Operating in a strategic area, over the past years, Corps’ cadres, soldiers, and have always been united, determined, and strived to overcome difficulties to both effectively preventing and controlling the Covid-19 pandemic and successfully performing military,  defence, and production tasks, and building of a clean and strong Party Committee and a comprehensively strong, "exemplary and typical" unit; worked closely with the local committees and authorities to effectively carry out the mass mobilisation work and the movement entitled "The Army joins hands to build new rural areas"; and invested in economic, cultural, and social development; helped the local people eliminate hunger and reduce poverty, and participated in building the strong local political base to facilitate the development of economic - defence project areas undertaken by the Corps. Therefore, the material and spiritual life of cadres, employees, workers, and local people have been constantly improved to contribute to strengthening and enhancing the solid "the people’s heart-and-mind posture" and a strong national defence and maintaining political security and social order and safety in the area. Such deeds have been highly appreciated by the Party, State, and Ministry of National Defence.

Currently, besides the opportunities and favourable conditions, in the area where the Corps is stationed, hostile and reactionary forces are thoroughly taking advantage issues related to ethnicity, religions... to promote the strategies of internal "peaceful evolution", "self-evolution", and "self-transformation" and using cyberspace to regularly connect the forces at home and abroad to oppose the local Party committees and authorities. Meanwhile, the Corps' garrisoning area is wide with dispersed forces. There are also illegal proselytising activities, land-related complaints, free migration, deforestation, border crossing, and illegal border entry. The situation related to the H’Mong people is still potentially destabilising. In addition, other issues such as complicated weather and epidemics, increasingly high prices of essential goods... are affecting people's lives, political security, and social order and safety. In that context, the Corps Party Committee and Command have focused on comprehensively leading and directing all aspects of work, particularly closely combining socio-economic development with ensuring national defence and security and maintaining local stability. From the practice of performing this important task, the Corps has drawn some experience lessons in leading, directing, and organising the implementation. At the same time, those are also the solutions that the Unit has been implementing effectively.

Corps 16 completes the construction of a dual-use road

Firstly, to strengthen the leadership and direction of the Party committees and commanders at all levels and educate to raise awareness for cadres, soldiers, employees, and workers about the importance of this combination. Accordingly, the Corps Party Committee and Command have concretised the views, guidelines, directives, and resolutions of the Party, decisions of the Government, the leadership and direction of the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence on "The Army’s participation in production, socio-economic development, and strengthening of national defence and security in strategic areas", especially the projects on building the Economic - Defence Regions in the Southern Highlands, Binh Phuoc... into leadership resolutions and plans for implementation organisation in accordance with practice. Concurrently, they have directed the subordinates to review tasks and implementation efficiency to actively advise the Corps Party Committee and Command to promptly adjust the planning, guidelines, and measures of leadership and direction to ensure close connection between socio-economic development and national defence and security assurance. The Corps has requested the Party committees and commanders at all levels to formulate resolutions and plans for implementation organisation to be close to the characteristics of units, tasks, and areas. On that basis, agencies and units have promoted communication and education to raise awareness and sense of responsibility for obbjects about the significance and importance of combining socio-economic development with national defence and security assurance and focused on educating on the position and role of the area; characteristics, objectives, and task requirements; and roles of individuals and collectives in socio-economic development and national defence and security assurance. To be effective, the Corps has combined general education with private education in association with propagation on implemention of emulation movements, mass mobilisation work... to suit each object. Thereby, it has made cadres, soldiers, employees, and workers deeply aware of their tasks, maximise the sense of responsibility, and improve the efficiency of performing assigned tasks.

The Corps Party Committee and Command have closely directed the combination of socio-economic development with national defence and security assurance.  To meet the task requirements, the Corps has requested relevant specialised agencies and units to study and advise the Command to propose the Ministry of National Defence to approve the planning for adjusting the South Dak Lak - Binh Phuoc Economic and Defence Zone to 2025. At the same time, it has focused on directing to improve production and business efficiency, create jobs, support localities to help people in hunger eradication, poverty reduction, and socio-economic development through specific roadmaps and steps to be close to local practices and human resources. In particular, importance has been attached to appropriately managing plans and prices; promptly adjusting and reducing general expenses and management costs, limiting losses, and ensuring income for employees; implementing the contracting plans for coffee gardens in the business period; actively handling financial backlogs, budget allocation, payment, and settlement in a strict manner; and coordinating with local departments and agencies in completing procedures on mineral exploration and exploitation as planned; strictly managing defence and project land to avoid being encroached or used illegally. The Corps is actively coordinating with localities in completing the procedures for applying for issuance of residential land use rights to the objects as prescribed. Regarding the construction and asset procurement investment works and projects, it has closely observed the direction of the Ministry of Defence and procedures and provisions of law.

