The provincial and municipal defence area plays a very important role as the basis and foundation of the military region defence posture and that of the whole country. This is a key task deployed by the Military Region 7’s armed forces through multiple synchronous solutions to make an important contribution to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland in the new situation.

 Military Region 7 is a key strategic area in terms of socio-economy, defence, security, and foreign affairs of the South and the whole country. Over the past years, deeply observing the resolutions and directives of the Party, Government, Central Military Commission, and Ministry of National Defence, particularly Resolution No.28-NQ/TW of the Politburo (the 10^th Tenure) on continuing to build provinces and central-governed cities into solid defence areas and Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW of the Politburo (the 11^th Tenure) on the Strategy for Fatherland protection in the new situation and inheriting and promoting the experience and traditions of the national liberation struggle,... the Military Region Party Committee and High Command have focused on leading and directing the construction of increasingly solid provincial and municipal defence areas. The mechanism consisting of the Party’s leadership, the government’s administration, the military agencies’ coordination with branches and sectors to organise the implementation has been conducted synchronously, closely, effectively, and orderly. The pilot defence areas (Tay Ninh province has been chosen as a pilot for the whole country) have been comprehensively built to suit the characteristics, promote the defence capabilities and strength of each locality, develop and strenth the potentials in the defence areas, etc.

Currently, the high requirements of the task of defending the Fatherland are posing to the whole army in general and the Military Region’s armed forces in particular higher and heavier demands. Meanwhile, the Military Region continues to develop vibrantly to attract more workers and foreign investment capital as a major trade gateway. Along with the fierce resistance of hostile forces, natural disasters, epidemics, environmental pollution, climate change, free migration, social evils... tends to increase with complicated developments... to threaten the stability of the area. That situation requires the Military Region’s armed forces to continue promoting their core role and focusing on building solid and in-depth provincial and municipal defence areas with increasing high potentials and synergy to create a foundation to contribute to protecting and maintaining political security and social order and safety in the area.

Firstly, to continue to raise awareness and sense of responsibility of all levels, sectors, localities, armed forces, and the whole people for the task of building defence areas.  It is an important content to create unity of awareness and action and promote synergy in performing this important task. All levels, branches, and localities should promote the work of propagation and education to make all classes of people, especially the Party committees, authorities, cadres, and Party members, deeply and fully aware of the views and guidelines of the Party and the State for the task of building defence areas.  The contents of propagation and education should be comprehensive and conducted in different forms with importance attached to implementing defence and security education. Accordingly, besides training object-2 cadres, localities should focus on defence and security education for cadres and the Party members in the political system and the people and expand the objects to dignitaries, religious officials, village elders and chiefs, family heads, and prestigious people in the community. During the implementation process, it must be proactive to resolutely struggle with distorted perceptions and destructive rhetoric of hostile forces on this issue.

Secondly, to build a solid "people-heart-and-mind posture" as a foundation for building defensive areas. The Military Region’s armed forces should proactively coordinate closely with local Party committees, authorities, departments, branches, and unions in comprehensively, synchronously, and effectively implementing solutions to improve the quality of Party building and mass mobilisation and organise and closely maintain the activities of the commune-level military Party committees. At the same time, it is necessary to promote the mass mobilisation in building civil-military houses of gratitude for policy families, ethnic minorities, and religious people and cultural and sports works; preventing disasters and epidemics and conducting search and rescue; and propagating and mobilising people, especially ethnic minorities, to implement the Party's views and the State’s policies and laws. Over the past years, the Military Region’s armed forces have built 1,038 houses of gratitude for policy families, ethnic minorities, and religious people using non-state fundings; supported and built 74 cultural and sports works for religious establishments with a funding of about VND 25 billion. When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out with complicated developments in the area, the Military Region’s armed forces made efforts, along with the people of the whole country, to effectively prevent and repel the pandemic. Along with that, many projects and plans, agreed and supported by local Party committees, authorities, and people, have been implemented with strong spread, such as the project "Building residential clusters adjacent to border civil-military checkpoints" and the plan "Building residential points adjacent to border posts, stations, and checkpoints". Localities have built 32 cluster of 268 houses adjacent to border civil-military checkpoints and 6 clusters of 30 houses adjacent to border posts, stations, and checkpoints with a total budget of nearly VND 70 billion... to contribute to building an increasingly solid "people-heart-and-mind posture".

