After the success of the August Revolution and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam - the first democratic state in Southeast Asia, our country was confronted with numerous difficulties and challenges, including a reinvasion by the French. With great support from the U.S. and the UK, French colonialists unilaterally nullified all peace agreements with Vietnam (Preliminary Agreement, dated March 6th, 1946 and Provisional Agreement, dated September 14th, 1946), while enhancing their military activities to destroy our people’s newly-established peace.

At the first Military Conference (October 19th, 1946), the Party Central Committee Standing Board stated that “sooner or later, the French will attack us, and certainly we will have to win against them.” In November 1946, the French provoked a conflict with us in Hai Phong. In early December 1946, they caused hostility against Vietnam within the capital city of Hanoi. More seriously, on the afternoon of December 18th, 1946, commander of the French army sent an ultimatum requesting us to disband our self-defence force and hand over control of Hanoi to France within 48 hours. In response to the enemy’s action, with goodwill and aspirations for peace, our Party, President Ho Chi Minh, and Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam persistently peacefully negotiated with the French government. “But the more we make concessions, the more the French colonialists encroach on us because they want to take over our country again.”

In order to protect our newly-gained independence, on December 19th, 1946, President Ho Chi Minh issued the “Appeal for National Resistance,” clearly stating: “All of you, men and women, young and old, whatever your region, ethnic origin, or political opinion, arise to struggle against French colonialism and save the Homeland. Let those who have guns use their guns, those who have swords use their swords, those have neither guns nor swords use hoes, pick-axes, and sticks. Let all arise to oppose colonialism and defend our Homeland”. The President’s Appeal aroused patriotism, national pride, indomitable will, the strength of revolutionary heroism, a sense of unity, and knowledge of the Vietnamese people under the spirit of “sacrificing for the Homeland.”

Command of Capital Regiment discussing a combat plan in the early days of national resistance (file photo: VNA)

In the early days of the national resistance war against French colonialists, in economic and military terms, we were weaker than the enemy but much stronger than them in political and spiritual power. That power was created by the sound, creative all-people resistance guidelines of our Party and President Ho Chi Minh and multiplied exponentially by the Appeal for National Resistance. As a result, we mobilised all available resources for the country’s resistance war. The people’s armed forces were gradually trained and developed to be able to play a core role in the people’s struggle. That provided a solid foundation for a transformation in the balance of power between the enemy and us during the war. The more we fought, the stronger we became, thereby gaining the strategic initiative on the battlefield for decisive victories. It can’t be denied that together with patriotism, indomitable will, and the strength of national great unity, the spirit of national resistance was of special importance to the whole resistance war against French colonialists. That was also seen as a source of strength for our people to make up the historic victory of Dien Bien Phu that “resounded across five continents, shook the globe,” and gloriously ended 9 years of our country’s holy resistance war.

Inheriting and bringing into play the spirit of national resistance, during the war against the U.S., for national salvation, our Party promoted the strength of the national great unity block combined with the strength of the times to formulate the people’s warfare guidelines and well prepare forces and combat methods. More importantly, our Party brought into full play the politico-spiritual strength to create the synergy, gain glorious victories, completely liberate the South, and unify the country.

In the Homeland construction and protection cause, our Party has always attached importance to building a national great unity block and encouraged the participation of the entire people and political system to build the all-people national defence, the people’s security, and the posture of all-people national defence associated with the posture of people’s security and combine socio-economic development with defence-security consolidation as the basis for firmly protecting national independence, sovereignty, unification, and territorial integrity, gloriously fulfilling international mission, and facilitating national development.

75 years have elapsed, but valuable lessons drawn from the indomitable spirit in the early days of national resistance are being applied to military build-up, national defence consolidation, the Homeland protection, and the whole revolutionary cause of our Party and country.

In the upcoming time, the situation all over the world and in the region will continue to witness unpredictable, rapid developments. Strategic competition between major powers, local conflicts, and disputes over territories, especially over seas and islands will take place in a more complex, drastic manner. Traditional and non-traditional security challenges, particularly cyber security issues, terrorism, crime, natural disasters, and epidemics will be still complicated. COVID-19 pandemic will have new variants and impact on most of the countries worldwide. Domestically, over the past 35 years of national renewal, our country’s strength and international position and prestige have been increasingly raised as an important prerequisite for more rapid and sustainable development in the new period. However, our country is faced with more serious, complex challenges. Hostile forces and political opportunists are intensifying their peaceful evolution strategy, promoting “self-evolution” and “self-transformation,” and enhancing their plot to “depoliticise” our Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) with increasingly foxy artifices.

Against such a backdrop, the entire Party, people, and Military shall focus on building the VPA, consolidating national defence, firmly protecting the Homeland in any situation, and maintaining a peaceful, stable environment for national construction. To that end, all-level party committees and commands across the VPA shall grasp valuable lessons in the national construction and protection cause and promote the spirit of national resistance in military build-up and Homeland protection in the current period, while strictly implementing several basic tasks and measures as follows.

