Bringing into play the 10-year implementation of the 10^th Politburo’s Resolution 28-NQ/TW, dated September 22^nd 2008 on “continuing to build provinces and Central-controlled cities into strong defensive zones in the new situation (hereafter the Resolution 28), the Party Committee, authority and people of Gia Lai province continue to step up the building of a basic, inter-connected, solid” provincial defensive zone to make contributions to consolidating national defence and protecting the Homeland from afar.

Grasping the Party’s defence-military guidelines and the importance of building defensive zones under the Resolution 28, over the past years, Gia Lai province has synchronously, seriously taken measures to build itself into a basic, inter-connected, solid” defensive zone in line with the area’s particularities and its economic potential, and obtained the significant results. The mechanisms for leading, directing and managing the building and operation of the defensive zone has been supplemented and completed while the awareness and responsibility of cadres, party members and the people towards the building of defensive zone and the Homeland protection have been changed positively. The provincial defensive zone’s potential and posture, particularly the posture of “people’s hearts and minds” have been strengthened; the all-people national defence and the all-people national defence posture associated with the people’s security posture and the all-people border defence posture have been made increasingly solid. Economic development has been effectively combined with defence-security; the armed forces’ synergy and combat strength have been raised; the defensive zone’s operation has initially put in order. Those results have provided an important basis for the province to maintain political security and social order and safety, safeguard the national border sovereignty and security, facilitate the socio-economic development of Gia Lai and the Central Highlands. The people’s life has considerably improved, and their faith in the Party, State, and local party committees and authorities has been cemented.

However, the awareness and responsibility of a section of people and even cadres towards the building of defensive zone have yet to be really fully. The system of political bases has been consolidated; however, its capability to deal with the situations has been limited. The combination of socio-economic development and defence-security, particularly traffic infrastructure, and the construction and management of defensive works have yet to be synchronous. All of these issues should be resolved in the time to come.

For the sake of a basic, inter-connected, solid provincial defensive zone amidst the advantages and challenges as well as the high requirements for the Homeland protection, first of all, the province continues to enhance the party committees’ leadership and the authorities’ management and operation at all levels over the building and operation of the defensive zone, while considering this as a central task. Based on the 10-year implementation of the Resolution 28, the province continues to engage the entire political system and people in the building of defensive zone. Under the higher echelons’ resolutions, directives and guiding documents, the province reviews and supplements the measures to execute the Resolution 13-NQ/TU on building the defensive zone and the Action Program 49-CTr/TU for the Resolution 28 in line with the recent strategies. At the same time, it directs sectors and localities to continue effectively realizing the road map and taking the following steps in accordance with local reality. The province focuses on combining socio-economic development with defence-security, building the defensive zone’s potential and posture, especially the posture of “people’s hearts and minds” and the military posture in the key, border areas, and making local armed forces strong. Moreover, importance is be attached to raising the effectiveness of the defensive zone’s organizations, particularly the steering committee for building the defensive zone, promoting the core role of the military offices in counselling and performing this important task.

Second, actively promoting the work of education and propagation to raise the awareness and responsibility of sectors, localities and the people towards the building of defensive zone and the Homeland protection. The province continues to direct the work of political, ideological, and defence-security education for all people, particularly the key cadres of the political system, ethnic minority people, and those living in the remote, isolated, border areas. It will proactively direct localities to renew and flexibly employ the contents, forms and methods of education in accordance with each group of objects and area as well as provide education for religious dignitaries and heads of villages and clans, etc. The province requires the local armed forces to continue encouraging their function as an army ready for work, actively conducting the mass mobilization work, taking part in building the political bases, and effectively implementing the guidelines on deploying cadres and party members of the provincial border guard to join the border communes’ party committees and party cells’ meetings so that they could directly advise local party committees and authorities on the policy for socio-economic development and defence-security consolidation, the building of “people’s hearts and minds” posture, and the fight against the hostile forces’ plots and artifices.

Third, combining economic development with defence-security consolidation in order to improve the defensive zone’s economic potential. Grasping the viewpoint on economic development as the centre and defence-security consolidation as the routine task as well as the achievements in all fields, particularly in the economic and defence ones, the province continues improving the quality and effectiveness of combining socio-economic development with defence-security right in the plans by each district and sector, and aligning the plan for socio-economic development with the plan for defence posture disposition, particularly the defensive zone’s military posture. In the upcoming time, the province will facilitate the development of its potential economic sectors, invest in infrastructure, and actively adjust the structure of economic sectors with a focus on dual-use products. Notably, the province will continue to improve the business and investment environment, create a favourable condition for the investment projects, new enterprises, cooperatives, industrial clusters for processing of agricultural and forest products, and key economic zones, such as South Pleiku Industrial Zone, Tra Da Industrial Zone, and Le Thanh International Border Gate Economic Zone. At the same time, it will upgrade and expand the land and air traffic systems to establish a connection between Gia Lai and the Central Region and Central Highlands as well as Gia Lai and other provinces of the country. In the process, significance will be attached to reviewing and closely appraising the socio-economic development projects, particularly the foreign-invested ones in the defence and security-related key areas, avoiding letting economic benefits affect the defensive zone’s posture. Besides, the province will continue to ensure the budget for planning and building the district-level and provincial defensive zones’ military postures under the road map. In the medium term, priority will be given to constructing essential works within the rear bases, combat bases, key positions, clusters of key positions and permanent militia key positions; to well conducting the work of camouflage and managing and protecting defence works under the regulations.

Fourth, building strong local armed forces comprehensively with the great synergy and combat strength as the core in the building and operation of the defensive zone. This is a matter of importance to building the defensive zone. Thus, the province will continue to make the local armed forces strong politically, ideologically, and organizationally, increasingly “compact and strong” in line with each force’s function and task; to build strong, pure party cells and committees of the military, border guard, and public security offices and units; to enhance their quality of  counselling and their task performance. It will closely cooperate with the Military Region 5’s Command in taking synchronous measures to build the revolutionary, regular, elite, gradually modern active force, the powerful reserve force, and the strong, extensive militia and self-defence force in each area. Great value will be attached to bolstering cadres and soldiers’ political zeal as the basis for improving the synergy and combat strength, ensuring that cadres and soldiers will be ready to undertake and successfully fulfil all assigned tasks. It is worth noting that the province will continue allocating the budget for implementing the project on building the militia and self-defence force with priority given to raising the quality of operation of active militia squads in the border communes, while standardizing a contingent of commune-level military command cadres and training a contingent of reserve officers. At the same time, it will renew the work of call-up, combine this work with the preparation of human resources for localities, and improve the provincial defensive zone’s military posture. Besides, the province will direct units of the armed forces to further enhance the quality of training and coordination; it will direct its localities to maintain the order for defensive zone exercises at their level. By doing so, it could supplement and complete the mechanism and regulations for the operation of the defensive zone, enhance the leadership, management, and operation capacity of all-level party committees and authorities, and the forces’ capability to deal with the defence-security situations.

A part from the above-mentioned measures, the province will adopt synchronously the diplomatic measures to cement the solidarity and friendship with Cambodian localities in a bid to build a border of peace, friendship, and cooperation for development, laying a solid foundation for the Party Committee, authority, people, and armed forces of Gia Lai province to effectively implement the Resolution 28, build a comprehensively strong provincial defensive zone, and defend the province in all situations.

Vo Ngoc Thanh, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee