Thoroughly grasping Resolution No.28-NQ/TW issued on September 22nd, 2008 by the Politburo (the 10th Tenure) on “continuing to build the Central provinces and cities into solid defence areas in the new situation”, Hai Phong armed forces have been implementing drastically and synchronously solutions to build a solid defence area to meet the requirements and tasks of protecting the Fatherland in the new situation.

Hai Phong is one of 28 coastal provinces and cities in the country with a coastline of about 125 km. Additionally, Hai Phong City is also an important growth pole of the northern key economic region with many life-bloods, important traffic hubs (road, sea, and air), and gateways for international exchange and trade, etc. Therefore, Hai Phong plays a particularly important role in the strategy for socio-economic development and strengthening of national defence, security, and foreign affairs of the Military Region 3, the North, and the whole country. Being aware of that, over the years, thoroughly grasping the resolutions and directives of the Party, the Central Military Commission, and the Ministry of National Defence, directly the leadership and direction of the Military Region 3 Party Committee and High Command, the City Military Command has coordinated with departments, agencies, and branches in advising the City Party Committee, People's Council, and People's Committee to focus on leading and directing localities to build the solid defence area in the new situation. Notably, the leadership and direction of construction and operation of the defence area have been highly valued and innovated. The awareness and sense of responsibility of cadres, Party members, levels, branches, armed forces, and people for this important task has changed markedly. The mechanism for leadership, direction, and management of construction and operation in the defence area has been completed and conducted synchronously. Military agencies have played a pivotal role in presiding over, coordinating, and advising the Party committees and local authorities to lead and direct the increasingly in-depth and substantive construction of the defence area. The economic, political - spiritual, and cultural-social potentials and military posture have been consolidated and strengthened. The overall quality, level, and combat readiness of the City's armed forces have been improved. In fact, the construction and operation of the districts’ defence area have basically met the requirements and tasks of protecting the Fatherland in the new situation.

Besides the achievements, the awareness and sense of responsibility of a part of local cadres, Party members, people, and businesses, especially foreign-invested enterprises, regarding the task of building the defence are inadequate. The combination of socio-economic development with strengthening of national defence and security in the defence area in some branches, fields, and localities is still limited.

A City Party Committee Standing Commission's meeting on defence work

To overcome the above-mentioned limitations and achieve the goal specified in Resolution No.45-NQ/TW issued on January 24th, 2019 by the Politburo “On building and developing Hai Phong city to 2030, with a vision to 2045” and the Resolution of the 16th City Party Congress, the 2020 - 2025 term, the City as promoted the comprehensive implementation of all aspects and fields of work. Particularly, building the solid defence area is a key content which will be implemented with multiple synchronous and drastic solutions with importance attached to the followings:

Firstly, building a firm “people’s heart-and-mind posture” to promote the political - spiritual and cultural - social potentials in the defence area. “The people’s heart-and-mind posture” with the core content of arousing patriotism, solidarity, will of national independence, self-sufficiency, and self-reliance and strengthening the people's trust in the Party, State, and socialist regime, directly in the local Party committees and authorities, is the core source to create the synergy of the defence area. Thoroughly grasping and implementing the Party's viewpoints on building the “people’s heart-and-mind posture”, with its assigned functions, the City Military Command has advised the City Party Committee and the City People's Committee to focus on leading and directing the local Party committees and authorities to strengthen the communication, education, and propagation of the Party’s guidelines and viewpoints and the State’s policies and laws. Particularly, importance has been attached to educating about national defence and security for the audiences, especially the youth, dignitaries, religious positions, officials, and workers in foreign-invested enterprises, etc. At the same time, attention has been paid to improving the operational efficiency of the political system at all levels to ensure that the people are respected, attached, listened to, and convinced. It is also to assure the leading and pioneering role in exemplifying and modeling for the people to follow to be worthy of the nucleus of leadership, gathering and mobilisation of mass strength to participate in local revolutionary movements; well implementing social security policies, promoting socio-economic development, hunger eradication, and poverty reduction, and creating jobs for labourers; taking care of people's lives (supporting military recruited citizens with 10 million VND/person); thoroughly overcoming all negative manifestations, bureaucracy, and harassment of the people and completely solving problems arising from the grassroots to avoid becoming hot spots, etc.; resolutely struggling to defeat the “peaceful evolution” plots and activities, riots, and overthrows of hostile forces and preventing the expression of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” internally, thereby, creating the people's firm confidence in the leadership of the Party and administration of the authorities at all levels; and raising awareness, sense of responsibility, and consensus and promoting the spirit of solidarity, joint effort, and consensus of all walks of life in building the City's defence area.

