Military delegation to the 13th National Party Congress

The 11^th Military Party Congress for the 2020-2025 tenure was successfully, closely organised as a typical example producing a positive effect across the entire Party. The success of this Congress marked a significant milestone and it continued to prove the unity, unification, political zeal, and tradition of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) over the past 75 years of construction, combat and development under the Party’s glorious flag. At the same time, it demonstrated the determination to build a politically strong VPA with a high level of synergy and combat readiness so that the VPA would be capable of undertaking and fulfilling all assigned tasks. Also, the Congress assessed the 5-year implementation of the 10^th Military Party Congress Resolution, set out the guidelines, goals, tasks, and measures for performing the military-defence work and building the Military Party Organisation for the 2020-2025 tenure, with priority given to realising three breakthroughs, namely (1) organisational structure, (2) training, and (3) military standard order building, legal and discipline management, and administrative reform. Those are basic, urgent issues and will provide a solid foundation for the whole Military to realise the goal of building a modern VPA from 2030.

In the past 5 years, the Central Military Commission (CMC), the Ministry of National Defence (MND), and all-level party committees and commands have heightened a sense of responsibility for leading and directing the entire VPA to successfully and excellently fulfil all missions. They have proactively, flexibly studied, assessed, and correctly anticipated situations, while opportunely giving advice to our Party and State on taking effective, resolute, flexible remedies to avoid falling into passivity. Due regard has been paid to developing, promulgating and implementing many important military-defence strategies, resolutions, conclusions, and projects to contribute to perfecting Vietnam’s military ideology, guidelines, and art and better meeting the requirements set by the Homeland protection in both long and short terms. The country’s defence potential has been increased. The military potential has been comprehensively developed. The politico-spiritual potential has been enhanced. The posture of “people’s hearts and minds” has been increasingly strong. The people’s faith in the Party, the State and the VPA has been always solid. Against the situation’s complex developments, the VPA has always given assistance to our Party, State and people, while playing a core role in building the all-people national defence and the posture of all-people national defence associated with the posture of people’s security as the basis for national construction and protection. It has also played a core, vanguard role in responding to non-traditional security challenges. It should be noted that in the fight against COVID-19 and recent natural disasters, the VPA’s cadres and soldiers have sacrificed their lives to help the people and effectively deal with situations, thereby asserting its functions as “an army ready for combat, for work, and for production,” deserving to be an army of the people, by the people, and for the people, and bolstering the image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers.”

To obtain those achievements, the CMC and the MND have focused their leadership and direction on drastically, synchronously adopting measures to realise the three breakthroughs in organisational structure, training, and military standard order building, legal and discipline management and administrative reform. Commanders of offices and units have been fully aware that implementing the three breakthroughs would help satisfy the requirements set by Military build-up, national defence consolidation, and national protection in the new situation. They have seriously executed the Politburo’s Conclusion 16-KL/TW, dated July 7^th, 2017 and its Resolution 15-NQ/TW, dated August 1^st, 2017 on force rearrangement in a compact and strong manner. Due attention has been paid to executing projects on weapons acquisition, research, and innovation safely, economically. Greater importance has been attached to downsizing strategic and campaign-level offices by 10% and sufficiently staffing units tasked with combat readiness and training or stationed in the isolated, remote, border, sea, island areas.

The quality of training and exercises has been gradually improved to meet the requirements set by the VPA’s combat readiness. Offices and units have grasped and strictly followed the training motto of “basics, practicality, and thorough grasp” under the CMC’s Resolution 765-NQ/QUTW, dated December 20^th, 2012, with a focus on renewing training management, operation, organisation, and logistics support. Great value has been attached to providing synchronous, intensive training, taking practice as the main method, training troops to master modern weaponry, organising night-time, manoeuvrability, situations-based training, and increasing physical training. Consideration has been given to holding all-level exercises, renewing the contents and methods of military region-level defensive combat exercises, all-level defensive zone exercises, and other ones relating to non-traditional security challenge and COVID-19 prevention and control, practising projects on the Homeland defence in cyberspace, and taking part in the International Army Games (2019, 2020) and the Australian Army Skill at Arms Meet (AASAM 2019) where our VPA’s training and combat capacity had been highly appreciated by many other countries. Those activities have also helped prove the entire VPA’s power, combat, command, coordination, and combat readiness capability and manoeuvrability. The work of training, education, and scientific research has been conducted closely, synchronously. Military schools have actively renewed, “standardised, and modernised” their training contents and programmes, encouraged international training cooperation, and built a contingent of instructors and educational managers both qualitatively and quantitatively, thus greatly contributing to developing the VPA’s education and training to meet the task requirements in the new situation.