Along with that, the Corps has paid attention to building a comprehensively strong "exemplary and typical" unit according to Directive No.79/CT-BQP issued on July 22^nd, 2022 by the Minister of National Defence and raising the levels of regularity regimes and guard to ensure absolute safety. The agencies and units have strictly maintained combat readiness regimes; organised strict training and practice of combat options; built self-defence forces in plantations and enterprises to ensure sufficient quantity and good quality; regularly conducted patrols and guard of project areas, border lines, and landmarks to prevent illegal border crossings, free migration, and crimes and prevent and control the Covid-19 pandemic... to create positive changes in defence and security tasks and maintain stability in border areas. Besides, the Corps has closely coordinated with the other forces according to Decree 03/2019/NĐ-CP issued on September 5^th, 2019 by Government in firmly grasp the local situation, effectively handling incidents upon occurrence. It has also actively cooperated with the local armed forces, Party committees, and authorities in developing combat plans; arranging the defensive posture in association with the national defence posture on the border line to ensure solidity and depth; and allocating and stabilising residential clusters and points in association with economic development. The Corps has been investing in project development, stablising 4 economic - defence zones, including 56 residential clusters and points, in association with production teams along the border and in remote areas for economic development, consolidation and construction of the all-people defence posture and people's security posture, and maintenance of political stability and social order and safety in the area. In addition, the Corps has also focused on implementing the defence diplomacy with Cambodia's functional forces in management of the area, crime prevention and fighting, and economic development and exchange... to build the border areas of peace, cooperation, and development.

Participating in building the all-people defence and the all-people national defence posture in association with the people's security posture has been implemented through multiple synchronous and effective solutions. To raise awareness among the objects about defence and security tasks, the Corps has focused on education and fostering of defence and security knowledge; directed the functional agencies to actively review the objects to be fostered, develop plans, and coordinate with the local Councils for National Defence and Security Education, Military Region 7, and Infantry Academy in organising fostering classes to ensure compliance with regulations and good quality. Additionally, the Corps has actively coordinated in surveying, planning, and investing in building the socio-economic infrastructure; reorganised and rearranged the population in the area to gradually form villages, hamlets, and concentrated residential points and clusters on the border lines and important areas to create corridors to protect national sovereignty. The Corps has required agencies and units to regularly organise the communication, studying, and research to clarify the plots, tricks and counter-activities of hostile forces; proactively grasped and strictly managed the internal political security situation; raised awareness for cadres, Party members, and the masses about revolutionary vigilance and proactive prevention and struggle without vagueness and loss of caution; promoted regularity building and discipline training and observance; strengthened the political and morale power of the soldiers; and built internal and army - people solidarity done well in mass mobilisation.

Along with building comprehensively strong, "exemplary and typical" agencies and units, the Corps Party Committee and Command have requested the Party committees and commanders at all levels to consider the task of citizen reception and citizen worker dialogue with and as effective solutions to prevent "hot spots"; regularly grasp the situation, especially in religious, ethnic minority, remote, and border areas; pay attention to building and enlisting reputable people among ethnic minorities and localities with religious compatriots to build core forces, especially dignitaries and officials; and actively coordinate with local forces, Party committees, and authorities in improving the effectiveness and quality of citizen receptions and dialogues to promptly, effectively, and properly petitions and aspirations of the people. In addition, it has closely coordinated with the local Party committees and authorities in effectively implementing the Party's views and guidelines and the State’s policies and laws on national defence and security objectives and tasks to promote the strength of the political system and the whole people in building and defending the Fatherland; improved the quality of information exchange, assessment, and forecast of the situation related to defence and security tasks in the area to advise and propose appropriate solutions without being passive or surprised to ensure political security, social order, and safety in all situations.

The achievements from the close combination of socio-economic development with national defence and security assurance and the above synchronous solutions will be an important basis for Corps 16 to continue to successfully complete its tasks in the coming time.

Senior Colonel PHAM BA HIEN, Commander of the Corps