First, enhance the Party’s leadership over military build-up, national defence consolidation, and the Homeland protection. In the early days of the resistance war against the French, thanks to its sound, creative guidelines on national resistance and construction, our Party succeeded in arousing and bringing into play the strength of the whole nation. That strength was clearly manifested in the “Appeal for National Resistance” as the basis for our Party to exercise its leadership over an all-people, comprehensive, durable, self-reliant resistance war of the armed forces and the entire people. In the current period, we need to apply those lessons to building the VPA, consolidating national defence, and protecting the Homeland. To that end, it is necessary to seriously exercise the Party’s absolute, direct leadership over the VPA and national defence cause. At the same time, it is essential to complete mechanisms for the Party’s leadership and the State’s unified management in the building of the all-people national defence. Moreover, it is vital to opportunely transform the all-people national defence posture into the people’s war posture to firmly protect the socialist Vietnamese Homeland in any situation. The Party’s viewpoints and guidelines on building the all-people national defence must be disseminated to the entire political system and people. All-level party committees, commanders, and commissars across the VPA shall heighten a sense of responsibility and exercise their leadership and direction in a close, timely, effective manner. Besides, due attention should be paid to promoting the roles of military offices within all organisations and localities to enhance the Party’s leadership over this important task.

It should be noted that the unchanged goal of the hostile forces is to remove our Party’s leadership over the armed forces, including the VPA and the People’s Public Security. Hence, in addition to building a pure, strong Military Party Organisation, the entire VPA shall increase revolutionary vigilance and cooperate with other forces and all people in fighting to foil the hostile forces’ “peaceful evolution” strategy and preventing “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” from within, especially the plot to “depoliticise” our Military. Significance should be attached to conducting the work of political education and ideological orientation to render cadres, soldiers, and citizens fully aware of the hostile forces’ schemes and artifices, formulate effective remedial measures, and firmly protect the Party’s ideological foundation within the Military.

Second, continue to promote the synergy of the national great unity block in the building of the all-people national defence. Unity is always a treasure and great source of strength of our nation. When our country just gained independence and its economic, military potential was extremely limited, creating a sense of unity and the synergy amongst all people to defend the Homeland’s independence was of utmost importance to the nation’s survival at that time. Therefore, the Appeal for National Resistance by President Ho Chi Minh helped bring into play patriotism and indomitable spirit of the entire nation, with the people’s armed forces playing a core role in the resistance war. Thanks to such a synergy, we pinned the enemy down within our urban areas for a long time as a favourable condition for offices of the Party Central Committee and the Government to move up to Viet Bac revolutionary base and carry out a long-term resistance war against the French.

To meet the increasingly demanding requirements set by today’s Homeland construction and protection, it is necessary to research and apply those lessons to building the all-people national defence and the all-people national defence posture. In this regard, emphasis should be placed on developing and exploiting politico-spiritual, economic, military, cultural, social, scientific, technological, and diplomatic potential of the all-people national defence. In addition to building a pure, strong Party in terms of politics, ideology, organisation, morality, and personnel, due attention should be paid to building a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds” within areas and regions, particularly the strategic ones.

In building of the “posture of people’s hearts and minds,” greater importance should be attached to cementing the people’s faith in the Party, the State, and the socialist regime, arousing patriotism and national pride, and raising a sense of responsibility of all citizens. To do so, offices and units across the VPA shall well implement Regulations on Democracy at Grass-Roots Level, equip the people with knowledge of national defence and security, stay close to the people, respect the people, ensure the people’s legitimate benefits, and keep improving the people’s material and mental life. Authorities and sectors shall raise the people’s revolutionary vigilance and render all citizens fully aware of the hostile forces’ nature, plots, and artifices as the basis for building the all-people national defence and the all-people national defence posture capable of firmly protecting the Homeland in all situations. The whole VPA shall well carry out mass mobilisation work, consolidate a close-knit bond between the Military and the people, strictly adhere to mass mobilisation discipline, and cement the people’s faith in the Party, the socialist regime, and the VPA. Moreover, it is necessary to renew and improve the work of political education and ideological management in order to maintain the working-class nature, the goal of national independence and socialism, troops’ absolute loyalty to the Party, the State, and the people as well as the noble virtues of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the new period.

Illustrative photo: binhphuoc.gov.vn

Third, build a revolutionary, regular, elite, gradually modern VPA to satisfy the requirements set by the Homeland protection in the new situation. After our country had gained independence, our Party and President Ho Chi Minh focused on building and developing the three-category armed forces, with the VPA playing a core role in fighting enemies. Hence, when the resistance war broke out, within a short period of time, we established 27 regiments in the North and 30 armed units at battalion level in the South with more than 85,000 troops. That provided a significant prerequisite for our armed forces to keep developing and acted as a determinant to all victories at the onset of national resistance and during the resistance war under the Party’s leadership.