Based on the achieved results, in the coming time, the Military Region should continue to direct agencies, units, and localities to expand their scale and multiply many good models and creative ways of building "people-heart-and-mind posture" in areas, especially in key ones; closely coordinate with the Public Security; and well implement the Regulations on coordination with provincial and city Party committees; and grasp the people’s thoughts, aspirations, and opinions and the local situation to advise on timely resolution of issues arising from the grassroots to maintain political security and social order and safety and create facilitate the localities’ to socio-economic development.

Thirdly, to effectively promote economic, scientific, and technological potentials in building military and defence potentials and positions. Thoroughly observing the view that building economic potential is to build material factors to directly create strength for the defence areas, in the coming time, the Military Region, together with provinces and cities, should focus on economic development and the close economy-defence combination to ensure that each step of economic development is a step to strengthen defence and security potentials and actively research and apply science and technology in improving the capabilities of provincial and city defence areas. Based on the characteristics and conditions of each area and province, military agencies at all levels should advise the local Party committees and authorities to well implement economic programs and projects towards promoting the local strengths of the area. In particular, it is necessary to closely link the construction of economic potentials with building of postures and forces, social welfare assurance, and civil defence and attach importance to and promote economic development in combination with strengthening and promoting national defence and security strength, especially in strategic areas. Localities, especially Ho Chi Minh City and provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Duong, need to continue to promote their strengths, pay attention to, and create conditions to support and encourage enterprises to invest dual-use high-tech technologies to be ready to convert to wartime production models, build a defence industry, and create potentials for the defence areas.

Fourthly, to build strong armed forces to be the real core in building and operating the defence areas. Along with building politically strong armed forces, the Military Region should pay attention to improving the overall quality, levels, and capacity of combat readiness, building forces, and adjusting organisation and staffing towards "elite, compactness, and strength". Based on the staffing schedule of the Military Region promulgated by the General Staff, it is required to focusing on building and ensuring the number of troops to meet the requirements and tasks; overcoming the excess and shortage of troops in agencies and units; and implementing the decisions on establishment, dissolution, renaming, reorganisation, promulgation of the schedule of organisation and staffing of units of the Military Region in the spirit of Resolution No.05-NQ/TW, Resolution No.230-NQ/QUTW issued on April 2^nd, 2022 by the Central Military Party Commission on leading the implementation of the organisation of the Vietnam People's Army in the 2021 - 2030 period and beyond, and the Ministry of National Defence's plan for implementing Resolution No.230-NQ/QUTW.

It is also required to continue effectively implementing projects and models, such as: "Building comprehensively strong local armed forces from the grassroots", "Building border patrol lines, combat facilities, and permanent civil-military checkpoints on the land border", "Building permanent militia squadrons to take part in protecting the sea and island sovereignty in the new situation", "Mobilising civil manpower, ships, and vehicles to protect sea and island sovereignty", etc. Currently, the Military Region is coordinating with localities in piloting the building of mobile militia companies at the provincial and city levels and rotating the training and proactively handling political security situations in the area. In addition, it is necessary to regularly uphold the spirit of initiative, creativity, and self-reliance and ensure good logistics and technical work; increase production to improve life so that soldiers are assured, excited, and ready to receive and complete the assigned tasks well.

Finally, to continue promoting and elevating defence foreign affairs. Deeply observing the views, guidelines and foreign policies of the Party, State, Central Military Party Commission, and Ministry of National Defence Military Region should continue promoting the friendship, cooperation, and assistance to units of the Royal Cambodian Army and deploying twinning with the Eastern Army (part of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces) to be in-depth and substantive. In particular, it is necessary to focus on directing district-level military commands to deploy twinning with units of the Royal Cambodian Army to share and help them both materially and spiritually to improve the effectiveness of friendship and cooperation between the Military Region in particular and our Army in general and the Royal Cambodian Army, thereby, contributing to speeding up the process of demarcation and coordinate well in handling security and defence issues on the border, crime prevention... to builde a border area of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development and create synergy to build increasingly solid provincial and city defence areas in the Military Region.

Major General NGUYEN TRUONG THANG, Member of the Party Central Committee, Commander of the Military Region