnel, worthy of a loyal, reliable political and combat army of local party committees, authorities, and people. While consolidating the forces according to the new payroll and in an “elite, compact, strong” manner, with high-level synergy and combat readiness, the city will attach significance to building a “strong, extensive” militia and self-defence force, a “powerful, high-quality” reserve force, and a Public Security Force with proper quantity, good quality, and great professional competence as the core force in maintaining political security and social order and safety. Great value will be attached to consolidating commune-level military and public security offices and intensifying the provision of political, defence, and security knowledge for members of those offices, ensuring that they will be eligible to join commune-level party committees and people’s committees.

Fourth, completing the planning and building of solid, in-depth military works within the defensive zone. Grounded on the province’s defensive posture and its master plan for socio-economic development, the city will continue to synchronously, drastically adopt measures to build its defensive zone. Consideration will be given to improving the efficiency of the Steering Board for Defensive Zone Building and the role of the City Command as the standing office. The City Command shall cooperate with the city’s sectors, committees, and organisations, particularly the Public Security Force and financial, planning, natural resources and environment, urban management, and economic offices in reviewing and adjusting the planning of military works and especially the disposition of logistics and technical bases, fortresses, and battlefields. To increase investments in building defensive works, the city will tap all possible resources, encourage the people’s involvement in the construction process, and focus on building crucial dual-purpose works in a “basic, inter-connected, solid, in-depth” fashion and in accordance with the particularities of each area and the armed forces’ art of war. Moreover, the city will direct its committees, sectors, and organisations to coordinate with its military and public security offices to proactively develop and practise projects on mobilising forces and means of the national economy for military, defence, security tasks, thus making contributions to creating a favourable environment for the rapid, sustainable development of an increasingly wealthy, civilised, modern Chi Linh.

NGUYEN VAN KIEN

Deputy Secretary of the City’s Party Committee

Chairman of the City’s People’s Committee