All-level party committees and commands have taken breakthrough measures to build comprehensive strong, “exemplary, typical” units, well executed the Regulation on grass-roots level Democracy, increased dialogues, created a sense of unity, and opportunely handled issues right at grass-roots level. They have raised their cadres and soldiers’ awareness and responsibility, while adopting administrative measures and building healthy cultural environment within their units. Moreover, they have stringently handled bureaucracy, lack of exemplification, and serious violations of military discipline. Due regard has been paid to enhancing military administrative reform, improving the task performance, and clearly assigning responsibility to each office, unit, and individual for performing tasks.

It is clear to see that the CMC and the MND have placed emphasis on taking synchronous, proper, effective measures to realise the three breakthroughs set by the 10^th Military Party Congress together with the great political resolve. All-level party committees, commands, competent offices, and key cadres have promoted their role in directing and encouraging mass organisations and soldiers’ councils to grasp and implement the three breakthroughs. Cadres and soldiers across the VPA have always been self-aware to abide by regulations and perform their tasks. As a result, offices and units have gained significant achievements in executing the three breakthroughs and made a huge positive change in their task performance, thereby contributing to improving the whole Military’s synergy and combat power over the years.

In the foreseeable future, peace, cooperation and development will still be the mainstream. However, the global situation will continue to be complex and unpredictable. Major powers will keep adjusting their strategies, cooperating, compromising and competing with one another as well as controlling and intervening in other countries. Territorial disputes and the situation in the East Sea will continue to be intense. Non-traditional security challenges, cyber attacks, terrorism, natural disasters and epidemics will still be complex. Domestically, our country’s power, national synergy, and international prestige are gradually increased, while the people’s faith in our Party, State, and VPA is increasingly consolidated as the basis for national construction and protection. However, our country will be confronted with a lot of difficulties as the hostile forces are enhancing their “peaceful evolution” strategy and promoting “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” from within to sabotage our Party, State and VPA. The tasks of Military build-up, national defence consolidation, and national protection will be much more difficult and complicated.

Thoroughly grasping the 11^th Military Party Congress’ Resolution and performing all missions synchronously, the entire VPA should focus on the following measures to continue realising the three breakthroughs.

First, concentrate leadership and direction on well implementing the three breakthroughs under the 11^th Military Party Congress Resolution. According to the 11^th Military Party Congress, the three breakthroughs, which have been carefully studied and made relevant to the VPA’s practical conditions, must be a routine task and political responsibility of all-level party committees and commands; therefore, there should be specific plans and roadmaps for each period and year, and for the whole tenure. To realise those three breakthroughs, all-level party committees and organisations should frequently render their soldiers and cadres fully aware of the role and necessity of the three breakthroughs in the building of the VPA nowadays. Besides, staff members should be fully aware that the goal of streamlining the VPA must be attained by 2025 and from 2030, the VPA will be modernised. Doing so will enable them to heighten their responsibility to fulfil their assigned tasks. Furthermore, grounded on the three breakthroughs’ targets and the Military build-up, all-level party committees and commands should develop resolutions and action plans in accordance with each office and unit’s tasks. Cadres, superiors, and party members must set good examples for their soldiers and inferiors to follow in order to create a positive effect and motivation across offices and units. The whole VPA must be united in terms of both will and action. Measures for the leadership and implementation process must include collective leadership and individual accountability, while heightening a sense of unity, knowledge, working method, and exemplification in both words and action. Emphasis should be placed on building diverse, healthy military cultural environment and proactively boosting cadres and soldiers’ immunity against negative effects and evil culture. Offices and units should well carry out the work of political education, ideological management, and legal propagation. They should enhance military standard order building, strictly maintain regulations and discipline, ensure cadres and soldiers’ material and mental life, and create a favourable condition for their staff members to successfully fulfil their assigned missions.

Second, continue adjusting the VPA’s organisational structure in a “compact and strong” fashion and ensuring a balance between components and forces. The entire VPA should focus on achieving the goals and targets relating to force organisation and weaponry under the Politburo’s Conclusion 16-KL/TW, dated July 7^th, 2017 and its Resolution 15-NQ/TW, dated August 1^st, 2017. Due attention should be paid to formulating and effectively executing the Project on the VPA’s organisation in the new situation, fulfilling the goal of adjusting the VPA’s organisational structure, clearly identifying offices and units’ tasks and functions, reducing the strength of supporting offices and units, sufficiently staffing units tasked with combat readiness in the key, border, sea, island areas, ensuring synchronicity between weaponry, personnel and technical maintenance, and determining each position within offices and units, particularly at strategic and campaign levels. Priority should be given to building and modernising several units and forces, acquiring and providing modern weapons and equipment for the ground force towards 2025 and beyond as the basis for building a modern VPA from 2030. Significance should be attached to renewing the mechanisms and methods for acquiring weapons and equipment closely, effectively under the State’s law to meet the requirements set by the VPA’s training and combat. Additionally, the quality of military call-up, university entrance exam, and recruitment should be improved to attract high-quality human resources to the VPA. Great weight should be added to adjusting and rearranging the system of military schools, factories, workshops, and economic-defence units, developing and implementing the Master Plan on autonomy of public non-business units, and accomplishing the organisation of the cyber warfare force, the coast guard, and several other forces. 

