Accelerating socio-economic development associated with national defence and security strengthening is the strategic policy of the Party and the State in constructing and safeguarding the Fatherland. This is also the content that Dong Nai Provincial Committee, People’s Council, and People’s Committee pay much attention to leading and directing with multiple synchronous and effective measures ensuring the province’s sustainable development.

Located in the Southern key economic triangle and as the Eastern gateway to Ho Chi Minh City, where there are numerous arterial routes in roads, rivers, and airways

Dong Nai is located in a pivotal strategic position in terms of politics, economy, culture, society, defence, and security of the Southeastern region and the whole country. Over the years, the Provincial Party Committee, authority, people, and armed forces have made united effort to surmount all difficulties including the Covid-19 pandemic to stabilise the situation, restore production, bring the province to the new normality, and accomplish all socio-economic development goals. However, due to the fast-paced development and urbanisation, political security, social order and safety become complicated. Smuggling, trade frauds, and social evils have yet to be curbed. Besides, political opportunists and dissidents continue to speed up their sabotage with numerous tricks and approaches. Although the Covid-19 pandemic and collective complaints concerning compensation and clearance policy have been controlled, they remain complicated and negatively impact socio-economic development and defence-security in the locality. As a result, the Provincial Committee, People’s Council, and People’s Committee have actively proposed measures for comprehensive leadership and direction; in particular, importance has been attached to accelerating socio-economic development tied to cementing national defence and security; building all-people national defence and all-people national defence posture tied to people’s security posture; building solid defensive zones.

First and foremost, concentrating on leading and directing the acceleration of socio-economic development to lay a foundation for the building of capabilities and defence-security posture. The Provincial Committee and People’s Committee have put the Resolution of the 13^th National Party Congress, Resolution No. 28/NQ-TW of the Party Central Committee (11^th tenure) on Strategy to safeguard the Fatherland in the new situation into policies, plans, and project on socio-economic development associated with consolidating national defence and security. Accordingly, the province has put into play the roles of departments, boards, branches, military and public security units, etc. in advising and coordinating to map out plans and projects on socio-economic development that fit the particularities of the province. All of the plans and projects have been accredited in accordance with the defensive posture of Military Region 7 and the country. Concerning the progress of planning, the local departments, branches, and authorities are actively coordinating to provide information, documents, and data for the province’s planning in the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050. Regarding architectural planning management and urban infrastructure construction, the province has ratified and directed its localities to implement the planning of urban subdivisions (Bien Hoa city, Nhon Trach urban area). In the construction planning of Long Thanh district, the province has held a conference to consult experts, scientists, professional associations, state management agencies, corporations, and real estate enterprises about master planning. In Particular, importance has been attached to the building of dual-use constructions to ensure socio-economic development and readily convert their functions for national defence and security. To promote industrial strength, the province has directed its departments and branches to closely follow the master planning, especially key urban areas to appropriately construct industrial zones and cluster with dual use and regional link, thereby creating strong economic capabilities in defensive zones. As for transport and the construction of ports, the province has required the Department of Transport and the Department of Construction to closely coordinate with military and public security units to build ports and routes linking Dong Nai with neighbouring provinces to enhance the effectiveness of economic development and create a mobile road system for mechanised vehicles, which contributes to a stiff defensive posture in the Southeastern region.

In parallel with accelerating socio-economic development, the province has concentrated on leading and directing the construction of all-people national defence, all-people national defence posture tied to public security posture; and a solid provincial defensive zone. Thoroughly grasping the guidelines and viewpoints Party and the State on local defence, Dong Nai has well implemented the coordination with the Party Committee of Military Region 7 in leading and directing the accomplishment of all targets and local defence tasks. Importance has been placed on building all-people national defence, all-people national defence posture tied to people’s security posture; strengthening defence capabilities and building solid defensive zones. In the immediate future, the province pays attention to spending local budgets on defence work, prioritising military constructions and purchasing equipment in accordance with Project on “building combat constructions for the defensive zones of Dong Nai in the 2021-2030 period” and the policy of Military Region 7 on back-line units and localities support those in the front, etc. Additionally, the province has directed its military and public security units to renovate defence and security education for trainees. It is necessary to well implement the work of enrolment; enhance the quality of recruiting party members for the Army; promote the effective model of militia in the residential areas; pay attention to militia and self-defence forces, especially the standing militia in industrial parks and high-tech parks to ensure the political strength, quality, and effectiveness in coordination to protect political security at grass-roots levels.

In leading and directing the building of all-strong provincial armed forces, the focus is on the breakthrough in building a strong political system, enhancing overall quality and combat strength. The province has required its military and public security units to keep on renovating political education and ideological orientation for cadres and soldiers, especially toward complicated and sensitive issues to form a consensus and unity. The province has promoted education and propagation to protect the Party's ideological foundation, fight and oppose the misleading viewpoints and thoughts of reactionary forces in cyberspace, which contributes to preventing "Peaceful evolution", "self -evolution", "self -transformation", and "depoliticisation" of the Army to ensuring the provincial armed forces always possess steadfast political courage and absolute loyalty to the Party, the Fatherland, and the People. Additionally, the province has directed its units and localities to effectively implement a breakthrough in enhancing the quality of military and defence work. It is important to strengthen the State’s management in national defence, tying socio-economic development to consolidating national defense and security, national defence and security to socio-economy, especially in key areas. The province has required its military units to coordinate with departments and branches to advise, propose, report to higher echelons; and coordinate with Military units in the province to formulate Project on using defence lands, plans to settle land encroachment, managing the use of defence land in the localities, and transfer redundant locations to local authorities for socio-economic development.

The Provincial Committee and People’s Committee have led and directed its military and public security units to strictly implement the organisation of the staff in peacetime and prioritise regular strength for training and combat readiness. Importance has been put on renewing and improving the training quality; synchronous and in-depth training and practice; mastering allocated weapons and equipment; intensifying night training, manoeuvrability, and physical training. Shooting ranges, training grounds, and training materials are always at the ready. Preparatory work for military exercises, especially defensive exercises at Military Region, district, and communal levels in accordance with plans, the situation of localities, and tasks of units; participation in competitions achieves encouraging results with absolute safety. The province has also directed and speeded up learning foreign languages and ethnic dialects within the provincial armed forces to meet the task requirements in the new situation. Simultaneously, the focus has been placed on synchronously performing measures to produce steady shifts in regularity, self-discipline, and safety; improving the quality and effectiveness of programme “5S”, which has been appropriately applied to tasks of each agency and unit; forming self-discipline of cadres and soldiers in the provincial armed forces; closely coordinating between units, local authorities, and family in educating and managing soldiers; regularly inspecting and promptly correcting violations. It is necessary to heighten the sense of responsibility in promoting the exemplary role of cadres and party members and take the results of building regularity as the measure for evaluation, promotion, emulation, commendation, and ranking of collectives and individuals. It is required to speed up the building of al-strong, “exemplary, and typical” agencies and units; apply information technology, and digital transformation to military administrative reform to ensure prompt, scientific, practical, and effective task implementation.

With the above measures for leading and directing which associate socio-development with cementing national defence and security, Dong Nai will keep on developing sustainably to deserve its potential, strength, and position in the Southern key economic region and the whole country.

CAO TIEN DUNG, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee