Inheriting and creatively applying the strategy of “protecting the country while it is not yet in danger”, in the process of leadership over the Vietnamese revolution, our Party has always concentrated on building and expanding international cooperation to mobilise synergy for gaining national independence and unification, building and defending the Fatherland. Under the Party’s foreign lines, the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) has been actively, proactively stepping up international integration and defence diplomacy to improve strategic trust, increase our country and Military’s status and prestige, and protect the Fatherland early and from afar.

The deployment of Level-2 Field Hospital Rotation 6 and Engineer Unit Rotation 3 to United Nations Peacekeeping Missions in South Sudan and Abyei

In the history of national construction and protection, under the motto of keeping “peace both inside and outside”, our ancestors always placed great weight on protecting the Fatherland early and from afar, “defending the country while it is not yet in danger”. This is a valuable lesson learnt from the history, and it has been inherited and creatively applied in the national liberation struggle cause and today’s Fatherland protection and construction. In the resistance wars against French colonialists and US imperialists, under the Party’s viewpoints that “the Vietnamese revolution is part of the world revolution”, “Indochina is a single battlefield”, “helping our friends is helping ourselves”, defence diplomacy played a role of special importance in the combat alliance with Laos and Cambodia against the common enemy. To maximise all external resources in that period, defence diplomacy acted as an important channel for receiving aid from the Soviet Union, China, and several friendly countries around the world, ranging from materiel to logistics and medical supplies; via defence diplomacy, our cadres were deployed abroad to study combat experiences and improve their operational methods, thus meeting the urgent requirements of our revolution. Moreover, our VPA also exchanged experiences in force development, political struggle, armed struggle, and the art of people’s war with some other militaries across the globe, thereby expanding our defence relations and increasing Vietnam’s credibility among international friends. Via our cooperation with other countries, defence diplomacy greatly contributed to affirming the justice of Vietnam’s struggle, taking advantage of international unity strength, effectively combining the nation’s strength with the strength of the times, creating synergy for defeating foreign invaders and accomplishing the cause of national liberation and unification.

After 1975, amid complex global and regional changes, defence diplomacy continued to be an important channel for Vietnam to maximise material and spiritual support from socialist countries and the world revolutionary movement, while enabling Vietnam to accomplish the international mission, enhancing our Party and State’s foreign activities, maintaining peace and stability for national construction and defence potential development.

In the Doi Moi (national renovation) period, our Party has completed and developed its lines on protecting the Fatherland early and from afar into guiding ideology and motto across the entire Party, VPA, and people, “taking the unchangeable against the changeable”, remaining steadfast in national interests and strategic goals and principles, flexibly employing strategies to keep “warm inside, calm outside” for sustainable development. The 11^th National Party Congress, for the first time ever, referred to defence diplomacy: “Continuing to expand international relations in the field of national defence and security”. Since then, our Party and State have seen defence diplomacy as an important measure to protect the Fatherland early and from afar, prevent conflicts by peaceful means, and contribute to raising the image and position of our country and VPA in the region and throughout the world.

Rehearsal for Vietnam International Defence Expo 2024 (photo: vov.vn)

Thoroughly grasping that line, the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the Ministry of National Defence (MND) have carried out the work of international integration and defence diplomacy synchronously, comprehensively, effectively, achieving many significant results. The VPA has actively, proactively given advice to the Party and State on dealing with strategic issues relating to military - defence tasks, security, and border protection, well managing defence relations with other countries, particularly our neighbours, major powers, and strategic partners, ensuring the highest level of our national interests, preventing the Fatherland from falling into passivity in any circumstances. Up to now, Vietnam has developed defence relations with more than 100 countries, including all five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

Bilateral defence cooperation has been profoundly and practically developed; it has helped increase political confidence and balance Vietnam’s relations with all countries under the principles of equality, respect, mutual benefit, and international law. In this regard, emphasis has been placed on several fields appropriate to our demands and capacity, such as delegation exchange, consultation, dialogue, training, service- and corps-level cooperation, border diplomacy, settlement of post-war consequences, search and rescue, history memory preservation, strategic research, defence industry, military medicine, and United Nations peacekeeping, with a view to increasing our defence potential.

Up to now, the MND has been actively taking part in almost all global and regional multilateral mechanisms and forums, especially ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM), ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+), Shangri-La Dialogue, Beijing Xiangshan Forum, and Moscow Conference on International Security, contributing to maintaining and enhancing strategic trust, affirming the consistency of Vietnam’s “Four No’s” defence policy. The VPA’s proactive participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations has raised the position, prestige, image, responsibility, and peace-loving spirit of Vietnam, being acknowledged and highly appreciated by peacekeeping missions, United Nations agencies, and citizens of the host countries; the image and noble virtues of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” and Vietnamese nation and people have been spread within the international community. Since 2014, Vietnam has deployed over 1,100 cadres and soldiers to United Nations peacekeeping missions, at both individual and unit levels.

Currently, peace and cooperation still prevail across the globe; however, we are facing rapid, unpredictable changes in the region and throughout the world. Cooperation, compromise, fierce competition, and even confrontation all persist in international relations, especially between major powers. The trend of force gathering, especially in the key regions is increasingly apparent. Many “hot spots” in terms of security continue to exist and possibly spread. A lot of non-traditional security challenges, such as climate change, natural disasters, epidemics, and energy security, food security, water security, information security, and human security issues are emerging, likely to be transformed into traditional security threats to all aspects of global and regional life; these challenges also greatly negatively impact on Vietnam’s interests and performance of military, defence, security tasks, including international integration and defence diplomacy. Hence, offices and units across the VPA, particularly those responsible for international integration and defence diplomacy should focus on several main measures as follows.

First of all, continuing to grasp viewpoints and lines of the Party, CMC, and MND on international integration and defence diplomacy. This is a very important task aimed at laying a foundation for international integration and defence diplomacy work to be carried out in a right direction. Thus, party committees and commands at all levels should focus on rendering cadres and soldiers, especially those in charge of diplomatic work fully aware of our Party and State’s foreign lines set in the Resolutions of the 13^th National Party Congress, the 11^th Military Party Congress, and the 13^th Party Central Committee’s 8^th Plenum on the Strategy for Fatherland Protection in the New Situation, the Politburo’s Conclusion 53-KL/TW, dated 28 April 2023, the CMC’s Resolution 2662-NQ/QUTW, dated 26 February 2024, on international integration and defence diplomacy towards 2030 and beyond, as well as other conclusions and directives by the Politburo, Secretariat, CMC, and MND on principles, objectives, requirements, and tasks of international integration and defence diplomacy work. At the same time, diplomatic work programs and plans should be closely designed and flexibly executed in accordance with each partner and operational area under orientation and direction of the CMC and MND. After each period and task, there should be conferences to conduct reviews and draw lessons opportunely, seriously as the basis for raising the performance of international integration and defence diplomacy work.

Second, actively grasping and correctly forecasting situational developments, proactively giving advice to the Party, State, CMC, and MND on international integration and defence diplomacy. Offices and units across the VPA should closely cooperate with competent bodies, particularly the Department of Foreign Relations/MND to proactively study, grasp, and forecast situational developments on global and regional scales and adjustments in other countries’ military, defence, security, and foreign policies. Emphasis should be placed on analysing, evaluating, and clarifying the intent, purposes, and nature of strategic adjustments and diplomatic activities of major powers and regional countries as well as the impacts on our international integration, defence diplomacy, and Fatherland protection. Grounded on those analyses and evaluations, it is vital to assist the CMC and MND in giving advice to the Party and State on proper lines and strategies to opportunely, effectively deal with issues on defence, security, and diplomacy and avoid falling into passivity in any circumstances. Due attention should be paid to consistently implementing the foreign line of “independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation, and development”, remaining persistent in multilateralising and diversifying diplomatic ties under the motto of “more friends, less enemies”, adhering to the “Four No’s” defence policy, combining the nation’s strength with the strength of the times to create synergy for fostering national development and protecting the Fatherland “early and from afar” by peaceful means in the new situation.

