Protecting the sovereignty and security of the border areas and waters is a political task of Ha Tinh Border Guard. Aware of that, the Provincial Border Guard Party Committee and Command have been synchronously implementing solutions to firmly protect the sovereignty and security of the assigned border areas and waters to create favorable conditions for the Province to realise its goal of fast and sustainable economic development.

Ha Tinh has 164 km of land border line that borders two provinces of Bolikhamxay and Khammouane of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and 137 km of coastline. The security situation on the two areas is quite complicated. On the periphery, reactionaries are stepping up their sabotage activities against our Party, our State, and Laos, including propagandising, enticing, and inciting the free emigration of Mong people. Domestically, religious extremists are promoting their illegal transmission, while activities of drug, smuggling, and commercial fraud crimes tend to increase with larger scale, higher complexity, and more sophisticated and dangerous tricks. At sea, foreign ships and boats are exploiting aquatic and marine products and infringing upon our country's sovereignty of maritime territory, etc.

Aware of the characteristics, situation, and assigned tasks, over the years, the Provincial Border Guard Party Committee and Command have advised the Provincial Party Committee, Provincial People's Committee, and Border Guard Party Committee Standing Commission and High Command with policies and measures for leading and directing the border guard work, directly implemented all aspects of work, and achieved multiple important results to contribute to firmly protecting the territorial sovereignty and maintain political security, social order, and safety in the assigned border areas and waters.

Coordinating with Laos counterparts in border work

In the coming time, the border security situation of inland border areas and waters of the Province will continue developing complicatedly as hostile forces are take advantage of the ethnic and religious issues, ... to step up their sabotage activities. Therefore, the task of protecting the border sovereignty and security challenges the Border Guard’s unity, unification, and determination to fulfill their assigned tasks. Particularly, attention should be paid to the following basic contents and solutions:

1. To continue thoroughly grasping and well implementing the Party's undertakings and lines and the State's policies and laws. This is an important legal basis to thoroughly direct the process of protecting the border sovereignty and security and waters of the Provincial Border Force. Accordingly, the Party committees and commanders of Border Guard agencies, units, posts, and, stations should intensify the propagation and education work to make cadres, soldiers, and the people firmly grasp the Party's undertakings and lines and the State’s law on protecting the border sovereignty and security, especially Resolution No.33-NQ/TW issued on September 28^th, 2018 by the Politburo (the 12^th Tenure) on the “National border protection strategy”, National Border Law, and the Border Guard Party Committee and High Command and the Provincial Party Committee and People's Committee’s resolutions, directives, orders, and plans. At the same time, importance should also be attached to firmly grasping the Party and State’s resolutions and directives on socio-economic development of inland border communes in combination with promotion and consolidation of national defence, security, and foreign affairs’ the organisation of the movement of all people’s participation in protecting the territorial sovereignty and national security in the new situation; and domestic and international legal documents on the management of people and vehicles crossing the border and ships operating at sea, etc.

On that basis, the Party committees and commanders of agencies and units should concretise into their leadership and direction guidelines and measures, plans, programs, and schemes to be close to the local characteristics and requirements of tasks and organise the communication, assignment of tasks, cooperation, and implemention. Focus should be on building the comprehensively strong Provincial Border Guard in all aspects and uphold its core role in advising and organising the implementation of the task of protecting the inland border and maritime sovereignty and security, among which the task of firmly protecting the sovereignty and maintaining the security and order of the border areas and waters in charge should be taken as the highest target and the criteria for evaluating the task performance of the Unit.

2. To synchronously perform border guard professional measures. First of all, agencies and units should closely combine force consolidation, especially reconnaissance forces, with renovation of methods of grasping, synthesising, analysing, and accurately assessing the situation in the peripheral and internal areas of the inland border and sea, particularly key areas with complicated political security and religious hotspots, to take as a basis for effective handling of situations, not to be passive and unexpected. Patrol and control measures should be strengthened to detect, prevent, and promptly handle the conspiracies and intentions of sabotage activities of hostile forces and acts of violating territorial sovereignty to firmly protect the border line markers. The quality of entry and exit control at border gates, seaports, estuaries and creeks should be regularly improved. Besides, it is necessary to accelerate the reform of administrative procedures and maintain the efficiency of electronic border procedures to create favorable conditions for people and vehicles crossing the border gates. It is also required to proactively set up crime prevention and fighting projects in combination with intensified periods to prevent and combat drug-related crimes, smuggling, commercial fraud, and other types of crimes to clean up the area. Focus should be on adjusting and supplementing plans and schemes, especially those for protecting the sovereignty and security of inland border areas, sea and islands, and regularly organising practice and drills. The combat readiness order and regime should be strictly and seriously maintained with sufficient numbers of troops, weapons, equipment, and means to serve the tasks of managing and protecting the sovereignty protection and security of the border, border gates and sovereignty over sea and islands.

3. To closely coordinate with relevant forces. This is a shared task of the local Party Committees and authorities at all levels and sectors, the armed forces and the entire population, in which the Provincial Border Guard is the core. Accordingly, to create synergy to fulfill this important task, agencies and units should continue closely coordinating with relevant forces including the military agencies, Navy, Coast Guard, Forest Ranger, Fisheries, Militia, and border protection forces of the neibouring country, ... especially with the Public Security pursuant to Decree No.03/2019/NĐ-CP issued on September 5^th, 2019 by Government on protecting the national security, ensuring social order and safety, preventing crimes, and performing defence duties. To ensure unity and promote synergy, the forces should firmly grasp and appropriately execute their functions, tasks, and coordination mechanisms and regulations issued by the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial People's Committee, of which the Border Guard is the central body to coordinate, cooperate, and guide the implementation. It is necessary to regularly study and detect shortcomings and problems during implementation to advise to supplement, develop, and perfect the mechanism, ensuring smooth, coherent, effective, and appropriate coordination in accordance with requirements and tasks.

4. To promote foreign affairs of border guard. The Provincial Border Guard Command should actively advise the Provincial Party Committee, Provincial People's Council and People's Committee, departments, and branches to strengthen the relation and coordination with the party committees, authorities, and functional forces of Laos. Importance should be attached to strictly maintaining the order and regime of rotation of briefings, conferences, and information exchange and closely coordinating in preventing and fighting against crimes and managing and protecting the border line and border gates. It is essential to enhance the activities of border exchanges and bilateral patrols and maintain the effective operation of the twinning program between Laos’ border guard companies and the Provincial border posts and twinning program of residential clusters on both sides of the border to contribute to building a border of peace, friendship, cooperation and mutual development.

Under the direct leadership and direction of the Border Guard Party Committee Standing Commission and High Command, Provincial Party Committee, and Provincial People's Committee and the coordination with other forces, departments, and branches, especially the support of local ethnic groups, Ha Tinh Border Guard will stay united to overcome difficulties and fulfill the task of managing and protecting the sovereignty and security at border line and waters in charge.

Colonel VO TIEN NGHI, Commander of the Provincial Border Guard Command