Secondly, promoting economic potentials in combination with building solid military and defence potentials and posture. To make developmental breakthroughs to be worthy of a centre for marine economic development - an impregnable fortress of national defence and security, as specified in Resolution No.45-NQ/TW issued on January 24th, 2019 by the Politburo and, at the same time, to overcome the loose combination of economic development with defence and security and mere pursuit of economic gains of some branches and localities, the City has determined that every step of socio-economic growth development is to consolidate and enhance defence and security potentials. During the implementation process, the City Military Command continues promoting its pivotal role in consulting on defence issues for socio-economic development projects to ensure fast and sustainable economic development and create increasingly abundant material and technical foundations for building the City’s solid defence area. Accordingly, the key industries, such as mechanical engineering, electronics, chemicals, and logistics and projects of economic zones and industrial zones, factories, roadways, waterways, and airports, ... have been invested and built comprehensively with modern equipment to ensure production and business, improve the people's livelihoods, and serve defence and security tasks to contribute to building the City's solid and continuous defence area. To be effective, the City has focused on two essential issues: (1) Promoting its role as an important growth pole of the Northern key economic region with attention paid to exploiting potentials and developing the marine economy in association with maintaining sovereignty and security of the sea; and (2) Planning and developing industry towards modernity in parallel with measures to strengthen industrial mobilisation capacity to be ready to transform from defence potentials into strengths when needed. In addition, the master planning for socio-economic development must be carefully researched and implemented gradually with care, considering the requirements of defence and security. Currently, besides promoting socio-economic development, the City is leading the localities to focus on building the defence area to strive for 100% of districts achieving the targets by 2025. The building of scientific and technological potentials has been highly valued by the City and prioritised for in-depth research of solutions for socio-economic development, defence, security, environmental protection, etc., to serve defence and security tasks.

Finally, building strong armed forces to act as the core in building the solid defence area. Thoroughly grasping and implementing Resolution No.230-NQ/QUTW issued on April 2nd, 2022 by the Central Military Party Commission on leading and implementing the organisation of the Vietnamese People's Army in the 2021 - 2030 period and beyond, Hai Phong has focused on building strong armed forces with a reasonable organisational structure towards elite, compact, and powerful direction to act as the core in building the solid defence area. Regarding the standing force, attention has been paid to consolidating military agencies at all levels with sufficient quantity and high quality, of which importance has been attached to improving the political quality and advising capacity of the local Party committees and authorities in leading and directing the performance of state management in defence and military affairs. Implementing the plan of the term, annually, the City Military Command has directed from 30% to 35% of the districts, communes, wards, and townships to organise drills on defence area and mobilisation of forces and means for defence tasks. At the same time, the Regiment 50 and Regiment 836 have also been directed to actively innovate forms and methods to improve training quality, practice combat readiness plans, and proactively coordinate with forces in firmly defending the area.

As for the militia and self-defence, the City focused on building the force towards “strength and comprehensiveness” (striving for militia and self-defence force accounting for 1.3% to 1.59% of the population) with increasingly high quality. Currently, by reviewing and firmly grasping the number and size of each enterprise, military agencies at all levels are stepping up the establishment of militia and self-defence troops, especially those at sea. Particularly, the City has been advised to implement Scheme No.10609/ĐA-BQP launched on September 24th, 2018 by the Ministry of National Defence on “Building a standing militia fleet to participate in protecting the sovereignty over sea and islands in the new situation”. To be effective, the City has required political and social organisations to promote their role in propagating and mobilising the Board of Directors and owners of businesses to observe the Party and State's guidelines on building the self-defence force in agencies and enterprises. Military agencies at all levels have focused on professional training for the local militia to ensure political and ideological strength, proficiency in professional skills, and ability to coordinate with other forces in fulfilling the task of maintaining security and sovereignty over sea and islands in the City’s defence area. Concurrently, great importance has been attached to building a strong reserve force with sufficient quantity, political quality, and an increasingly high rate of proper military professionalism to be ready to supplement the standing force when needed.

Along with that, the City has proactively consolidated the organisation and staffing and improved the operational efficiency of the Defence Area Steering Committee and Supply Council; actively built, activated, and made good use of civil defence mechanisms and plans at all levels; and well performed the close coordination among forces to ensure a timely and effective response to situations of natural disasters, incidents, environmental disasters, epidemics, etc. to maintain the stability in all aspects, firmly protect the area, and create conditions for Hai Phong City’s fast and sustainable development.

Senior Colonel NGUYEN MINH QUANG, Member of the City Party Committee Standing Commission, Commander of the City Military Command