The militia and self-defence force is an integral component of the people’s armed forces, which are tasked with safeguarding the party committees, authorities as well as the lives and assets of agencies, organisations, and the people during peacetime. Besides, it forms the backbone of local and grassroots resistance against invaders when wartime prevails. Therefore, synchronous and appropriate measures need to be taken to build an increasingly “robust and extensive” force to meet the high requirements of national construction and defence.

Thoroughly grasping the Party’s viewpoints and strategies for military and national defence, particularly the policy of building the people’s armed forces in general and a “robust and extensive” militia and self-defence force in particular, over the past years, the Militia and Self-Defence Department has advised the General Staff, the Central Military Commission, and the Ministry of National Defence to propose to the Party and State to amend, promulgate, and implement resolutions, conclusions, directives, and other legal documents regarding the organisation, equipment, management, maintenance of operation, and assurance of benefits and policies for the militia and self-defence force serving both on land and at sea. Consequently, numerous positive outcomes have been yielded.

In fact, party committees and authorities at all levels, as well as heads of agencies and organisations, have increasingly recognised the pivotal role of the militia and self-defence force. Indeed, they have implemented numerous leadership measures to strengthen the organisational structure and have ensured sufficient weaponry, equipment, and uniforms. Moreover, training and drills are held to improve the overall quality, proficiency, and combat readiness, thus building comprehensively strong units. Additionally, active mobilisation of resources has been undertaken to bolster the militia and self-defence force that can coordinate effectively with other forces to excellently fulfil the functions and duties of safeguarding the Party, State, protecting the lives and assets of the people, thus maximising its core role in building the all-people national defence and a solid political foundation. Moreover, this force is tasked with responding to incidents, natural disasters, and diseases, patrolling and protecting the borders, combating subversive plots and tricks of hostile forces, and maintaining political security, order, and local social safety.

In the forthcoming period, in light of the high requirements posed by the task of national protection, especially countering and thwarting schemes and plots of “peaceful evolution”, riots, and overthrows of hostile forces to maintain the stability of the country right from the grassroots level, there remains a pressing need to persist in the construction of the militia and self-defence force in the direction of being “robust and extensive across regions, territories, and seas”. The militia and self-defence force needs to coordinate with other forces to firmly defend the Fatherland in all circumstances by employing synchronous and appropriate measures, focusing on several fundamental issues as follows:

Firstly, all levels, sectors, and localities need to thoroughly grasp resolutions, directives, and legal documents concerning the establishment of the militia and self-defence force. This stands as a paramount content to ensure the process of building the militia and self-defence force in line with the Party’s direction, achieving tangible and practical effectiveness that closely corresponds with the localities’, agencies’, and organisations’ situations and tasks. Therefore, military agencies and self-defence units at all levels should focus on advising local party committees, authorities, and heads of agencies and organisations to step up education for officers, party members, and people from different classes to make them fully aware of the significance and the necessity of building a robust militia and self-defence force that is not only capable of safeguarding the party committees, authorities, the lives and assets of the people, agencies, and organisations. Besides, it plays a core role in coordinating with the people to successfully carry out military and national defence tasks, maintaining political security, order, and social safety at the grassroots level. Within this context, it is crucial to focus on thoroughly grasping, concretising, and implementing new resolutions, directives, and documents issued by the Party and the State, including the Law on Militia and Self-Defence Force, the projects, goals, and tasks assigned by higher echelons, duties, rights, benefits and policies for the militia and self-defence force, civil responsibility for participation in the militia and self-defence force, etc. Therefore, it is essential to promote the role, responsibility, and participation of all levels, sectors, localities, and the whole political system in carrying out this critical task. During the implementation process, localities, agencies, and organisations should attach great importance to preliminaries, summaries, and lesson drawing meetings, promptly identifying shortcomings, challenges, and issues emerging from practical circumstances. This will serve as the basis for proposing measures to overcome difficulties, adjusting, and supplementing guidelines and solutions to elevate the quality of building the militia and self-defence force in the new situation.

