The Vietnam People’s Army is a revolutionary army established, educated, and trained by the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh. In each phase of our revolution, our Party has consistently determined the objectives and directions for the building of the Army to meet the requirements of reinforcing national defence and protecting the Fatherland in all situations. Inheriting, supplementing, and developing the Party’s viewpoints and guidelines regarding military and national defence through its congresses, the 13^th Party Congress continues to affirm the viewpoint of building a revolutionary, regular, elite, and progressively modern Army, laying a solid foundation for building a modern Army by 2030. As this is a consistent and appropriate policy reflecting the Party’s strategic vision, its successful implementation becomes a decisive factor in ensuring our Army’s strength to effectively fulfil its pivotal role in the cause of consolidating national defence and safeguarding the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Currently, there exists significant turmoil with rapid, complex, and unpredictable developments on both global and regional scales. Major powers are intensifying their strategic adjustments, rallying forces, engaging in both cooperation and compromise as well as in contention and restraint of each other, and interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, hence posing significant challenges to developing countries, especially smaller ones. Moreover, the number of security hotspots is on the rise, accompanying the risk of widespread escalation while new forms of warfare, types of operations, strategic spaces, and methods of conducting war are emerging. Global issues such as peace protection, human security, natural disasters, pandemics, social security, and non-traditional security, particularly cyber security, climate change, and environmental pollution, continue to evolve in complexity. Besides, disputes over sovereignty, territory, maritime and island sovereignty are becoming more intense, complicated, and fierce, harbouring numerous risks of conflicts and impacting maritime and aviation security and safety. Domestically, despite significant achievements in the cause of national renovation, development, and defence, numerous limitations and weaknesses persist while new complex issues surface. Hostile forces are intensifying their subversion against Vietnamese revolution with increasingly sophisticated, cunning, overt, and direct schemes and tactics.

General Phan Van Giang grants the Determination to Win Flag for the newly-established Corps No.12

The aforementioned situation imposed new and higher requirements for the task of building the Army, strengthening national defence, and safeguarding the Fatherland. To build an elite, compact, strong, and progressively modern Army, it is crucial to thoroughly grasp and effectively implement the measures as follows:

Firstly, continuing to thoroughly grasp the Party’s viewpoint and policy on building an elite, compact, and strong Army, creating unity in will and action during the implementation process. All agencies, units, and personnel of the Army, especially the party committees, commanders, political commissars, and junior political commissars at all levels, should thoroughly grasp the resolutions and directives issued by the Party, the Central Military Commission, and the Ministry of National Defence regarding the building of the Army, strengthening national defence, and safeguarding the Fatherland, with a focus on Resolution No. 05-NQ/TW, dated 17 January 2022, by the Politburo, Resolution No. 230-NQ/QUTW, dated 02 April 2022, by the Central Military Commission, and Plan No. 1228/KH-BQP, dated 25 April 2022, by the Ministry of National Defence on the Reorganisation of the Vietnam People’s Army for the 2021-2030 period and beyond.

On the basis of profoundly imbibing the objectives, viewpoints, principles, mottos, and tasks regarding its organisation, the Army continues to build unwavering political bravery, consistently upholding revolutionary vigilance and maintaining absolute loyalty to the Fatherland, the Party, the State, and the people for all officers and soldiers. The services and corps that are directed straight towards modernity must exert great efforts to adhere to the modernisation roadmap, ensuring synchronisation in terms of organisation, personnel, weaponry, equipment, methods, operational capabilities, and other aspects. Accordingly, each level should proactively formulate comprehensive plans and scientific methods of implementation with specific timelines and steps in adjusting the organisations and troop strengths of different forces in line with the strategy of building an all-people national defence and the people’s war, the capability to ensure weaponry and equipment, the glorious traditions of the Army, the noble qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”, and Vietnam’s military art. Importance is attached to adjusting the Army’s organisation towards being elite, compact, and strong, with a reasonable structure and troop strength, balanced among different components and forces. Besides, the Army tries to build a substantial reserve force and a robust, widespread militia and self-defence force across regions and at sea, ensuring the Army’s capability to act as the core force, along with the people, in successfully fulfilling the mission of national defence in all situations.

Secondly, maintaining and promoting the direct and absolute leadership in all aspects of the Party on the Army and constantly focusing on building a clean, strong, and exemplary Military Party Committee. The direct and absolute leadership of the Party, linked with regular efforts to develop a politically, ideologically, ethically, organisationally, and personnel-wise strong and exemplary Military Party Committee should be maintained and promoted. Additionally, the enhancement of overall quality and combat strength should be based on strong political foundations and the standards of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”. Regardless of the circumstances, the Army remains a political and combat force of absolute loyalty and reliability to the Party, the State, and the people, ready to accept and excellently fulfil the mission of safeguarding the Fatherland in all situations.

In addition, the leadership capability and combat strength of party committees and party organisations at all levels, as well as the pioneering and exemplary role of officers and party members across the Army should be enhanced. The Army continues to innovate and improve the quality of political and ideological education, ensuring that officers and soldiers remain steadfast in the goals of national independence and socialism. Besides, they can thoroughly grasp the Party’s viewpoints and guidelines, maintain a firm ideological stance, clearly define the objectives and ideals for combat, and deeply understand their tasks to recognise both the opportunities and challenges, thus being determined to accomplish all assigned tasks. The Army steps up the education about Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s thoughts, the Party’s guidelines and viewpoints, the State’s policies and laws, and the Army’s and the units’ tasks so that all personnel can identify our “partners” and “adversaries” as well as the schemes and tactics of hostile forces. The Army takes the initiative in consolidating and maintaining the Party’s “ideological battlefield” within the Army and protecting the Party’s ideological foundation, refuting erroneous and hostile viewpoints. The entire Army resolutely implements the Resolution of the 4^th Party Central Committee (11^th, 12^th, and 13^th tenures) on Party building and rectification in conjunction with the implementation of the Politburo’s Conclusion No. 01-KL/TW, dated 18 May 2021, on continuing to implement Directive No. 05-CT/TW; Directive No. 87-CT/QUTW, dated 08 July 2016, by the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission on promoting the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thoughts, morality, and style; Directive No. 855-CT/QUTW, dated 12 August 2019, by the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission on intensifying the Campaign entitled “Promoting traditions, dedicating talents, deserving to be “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” in the new period; and Resolution No. 847-NQ/QUTW of the Central Military Commission on promoting the noble qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”, resolutely combatting individualism in the new situation.

Thirdly, drastically adjusting the organisation, staffing, and equipment of each agency and unit in accordance with their functions, tasks, as well as new weaponry and equipment. Each level should proactively review, adjust, and consolidate the organisation, staffing, and equipment in tandem with changes in force deployment and tasks, thus building a solid national defence and military posture and contributing to enhancing the overall strength and safeguarding the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Each level should proactively formulate and implement thorough, scientific plans with appropriate roadmaps and steps, adjusting the organisation and troop strength of each block in line with the policy of an all-people national defence and a people’s war, and the capability to ensure weaponry and equipment, thus maintaining and enhancing the traditions of the Army, the noble qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”, and Vietnam’s military art. The Army continues to establish various strategic reserve forces, build a substantial reserve force and a strong, widespread militia and self-defence force across regions and at sea, ensuring the Army’s capability to act as the core force, along with the people, in successfully fulfilling the mission of national defence in all situations.

Fourthly, combining the adjustment of force organisation with the strict maintenance of combat readiness while innovating and enhancing the quality of training, exercises, and education. Party committees and commanders of agencies and units across the Army should closely combine the adjustment of force organisation and force deployment with the strict maintenance of combat readiness. Besides, they should regularly adjust, supplement, and refine the system of documents concerning combat readiness and strictly follow the established operational plans. They should also coordinate with central and local departments, branches, and sectors to effectively implement the Politburo’s Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW, dated 22 September 2008, on continuing to turn provinces and centrally-run cities into robust defensive areas in the new situation and the Politburo’s Conclusion No. 64-KL/TW, dated 30 October 2019, on intensifying the implementation of Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW and the Government’s Decree No. 21/2019/NĐ-CP regarding defensive areas. Additionally, the Army strengthens measures to manage borders, inland areas, airspace, and maritime areas as well as the national cyber sovereignty in order to proactively prevent, timely detect, and effectively handle arising situations, avoiding any passivity or surprise. The Army should also make careful preparations of forces, means, and plans to perform “peacetime combat tasks”, such as participating in the prevention, control, and mitigation of natural disasters, catastrophes, epidemics, environmental incidents, search and rescue operations, thus promoting its role as the standby force that can timely and successfully handle different situations.

The entire Army continues to make breakthroughs in innovating and enhancing training quality as per Resolution No. 1659-NQ/QUTW, dated 20 December 2022, by the Central Military Commission on improving training quality for the 2023-2030 period and beyond. Furthermore, it should flexibly and creatively apply the viewpoints, objectives, principles, mottos, linkages, as well as requirements and measures to improve training quality, particularly night-time training and mastery of new, modern weaponry and equipment. Besides, the Army should integrate military training with political training and physical training to enhance troops’ resilience, willpower, determination, and mobility in all conditions and situations. Training and exercises at all levels should be strictly and effectively conducted, ensuring safety and practicality. Importance is attached to the human factor, especially the building of high-quality human resources in terms of both quantity and structure in line with the modernisation roadmap of weaponry and equipment of different services and corps, ensuring both immediate and long-term uses.

In light of the Central Military Commission’s Resolution No. 1657-NQ/QUTW, dated 20 December 2022, on innovating education and training to meet the requirements and tasks of building the Army in the new situation, the Army has invested in the construction of several academies and schools towards the model of “A smart school that approaches the Fourth Industrial Revolution”. Besides, the quality of training assurance has been enhanced to meet the requirements of being “scientific, effective, and timely”, in line with the organisation, staffing, weaponry, equipment, combat methods, and real combat conditions, following the motto “The training quality of schools is the combat readiness capacity of units”. Simultaneously, academies and schools across the Army continue to research, compile, and complete the system of textbooks and training materials, ensuring suitability for each target group and educational level.

Finally, continuing to build and develop an advanced and modern defence industry. Thoroughly grasping and effectively implementing the Politburo’s Resolution No. 08-NQ/TW, dated 26 January 2022, on accelerating the development of the defence industry until 2030 and beyond, the Army continues to build and develop a proactive, self-reliant, self-strengthening, dual-use, and modern defence industry that becomes the spearhead of the national industry and achieves advanced scientific and technological levels. Besides, the defence industry should be organised with an appropriate scale, structure, management mechanism, and operation, ensuring centralised and unified state management. It is crucial to harness the role, responsibility, and active, effective participation of all economic sectors to contribute to enhancing the country’s military and national defence potential and strength.

Building an elite, compact, and strong Army as the foundation for modernisation is a major policy of our Party and State. Simultaneously, it is a crucial and arduous objective for the entire Party, people, Army, and political system in the new situation. Therefore, all military officers and soldiers are required to thoroughly grasp the Party’s viewpoints and policies to consistently strive with unity, discipline, and determination to successfully achieve the objective of building an elite, compact, and strong Army that advances towards modernity, contributing to firmly safeguarding the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

General, PhD. PHAN VAN GIANG, Member of the Politburo, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Minister of National Defence