Third, organising international integration and defence diplomacy activities under the motto of “active, proactive, solid, flexible, effective”. Amid rapid, complex, unpredictable global and regional changes causing profound impacts on many countries, including Vietnam, the work of international integration and defence diplomacy should be comprehensively, synchronously carried out in all fields and degrees. The entire VPA should continue to perform international integration and defence diplomacy work in a flexible, creative, close, effective, focalised manner. It should focus on developing bilateral cooperation with strategic partners in a practical, effective, mutually beneficial way. Priority should be given to maintaining defence relations with our neighbours, major powers, ASEAN countries, and traditional friends. It is vital to ensure our principles in defence cooperation, particularly Vietnam’s interests and sovereignty; however, there should be flexible, creative approaches under the motto of being “active, proactive, solid, flexible, effective” to demonstrate Vietnam’s responsibility and readiness for dialogue and cooperation with other countries to settle relevant issues. At the same time, it is necessary to expand cooperation with countries having great potential but remain steadfastness in our strategic goals and national interests. Border defence, service-level, corps-level, specialised exchange, scientific research, training, young officer exchange, investment, trade, logistics and technical support cooperation with partners should be closely, synchronously promoted under the Party’s lines. It is essential to actively, proactively propose valuable initiatives to significantly contribute to global and regional defence - security mechanisms and forums, especially within the framework of ADMM and ADMM+. Consideration should be given to carefully preparing and successfully organising the 2^nd Vietnam International Defence Expo 2024. In this regard, it is necessary to closely work with ministries, sectors, localities, and Vietnam’s diplomatic representative missions abroad to serve high-level diplomatic activities of leaders of the Party, State, and MND.

Fourth, building and training a pool of cadres and employees in charge of diplomatic work across the VPA with political steadfastness, great professional competence, broad hands-on experience, and deep knowledge of international law and foreign languages on a par with their task requirements. This is the core force in charge of translating the Party’s lines and the State’s laws and policies on international integration and defence diplomacy into practice. Hence, offices and units should focus on building a specialised force in charge of international integration and defence diplomacy with great capabilities in giving advice and flexibly, effectively performing the task of defence diplomacy in the new situation. Party committees and commands of offices and units across the VPA should be regularly consolidated under the new organisational structure with good qualities, great professional competence, and comprehensive strength. Importance should be attached to training and building a contingent of cadres and employees in charge of diplomatic work, particularly young ones, with pure morality, great professional competence, and scientific working method. Due to the VPA’s active, proactive, deeper, and wider participation in international integration and defence diplomacy, it is necessary to increase training courses on international integration, foreign languages, information technology, and young officer exchange for cadres in charge of diplomatic work to meet their task requirements in the new situation.

Fifth, stepping up information and propagation work for defence diplomacy, accentuating achievements in the settlement of post-war consequences, humanitarian aid, disaster relief, the protection of national sovereignty, national border security, seas, and islands, border defence diplomacy, and Vietnam’s participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations. As Vietnam is now widely and deeply integrating into the world, external information work relating to national defence plays a role of paramount importance; however, this work is very complex and sensitive; any mistakes or malpractices in this work will negatively impact on the image of our country and VPA, and even damage our national interests. Hence, it is necessary to strengthen all-level party committees and commands’ leadership over the work of external information for national defence to guarantee the right direction, quality, and effectiveness in this work. There should be a specialised force in charge of external information work for national defence. Due attention should be paid to equipping cadres in charge of external information work with knowledge of Marxist - Leninist theory, Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, the Party’s lines and viewpoints, and the State’s laws and policies. Great weight should be added to renewing and diversifying forms and methods of information and propagation, taking advantage of scientific and technological advances in external information work, minimising negative impacts of social networks, winning victory in struggle and propagation in cyberspace, resolutely preventing reactionary, evil websites. For the sake of improved effectiveness, press and external information work must be an important channel for comprehensively disseminating Vietnam’s accomplishments in international integration and defence diplomacy among cadres, soldiers, and citizens within our country, overseas Vietnamese people, and the international community. Doing so will provide an incentive for cadres and soldiers across the entire VPA to successfully fulfil all assigned tasks and make defence diplomacy worthy of an important pillar of Party diplomacy, State diplomacy, and people-to-people diplomacy.

Sr. Lt. Gen., Associate Prof., Dr HOANG XUAN CHIEN

Member of the Party Central Committee

Member of the CMC

Deputy Minister of National Defence