Together with firmly managing and protecting border sovereignty and security, in recent times, the Party Committee and Command of Quang Ninh Provincial Border Guards have always thoroughly implemented Resolution No. 2662-NQ/QUTW, dated 26 February 2024 of the Central Military Commission on international integration and defence diplomacy; promoting border external activities, making an important contribution to building a peaceful, stable, cooperative and mutually developing border area.

Quang Ninh is the only province of our country that has land and sea borders with China, boasting many important border gates and seaports, so it holds a very important position in terms of politics, economy, society, defence, security and foreign affairs. Realising this advantage and thoroughly grasping the resolutions and directives of the Party, the State, the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence, directly the Party Committee and High Command of the Border Guards, the Provincial Border Guard Party Committee and Command have determined that: innovating and improving the quality of border diplomacy is one of the practical and effective solutions to maintain security and order, firmly protect national border sovereignty and security. This can be achieved through border work measures; provincial-level, station-level, and border-guard station-level talks; direct meetings and exchanges on the border and through many models of friendly exchanges, border gate circulation, border patrol and protection activities, etc.

Conducting periodical talk with Chinese counterpart

Border diplomacy is a strategy to protect the Homeland "early, from afar" by peaceful means. Within their rights and responsibilities, the Party Committee and Command of the Provincial Border Guards have seriously implemented the 3-level border cooperation mechanism with the border guard force of China, such as: talks, joint patrols, and talks of representatives of the border section 8. At the same time, they have actively and proactively advised the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee to carry out people to people diplomacy along the entire border with many practical and effective activities; directed the Border Guard stations to actively advise local Party committees and authorities and closely coordinate with the functional bodies of the Province to effectively carry out foreign information activities, border diplomacy and people to people diplomacy with several forms, suitable to local realities. Since the beginning of 2024 to date, the units have completed entry procedures for over 3 million visitors, while providing over 40,000 leaflets on the Law on Vietnam Border, Law on National Border, etc. In 2024 alone, the Provincial Border Guard and its units conducted 20 external activities with foreign delegations; exchanged 248 letters and made 194 phone calls with Chinese authorities related to border and border gate management and protection; made coordination in monitoring and control of entry and exit; combated crimes; prevented and controlled diseases; verified, investigated, received, and returned illegal immigrants; coordinated with authorities to receive 19 cases including 86 Vietnamese citizens returned by China, and returned 19 cases with 71 Chinese citizens violating Vietnamese law, etc.

Currently, in response to the increasingly high demands of the task of protecting territorial sovereignty, national borders, and security in border areas, the Party Committee and Command of the Provincial Border Guards continue to thoroughly grasp and deploy border work measures comprehensively, in which border diplomacy is identified as one of the important contents with the following tasks and solutions.

Firstly, strengthening briefing and education to raise awareness, consciousness, and responsibility of cadres, soldiers, all levels, sectors, and people about the importance of border diplomacy. First and foremost, it focuses on disseminating and educating cadres and soldiers to firmly grasp the guidelines, policies, resolutions and directives on foreign affairs of the Party, the State, the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence, Party Committee and High Command of the Border Guards, the Provincial Party Committee, and the Provincial People's Committee. The contents of propaganda are about the viewpoints, goals, mottos as well as tasks and solutions for foreign affairs work identified in the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, Resolution of the 8^th plenum of the Party Central Committee (13th tenure) on the Strategy for National Defence in the new situation, Resolution No. 33/NQ-TW, dated 28 September 2018 of the Politburo on the Strategy for National Border Protection, the Law on National Borders, the Law on Vietnam Border Guard, particularly Resolution No. 2662-NQ/QUTW, dated 26 February 2024 of the Central Military Commission on International integration and defence diplomacy to 2030 and the following years. To improve efficiency, the Party Committee and Command of the Provincial Border Guards strengthen leadership and direction of units and Border Guard stations to closely coordinate with Party committees, governments, departments, branches, organisations, localities, central and local news agencies to carry out propaganda, education and mass mobilisation in many practical and specific forms.

Congratulating Chinese border guards

Second, maintaining proactive and close coordination with forces in managing and protecting sovereignty and security in border areas, creating a foundation for implementing border diplomacy. The Provincial Border Guard Command closely coordinates with departments, branches, sectors, and forces, especially the Military, the Police, the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Customs, etc. in the area to regularly grasp the situation, conduct joint patrols, control, and protect the border sovereignty and security on land and at sea, fight against all kinds of crimes, search and rescue, etc. To make this work highly effective, the Provincial Border Guards actively build, supplement, and perfect coordination regulations and plans; strictly maintain the order of information exchange, situation briefing, and holds meetings and reviews on a regular basis; apply decentralisation of power in coordination for subordinate units. On that basis, it promptly assesses analyses, makes accurate forecasts, and proactively deploys professional measures and projects, directly and closely coordinates with functional forces, resolutely fights and firmly protects territorial sovereignty and security in border areas.

In addition, the Provincial Border Guards attach importance to advising and assisting local Party committees and governments in building political bases, developing socio-economy, improving the living standards of people in border, sea and island areas; regularly participate in the appraisal of investment projects in border areas; coordinate with departments, branches and sectors to sign and effectively implement programmes and action plans to help people in economic development and poverty reduction; promote the effectiveness of movements and campaigns such as: "Shelters for the poor in border and island areas", "Border Guards join hands to build new rural areas", "Border Guards join hands to improve accommodation for poor people”, etc. This has made significant contribution to building and consolidating the "people's heart and mind posture"; promoting the widespread movement in protecting border sovereignty and security to maintain political security, social order and safety in border areas.

Units of the Provincial Border Guards strictly maintain combat readiness; ensure forces and means, proactively grasp and handle well all situations, not to be made passive and surprised. On that basis, the Provincial Border Guards proactively perform well border diplomacy and people to people diplomacy; strictly inspects and controls people and vehicles at border gates and seaports, maintains national territorial sovereignty, border security, political security, social order and safety in border areas and at border gates.

Third, improving knowledge and skills for the staff working in foreign affairs. This is a key issue in improving the effectiveness of international cooperation and border diplomacy, so it needs to be carried out regularly, closely and comprehensively. First of all, it is necessary to focus on building a team of cadres in charge of foreign affairs with strong political will, absolute loyalty to the Homeland, the Party, the State and the People; pure moral qualities, high level of profession and ability to excellently complete all assigned tasks. To that end, there is a need to strengthen political education, focusing on Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh thought, the Party's viewpoints and guidelines, the State's policies and laws; the contents related to foreign affairs, international relations and cooperation; the nature and traditions of national culture, traditions of the Army and the Border Guards; revolutionary vigilance to clearly distinguish between adversaries and partners. Regularly conduct training to foster knowledge of military, national defence, diplomacy, state management capacity on national borders, agreements, conventions, and border foreign affairs skills; improve the level of Chinese and ethnic languages and the awareness of social affairs as well as border foreign affairs skills, etc., contributing to improving the effectiveness of border foreign affairs work.

With the efforts and determination of the officers and soldiers of the Quang Ninh Border Guards, border diplomacy has seen all-round and in-depth developments, contributing to nurturing the traditional friendship between Vietnam and China, firmly protecting the territorial sovereignty, maintaining security and order in border areas, seas and islands, building a peaceful, friendly, stable, and cooperative border for mutual development.

Senior Colonel NGUYEN VAN THIEM, Commander of the Provincial Border Guard Command