The (amended) National Defence Law 2018 (hereafter the Law) has been passed by the National Assembly on June 8^th, 2018 and officially will be effective from January 1^st, 2019. There is no difference in goals between this Law and the current National Defence Law (2015); however, this Law has new developments in connotation and clearly demonstrates a new development in national defence thought.

The National Assembly passes the National Defence Law 2018 (photo: VNA)

The National Defence Law 2018 includes 7 chapters and 40 articles and stipulates the State’s principles and policies regarding national defence; fundamental national defence operations; states of war, emergency, martial law, and national defence curfew; issues on building the people’s armed forces; and national defence support. At the same time, the Law specifies duties and authority of offices and organizations; citizens’ rights and obligations concerning national defence; and combination of defence and socio-economic development and vice versa. This is a very important law as it governs the entire legal system on national defence and greatly affects all aspects of social life ranging from national economy, politics, culture and society to national defence, security and diplomacy. More specifically, the Law supplements new regulations and institutionalizes the contents of the Constitution 2013, the Party’s new guidelines on Homeland protection as well as several regulations set in laws and by-law documents related to national defence, thereby creating an important legal framework to strengthen defence power and protect the Homeland in the context of the country’s wide and deep international integration.

In addition to upholding the principle of the Party’s absolute, direct leadership over and the State’s uniform management and operation of national defence, the Law comprehensively prescribes the State’s policy on national defence. It continues to affirm the guidelines on all-round, independent, self-reliant all-people national defence; to advocate not using force in international relations, not allying with one country to counter another, and settling all differences and disputes by peaceful means on the basis of Vietnam’s law and international law. It is clear to see that the Law institutionalizes and affirms our Party and State’s standpoint on the goals and self-defence and peace nature of Vietnamese national defence. It also expresses the pre-eminent nature of the building of Vietnam’s national defence for the sake of peace and prosperous development of the country, the region and the world. This is a matter of utmost importance to orientating ideology and awareness as well as to setting out guidelines, the National Defence Strategy, the Military Strategy, goals, tasks, and broad lines on national defence. Moreover, this lays a foundation for refuting all distortions and acts of sabotage by hostile forces against the nature and goals of building and consolidating Vietnam’s national defence. Looking back on the Vietnamese revolution, particularly on over 30 years of national reform, our Party and State have formulated many policies expressing their new thought on Homeland protection, especially on building the potential and posture of the all-people national defence and defensive zone. The 10-year implementation of the National Defence Law 2015 and the 10^th Politburo’s Resolution 28-NQ/TW on continuing to build provinces and municipalities into strong defensive zones in the new situation has revealed that in addition to positive results, there remains weaknesses in awareness, mechanism, policy, law, operation, management, direction and implementation. To overcome those weaknesses, the Law 2018 inherits reasonable regulations of the National Defence Law 2015 and supplements new points in basic operations regarding national defence, such as the all-people national defence, defensive zone, defence and security education, defence mobilization, defence and security industry, civilian defence in accordance with the current legal system and the country’s reality. Notably, the Law supplements regulations on military region-level defence, stipulates the main tasks of this important defensive formation and considers it as an indispensable part of the national defensive system. According to the Law, in spite of the fact that they are not administrative units, military regions play a strategic role in defending the country and are tasked with cooperating with local party committees and governments in directing and giving instructions on the building and operation of the defensive zones. At the same time, they are in charge of assisting the Ministry of National Defence (MoD) in exercising state management of national defence in their areas, while uniformly leading and commanding the armed forces to fight to protect the area and localities (when a war occurs). This is a new development that institutionalizes the 10^th Politburo’s Resolution 28-NQ/TW on building defensive zones in accordance with particularities and tasks of the military regions, creating the solid legal framework and basis for overcoming weaknesses in the building and operation of this type of organization in recent times. 

The Party’s guidelines on combining economy with defence and vice versa have been presented in directives and resolutions, particularly the 12^th National Party Congress Resolution. Therefore, the Law continues to prescribe the combination of defence and socio-economic development and vice versa with goals, contents, responsibilities, and tasks of subjects and objects in the process of implementation. Accordingly, strategies and plans/projects for socio-economic development by ministries, sectors, regions and localities as well as national key projects and those in border, sea, and island areas and strategic areas must be combined with national defence in accord with the Strategy to defend the Homeland. When conducting operations, such as production, business, investment and science research, offices, organizations and individuals must comply with the requirements for combining socio-economic development with national defence as stipulated by the Law. The projects in the key areas of defence must be dual-use ones to readily meet the demands for national defence. In addition to identifying the State’s role in managing the combination of defence and socio-economic sectors and fields, the Law prescribes that the MoD takes charge of and cooperate with relevant offices and organizations in making plans on national defence demands and capability to combine defence with socio-economic development in peacetime as well as plans on states of defence emergency and war; in organizing and building economic-defence zones, managing operations of military-owned enterprises in accord with the task of Homeland building and safeguarding. So, the Military’s participation in production and combination of defence with economy and vice versa continue to be confirmed legally. Besides, the Law stipulates the State’s policy on science and technology development to build defence and security industry in accord with the 4^th industrial revolution. That expresses a new development and acts as an important solution to solving the contradiction between high demands for national defence and the country’s economic potential.

Against the backdrop of the country’s deep and wide international integration and the complex, unpredictable regional and global situation, external affairs play a role of paramount importance, contributing to creating the synergy for the cause of Homeland protection. Realities have shown that successful fulfillment of the external affairs, to some extent, could “defuse” conflicts and prevent wars from afar. Grasping the Party and State’s diplomatic line, the Law more clearly prescribes the role of defence diplomacy and lays an important foundation for strengthening relations and cooperation both bilaterally and multilaterally, particularly with strategic partners, neighbours, and traditional friends, contributing to creating a peaceful, cooperative environment for development globally and regionally.

According to recent military and defence operations in the world and forecasts about future warfare, in addition to traditional wars, many new types of warfare, such as information and cyberspace warfare as well as non-traditional security challenges could be the reason for a war by force of arms. To deal with such types of warfare, the Law opportunely introduces regulations on measures for preventing and combating information warfare and cyberspace warfare as well as protecting national sovereignty in cyberspace. That is of utmost importance to enhancing the capability to defend the Homeland in the new situation.

In order to make all preparations for Homeland protection, the Law more deeply and specifically refers to the states of defence emergency, martial law and curfew, and supplements regulations on human rights and citizens’ rights to make preparations in advance for dealing with riots and subversion in accordance with reality. Besides, the Law stipulates the principles for the operations of and cases of use of the people’s armed forces in defence situations, thereby improving the legal effect and clarifying function and tasks of the People’s Army and the People’s Public Security towards the cause of national defence.

The Law supplements, develops and legalizes the Party’s guidelines and new thoughts on military, national defence, and Homeland protection while reviewing the issues arising from reality. The Law specifies the matters of principle and major policies on national defence and serves as a fundamental law, contributing to completing the legal system on national defence and the legal basis for building strong all-people national defence and enhancing the capability and the strength to defend the Homeland in the new situation.

Fully understanding the position and role of the National Defence Law 2018, strictly implementing its regulations and translating it into life represent the duty, benefits and political responsibility of every citizen and organization as well as the whole political system in the cause of building and safeguarding the socialist Vietnamese Homeland.

Lt. Gen. Nguyen Duy Nguyen, Director of the Department of Militia and Self-Defence Forces