To meet the requirements of the Homeland construction and protection in the new situation, lessons on organising the three-category armed forces (main force, local force, and militia and self-defence force), with importance attached to building a politically strong VPA and a closely-knit bond with the people as the basis for raising the entire Military’s synergy and combat power should be preserved and brought into play. In the building of a revolutionary, regular, elite, gradually modern VPA, priority should be given to modernising a number of services, corps, and forces as a solid foundation for building a modern VPA from 2030 under the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress. Great value should be attached to developing the VPA’s weapons, equipment, and especially personnel to successfully fulfil the task of defending the Homeland.

Furthermore, it is important to continue adjusting and making the VPA’s organisational structure compact and strong in accordance with the development of military art and materiel and the country’s practical condition. Due attention should be paid to maintaining a balance between forces to be relevant to the defensive posture in the country’s regions and strategic directions. Units tasked with combat readiness and units stationed in strategic areas should be sufficiently staffed. It is essential to keep building a powerful, politically strong reserve force capable of fighting enemies in situations. Besides, it is important to build a “strong, extensive” militia and self-defence force with proper number of members and great synergy. The militia and self-defence force’s organisational structure should be made compact. It should be provided with comprehensive, practical political, legal, and military training courses to become a loyal, reliable political force of local party committees, authorities, and citizens and satisfy the requirements set by the building of the all-people national defence at grass-roots level.

Offices and units within the VPA shall raise the quality of education and training under Conclusion 60-KL/QUTW, dated January 18th, 2019 by the Central Military Commission (CMC) on continuing to realise the CMC’s Resolution 765-NQ/QUTW, dated December 20th, 2012 on improving the quality of training in the period of 2013-2020 and beyond. They shall adhere to the training motto of “basics, practicality, and thorough grasp” and renew contents, forms, and methods of training. Great weight should be added to organising synchronous and intensive training courses relevant to objects of combat, the VPA’s organisational structure, the development of materiel and Vietnamese military art, and the requirements set by hi-tech warfare. Military training should be combined with political education and discipline management. Offices and units shall focus on training their troops to master modern weapons and equipment and raising the quality of exercises of all types as the basis for improving the VPA’s combat capacity. Additionally, the VPA should well perform its function as “an army ready for combat and for work,” readily help the people with natural disaster and epidemic prevention and control, and successfully deal with non-traditional security challenges to deserve to be “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the new period.

Fourth, build a firm all-people national defence posture associated with the people’s security posture to readily transform into the people’s war posture in the event. When the resistance war broke out, our economic and military potential was inferior to that of the enemy. However, thanks to building an extensive, flexible posture, we succeeded in pinning the enemy down and smashing their strategy of “rapid fight, rapid victory.”

To apply those lessons to today’s national construction and protection, all-level party committees and commands shall grasp and seriously execute the Politburo’s Conclusion 64-KL/TW, dated October 30th, 2019 on “stepping up the implementation of Resolution 28-NQ/TW on continuing to build provinces and municipalities into solid defensive zones in the new situation” and the Government’s Decree 21/2019/NĐ/CP, dated February 22nd, 2019 on building defensive zones. Due attention should be paid to boosting socio-economic development in line with defence-security consolidation and building the all-people national defence posture associated with the people’s security posture. Emphasis should be placed on synchronously, comprehensively developing all types of potential, particularly the politico-spiritual one within defensive zones. It is vital to combine socio-economic and cultural development with defence-security consolidation and vice versa, especially in strategic, border, sea, island areas so as to build a firm posture of all-people national defence. Due regard should be paid to making focalised investments in building defensive works within combat, rear, logistics, and technical bases and key defensive areas and constructing all-level headquarters and campaign-level key positions in line with civil defence to establish an extensive, inter-connected, solid posture between defensive zones and in each strategic direction and maintain readiness for defence-security situations.

The viewpoints on the people’s war and the all-people national defence serve as the fundamentals of the Party’s military-defence guidelines; therefore, they should be thoroughly grasped. Our Party and President Ho Chi Minh believe that the masses and the politico-spiritual factor act as a determinant to victory of a war. Hence, significance should be attached to building the politico-spiritual potential, bringing into play human resources, and gradually modernising national defence forces to improve the country’s strength for protecting the Homeland. The building of the all-people national defence and the all-people national defence posture should be combined with organising and disposing forces, building all types of potential of the country, and readily transforming those types of potential into national defence power under a strategic plan so that the all-people national defence posture will be increasingly solid. In strategic directions and areas, it is necessary to maintain a balance between on-the-spot force, mobile force, local force, and main force as well as between services, corps, forces, and sectors in order to bring into play the strength of all forces, ensure their combat capacity in all environments, and firmly protect national independence, sovereignty, unification, and territorial integrity.

In spite of changes in the world and the country, lessons drawn from National Resistance remain valuable forever. Promoting the spirit of national resistance will provide us with a solid foundation for cementing the people’s faith in the Party’s leadership, encouraging patriotism and self-reliance in the Homeland construction and protection; it will also give us an incentive so that we will determinedly successfully realise the Resolutions of the 13th National Party Congress and the 11th Military Party Congress and well implement measures for building the VPA, consolidating national defence, and firmly protecting the Homeland in the new situation.

Gen., DSc PHAN VAN GIANG, Member of the Politburo, Deputy Secretary of the CMC, Minister of National Defence