Building strong provincial-level defensive zones is a strategic policy of our Party and State. Well implementing this policy is of importance to Long An as a border province located in the Southern key economic region. Thus, the province has focused its leadership and direction on performing this central political task via many synchronous, effective measures.

Long An is a province in the key economic region that connects the Southeast with the Southwest. It has a seaport at the estuary of Soai Rap River and shares a 134-plus-kilometre border with Cambodia. Thus, it holds a position of strategic importance in terms of economics, politics, defence, security, and diplomacy to South Vietnam and the whole country. Over the years, the province’s Party Organisation, authorities, people, and armed forces have synchronously, drastically taken various measures to realise the Party’s resolutions and directives, especially the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress on military-defence task. Great value has been attached to building increasingly solid defensive zones as a prerequisite for maintaining political stability and boosting socio-economic development. Due regard has been paid to making types of potential within defensive zones increasingly strong. The politico-spiritual potential has been gradually strengthened. Political bases have been increasingly strong. The postures of all-people national defence and people’s security, especially the “posture of people’s hearts and minds” have been consolidated. Due attention has been paid to performing the work of defence and security education to make a huge change in cadres, party members, and citizens’ awareness and responsibility for the building and operation of defensive zones. The provincial armed forces have been built in a “revolutionary, regular, elite, gradually modern” way, with their synergy and combat strength being increased step by step. It should be noted that the province has focused on building a strong standing force, with priority given to sufficiently staffing units tasked with combat readiness, border protection, A2 mission, natural disaster and COVID-19 prevention and control, and search and rescue so that they would opportunely deal with situations to avoid falling into passivity. The province has built a “strong, extensive” militia and self-defence force, with significance attached to organising militia units in 26 border and coastal communes. Consideration has been given to building a “compact, strong” reserve force. The province has always fulfilled all yearly targets of military conscription. Defensive zone exercises have been closely organised at all levels in accordance with each locality and unit’s task requirements.

The province has always closely appraised the planning and construction of industrial zones and clusters to settle issues relating to defence, security, and defensive zones. Due regard has been paid to constructing traffic systems, anti-flood residential lines, and military-civilian infirmaries and implementing afforestation projects to foster socio-economic development, serve the people’s daily life, and ensure defence and security, thereby making contributions to establishing an inter-connected defensive posture of the province within the whole country’s general defensive posture. Defensive works have been gradually constructed. All 15 districts of the province have approved the Project on building logistics-technical bases. Three districts, namely Can Giuoc, Ben Luc, and Duc Hoa have finished building core works of their combat bases. In order to build increasingly strong defensive zones, particularly in the border area, the province has focused on executing the Project by Military Region 7 Command on constructing residential areas adjacent to border militia key positions and border guard stations and posts. Up to now, the province has built 20 militia key militia key positions within 20 border communes and handed over 86 houses within residential areas adjacent to border guard stations and posts and border militia key positions. It is now building 27 houses and will continue building 76 others within border localities.

In the upcoming time, in addition to advantages, there will be difficulties and challenges for socio-economic development, defence-security consolidation, and the building of defensive zones. The hostile forces will continue stepping up their sabotage strategy against our Party, State, and Military. There will be destabilising factors in the border area. COVID-19 pandemic will be still complex. Against that backdrop, while boosting socio-economic development, the province will keep concentrating its leadership and direction on consolidating defence and security and making all-level defensive zones increasingly strong via drastic, synchronous measures, with emphasis placed on several tasks and measures as follows.