Self-defence force of District 7 of Ho Chi Minh Command performs martial-art

Secondly, focusing on building a comprehensively strong militia and self-defence force, with a paramount emphasis on political strength, enabling it to proficiently fulfil all assigned tasks. As a leading agency, the Militia and Self-Defence Department continues to coordinate and direct military agencies at all levels to advise local party committees and authorities, and guide agencies and organisations in stepping up the construction of an increasingly “robust and extensive” militia and self-defence force that is well-structured (regular, stationed, mobile, arms, and maritime militia) and characterised by unified organisational structure, thus operating with quality and efficiency. In the near future, efforts should be made to reinforce and enhance the operational quality of regular border militia checkpoints and self-defence units in enterprises. Combining the effective implementation of goals and tasks in militia and self-defence projects, particularly the Project entitled “Establishing a regular maritime militia fleet for protecting maritime sovereignty in the new situation” with researching, developing, and refining projects to enhance the effectiveness of the military commands, mobile militia, as well as militia and self-defence forces stationed in borders, coastal areas, islands. Concurrently, there will be an exploration and prompt issuance of guidance to implement the construction of model units, including comprehensively strong, “exemplary and typical” militia and self-defence units, regular border militia checkpoints linked with adjacent residential areas and border posts, etc. with the goal of gradual expansion of these models.

Furthermore, it is essential to enhance the Party development work and to harness the roles of officers and party members within the militia and self-defence force in association with the policy of consolidating, establishing, and improving the operational efficiency of the military cells in 100% of communes (wards and towns) as outlined in Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW, dated June 16, 2022, by the Party Central Committee (13^th tenure). Emphasis should be placed on party development work within the militia and self-defence forces in strategic areas, teams carrying out important duties, and foreign-invested enterprises. Strengthening legal education in line with the Project entitled “Dissemination, Popularisation, and Training on the 2019 Law on Militia and Self-Defence Force” is crucial to establish a politically robust militia and self-defence force that is capable of successfully carrying out all assigned tasks.

Thirdly, strengthening training and exercises while educating, fostering, and elevating the overall quality, proficiency, and combat readiness to meet requirements and tasks. This is a crucial matter, serving as the driving force to ensure that the militia and self-defence force remains a politically significant and combat-proven force that is loyal and reliable to the local party committees, authorities, and people. Therefore, in conjunction with the efforts to optimise organisation and structure, agencies, and units, particularly the military ones at all levels, should coordinate effectively to conduct training, fostering, exercises, competitions, and sports events, improving their operational efficiency according to the Project entitled “Organising forces for training and operation and ensuring benefits and policies for the militia and self-defence force in the 2021-2025 period”, tailored to the unique characteristics, tasks, and locations of each locality. Focusing on training and fostering practical operational capabilities, especially the capability to grasp and respond to military and national defence situations on the ground for the militia and self-defence force. Importance is attached to conducting exercises and drills based on prepared combat-readiness plans, defence at the commune level, as well as plans for preventing, combating, and overcoming the consequences of incidents, natural disasters, epidemics, search and rescue, etc., to remain proactive and avoid being stunned. Simultaneously, prioritising reviewing and aligning criteria, standards, and age limits, formulating plans and goals, organising training, and standardising higher education curricula for the military sector to equip the commune-level military commanders. Focusing on nurturing, arranging, deploying, and utilising personnel after training according to the local personnel planning. Continuing to promote the force’s core role in the education of national defence and security knowledge for different target groups and the entire population; coordinating, guiding, directing, inspecting, supervising, and rectifying to enhance the quality of national defence work across ministries, sectors, and localities.

Fourthly, continuing to research and improve the quality of ensuring benefits, policies, and facilities for the activities of the militia and self-defence force. First and foremost, localities, agencies, and organisations should diligently study higher echelons’ documents and guidance, operational characteristics, requirements, needs of the force, and their financial capabilities in order to develop plans that sufficiently ensure for all components and units, especially units operating in strategic and key national defence and security areas, remote areas, borders, seas, and islands as well as units carrying out important missions. Focusing on ensuring synchronised and unified budgets, weaponry, equipment, vehicles, support tools, uniforms, the headquarters of commune-level military commands, accommodations for regular militiamen, facilities, etc., for the militia and self-defence force to operate. Actively innovating the assurance methods in the direction of being “direct, public, democratic, transparent, fair, and compliant with legal regulations”. Ensuring accurate and sufficient standards for salary, allowance, work-related expenses, labour day remuneration, meals for officers and soldiers, and other policies and benefits. Local party committees and authorities need to establish mechanisms to mobilise available resources and funds from higher echelons to enhance the quality of assurance work, creating favourable conditions for this force to successfully fulfil its assigned functions and tasks. The implementation process must be tightly controlled and compliant with regulations to prevent any loss, waste, or negativity that leads to misconduct or violations of state laws.

Building a “robust and extensive” militia and self-defence force is a strategic and essential policy, which is both urgent and long-term. This requires the active participation and responsibility of the whole political system and the entire population, under the leadership of the Party, to contribute to enhancing the strength of the armed forces and ensuring the firm protection of the Fatherland in all circumstances.

Lieutenant General PHAM QUANG NGAN, Director General  of Militia and Self-Defence Department