Third, renew the work of training, exercise and education and improve its quality to meet the requirements of Military build-up in the new situation. The whole VPA should continue raising the quality of training and exercise under the CMC’s Resolution 765-NQ/QUTW. Units and offices should adhere to the training motto of “basics, practicality, and thorough grasp,” increase synchronous, intensive combat and night-time training, train their troops to master weapons and equipment, especially the new ones, combine military training with political education and physical training, build up troops’ political zeal, determination, and manoeuvrability in any circumstance, and strictly maintain safety regulations during training courses and exercises. Exercises at all levels must be organised closely, effectively, and safely, while the capacity to master weapons and equipment, particularly the new ones must be enhanced. It is necessary to continue building and completing mechanisms for training management and operation in a “focalised, uniformed, synchronous, and effective” manner as the basis for raising the quality of education, training, scientific research, and military technology. Due attention should be paid to developing a contingent of teachers and educational managers both qualitatively and quantitatively, fostering scientific researches, improving teachers and researchers’ qualifications, teaching and studying method, and hands-on experience, enhancing educational managers’ political zeal and commanding, managing style, and implementing preferential treatment policies to attract talents to academies and universities. It is essential to actively renew, standardise, modernise, and make training procedures, programmes and contents relevant to each group of learners, the tasks of training and combat readiness, and the Military build-up in the new situation. More investments should be made in the construction of “smart schools capable of approaching the 4^th industrial revolution” while the quality of logistics support for training should be improved to satisfy the goal of “being scientific, effective, and timely.” Besides, it is vital to continue designing, supplementing, and perfecting the system of training documents and textbooks in accordance with each group of learners and force.

Fourth, enhance party committees and commands’ leadership and direction over military standard order building, legal and discipline management, and military administrative reform. The whole VPA should well conduct the work of political education to build up cadres and soldiers’ motivation, determination, and self-consciousness to observe military discipline, directives and regulations. All-level party committees and commands should frequently review and assess their offices and units’ building of military standard order and legal and discipline management, stringently maintain regulations on work and study, and take more measures to manage soldiers’ social relationships. Importance should be attached to improving cadres’ qualities and capabilities in commanding and managing troop, well executing regulations on cadres and party members’ role model-setting responsibility, and strictly handling bureaucracy and violations of discipline within offices and units. It is important to promote the role of organisations, party members, and union members in military standard order building and discipline management. Besides, it is essential to grasp cadres and soldiers’ ideological developments, opportunely detect and settle ideological issues right at grass-roots level. The results of military standard order building and discipline management must be one of the most important criteria for carrying out the emulation and commendation work and evaluating annual individual and collective performance. The building of comprehensively strong, “exemplary, typical” units must be combined with the construction of pure, strong party organisations. Due attention should be paid to enhancing military administrative reform and building an E-Government within the MND, particularly at strategic, campaign-level offices and units. Moreover, consideration should be given to reviewing, completing, and executing the Project on administrative reform in the period of 2021-2025 and beyond and the master plan for administrative reform in the period of 2021-2030 secretly, safely, economically and effectively.

In 2021 and beyond, more demanding requirements will be imposed on the military-defence task. Thoroughly grasping and successfully implementing the 11^th Military Party Congress Resolution as well as realising the three breakthroughs will provide us an important precondition for modernising the VPA from 2030 and will make great contributions to the success of the 13^th National Party Congress, the Election of Deputies to the 15^th National Assembly and all-level People’s Councils for the 2021-2026 tenure. Fully aware of their honour and responsibility for the Party, the Homeland, and the people, cadres and soldiers across the VPA will continue promoting the tradition and virtues of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers,” raising the VPA’s synergy and combat strength, successfully fulfilling the military-defence tasks, and safeguarding the Homeland in any situation to deserve to be “a heroic army of a heroic nation.”

Gen. NGO XUAN LICH, Member of the Politburo, Deputy Secretary of the CMC

Minister of National Defence