First, continue seriously grasping and effectively executing the Party’s guidelines, the State’s laws and policies, and higher echelons’ resolutions, directives, and projects on the building and operation of defensive zones. The province will focus on grasping the Politburo’s Conclusion 64-KL/TW, dated October 30th, 2019 on realising Resolution 28-NQ/TW on continuing building provinces and municipalities into solid defensive zones in the new situation and the Politburo’s Conclusion 57-KL/TW, dated September 16th, 2019 on combining defence and security with economic development and vice versa so as to achieve a consensus amongst sectors, authorities, key cadres, and all citizens, promote synergy in the building of defensive zones, and increase defence-security potential within itself. At the same time, due attention will be paid to proactively making preparations for foiling all plots and artifices of the hostile forces to firmly protect the province in any situation. The province will require all-level military offices to bring into play their role in advising all-level party committees and authorities on leadership over military-defence task and state management of defence work. Consideration will be given to implementing the Government’s Decree 03/2019/NĐ-CP, dated September 5th, 2019 on coordination between the Military, the Public Security Force, and the Border Guard Force in building defensive zones, protecting national security, and preventing and combating crime.

Second, keep consolidating and streamlining the political system, particularly at grass-roots level. Implementing this measure will give an incentive for successfully fulfilling all goals and targets of socio-economic, cultural development and defence-security consolidation, including the building and operation of all-level defensive zones set by the 11th Provincial Party Congress Resolution. To that end, the province will concentrate on realising the 13th Party Central Committee’s Conclusion 21-KL/TW, dated October 25th, 2021 on enhancing the building and rectification of the Party and the political system, resolutely preventing, pushing back, and strictly handling degradation in political ideology, ethics, and lifestyle as well as the signs of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” amongst cadres and party members. Simultaneously, the province will ask cadres and party members to frequently improve their revolutionary morality, lead a pure, healthy lifestyle, set good examples in all activities, and adopt measures for actively preventing and combating degradation in political ideology, ethics, and lifestyle as well as corruption, negative practices, and wastefulness. The province will continue strengthening the national great unity block to achieve a consensus amongst the people about the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies, particularly on the building of the armed forces, all-level defensive zones, and the all-people national defence posture.

Third, mobilise the people’s synergy, with the armed forces playing a core role in the building of defensive zones. Due attention will be paid to building a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds” and comprehensively strong communes, wards, and townships closely associated with provincial and district-level defensive zone postures. It is important to ensure defensive zones’ potential, force, and posture in political, ideological, economic, cultural, social, defence-security, and diplomatic terms. Great value will be attached to tapping the entire political system’s strength to execute the Project on constructing residential areas adjacent to border militia key positions and border guard stations and posts, and planting bamboos along the border patrol road. Moreover, due regard will be paid to investing in building headquarters and works within key defensive areas, particularly the core works of combat bases, logistics-technical bases, and key, border communes in an effective, secret, safe, solid, long-term way.

Fourth, foster economic development, ensure social security, and combine socio-economic development with defence-security consolidation. Doing so will provide a solid foundation for operations in defensive zones, and it is a major, consistent policy of our Party and State. Therefore, the province will closely direct all-level party committees and authorities to focus their leadership and direction on effectively performing this important task. In this regard, it is necessary to consider economic development as the centre, the Party building as the key, and defence-security consolidation as a routine, central mission. Emphasis will be placed on combining economic development with the development of dual-purpose industry. The province will include the building of defensive zones in each construction plan and project and ensure that all socio-economic development plans and projects will be closely combined with defence-security consolidation and vice versa.

Fifth, promote defence and security education for all groups of cadres and citizens. Significance will be attached to renewing forms and methods of propagation and dissemination relating to defensive zones so that sectors, authorities, cadres, party members, and citizens will be aware of the building of defensive zones as “the protection of the Homeland” from afar. At the same time, doing so will enable the province to make all necessary preparations for defeating all invasions on any scale and in any form. On a yearly basis, emphasis will be placed on following the “three-proactive” and “four-on-the-spot” motto for military conscription and military university entrance examinations and organising defensive zone exercises in accordance with COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control. Via those exercises, the province will opportunely review, adjust, and supplement combat projects and plans for maintaining political security and social order and safety, preventing and combating crime, and make contributions to building its defensive zones for the Homeland construction and protection in the new situation.

NGUYEN VAN DUOC, Member of the Party Central Committee

Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee

Chairman of the Provincial People’s Council