Propaganda on seas and islands is an important content that the Party Committee and the Command of Naval Region 3 have led and directed to implement regularly and comprehensively, contributing to raising awareness, responsibility and love for the seas and islands of all classes of people, officers and soldiers, firmly protecting the sovereignty of the strategic seas of the Central region of the Fatherland.

In recent years, based on the coordination programme between the Navy Party Committee and the municipal and provincial Party Committees in the area, the Party Committee and Command of the Naval Region 3 have coordinated with the local propaganda departments to focus on developing plans and implementing propaganda work on seas and islands closely, seriously and effectively. In particular, they have regularly exchanged and agreed on the contents, forms, methods and objects of propaganda; maintained the tradition of conferences to promptly update new contents and information on the situation of seas and islands. Along with propaganda about the position and role of the sea and islands in the cause of national construction and protection; the tasks of the Navy and the Region; the situation of Vietnam’s seas and islands; the viewpoints and policies of the Party and the State in the struggle to protect the sovereignty over the seas and islands, etc. The Region has focused on identifying topics related to events, the actual situation at seas and the tasks in specific periods.

The forms and methods of propaganda are applied flexibly and diversely by agencies and units, such as: compiling and distributing documents, visiting exhibitions, organising concentrated propaganda conferences; combining propaganda about the seas and islands with mass mobilisation and policy work; establishing groups and teams to directly propagate to fishermen on fishing vessels in the anchorage area, operating at seas combined with visiting and giving gifts to fishermen, etc. To increase the visuality and ease of understanding, the Region focuses on combining oral propaganda with illustrative presentations, traditional film screenings, reports, leaflets, and on-fact images. Agencies, units under the Region and functional agencies of the local propaganda departments have proactively coordinated, provided information, compiled, published documents and launched several propaganda campaigns for cadres, soldiers and people. In 2023, 43 sessions were held for more than 10,000 cadres and people; propaganda at sea and at wharves about Directive No. 45/CT-TTg, dated 13 December 2017 of the Prime Minister on urgent tasks and solutions to overcome the European Commission's warning on combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing for 134 ships per 1,867 ships per fishermen; distributed 457 national flags, 275 sets of documents, distributed 950 leaflets, 534 life jackets, etc.

The Regional Command has coordinated to hold solemn, thoughtful and safe reception of the delegations coming to visit and work with the Region, visit and encourage officers, soldiers and people of Con Co, Ly Son, Spratley islands, DK1 platforms combined with propaganda about the sea and islands and introduce the results of the implementation of the tasks of the Naval Region and the Navy. Proactively send press releases, coordinate effective propaganda on mass media, especially during important events. Local Propaganda Departments have directed the establishment of specialised pages and columns, prioritising the increase of time, capacity and frequency of propaganda on media; promote propaganda among officers and people. In 2023 and the first 6 months of 2024, central and local newspapers and radio stations have broadcast more than 1,000 news, articles and reports on the sea and islands under the management of the Region. Agencies and units effectively maintain Zalo groups and Facebook pages, promptly share and disseminate articles, images of positive activities; regularly coordinate, exchange, provide and share information on electronic information pages, fanpages of localities, agencies, organisations, contributing to ensuring reliable information and fighting against false arguments of hostile forces about the situation of seas and islands in cyberspace.

Working group of Naval Region 3 conduct legal propaganda in Nui Thanh district, Quang Nam province

Along with that, the Region proactively coordinates with agencies and organisations in the area to successfully organise seminars, talks, forums, competitions, exhibitions, traditional tours; coordinate with Paracel Exhibition House (Da Nang city) to hold exhibitions, display books, images, documents, publications on the topic of seas, islands and sovereignty of Vietnam Paracel Islands with thousands of participants. Coordinate with the propaganda departments, youth unions and local schools to hold competitions about the law and the knowledge of the seas and islands, attracting a large number of cadres, youth union members and students. Through the implementation of patrol and control tasks at sea, agencies and units have proactively integrated activities of mass mobilisation, twinning, search and rescue, assistance, support, and "support for fishermen to go offshore and stick to the sea" etc., ensuring both solidarity and attachment between the army and the people, contributing to improving the effectiveness of propaganda work on the seas and islands.

The regular and effective work of the Region has contributed to constantly fostering the love of the seas and islands for cadres, people and soldiers; raising awareness, responsibility, and increasing trust; sharing and accompanying functional forces; firmly protecting the sovereignty of the seas and islands of the Fatherland; strictly complying with the law when exploiting seafood, resolutely fighting against destructive exploitation in domestic waters and illegal exploitation in foreign waters. Promoting those results to meet the requirements and tasks of protecting sea and island sovereignty in the new situation, the Region’s Party Committee and the Command continue to promote propaganda work on sea and island with synchronous policies and measures with the focus on successfully implementing the following main contents:

Firstly, Party committees and commanders at all levels strengthen leadership and direction to effectively implement propaganda work on seas and islands. The focus is to thoroughly grasp and strictly implement the direction and guidance of the Central Propaganda Department, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the General Department of Politics and the Navy Political Department; on that basis, concretise it into key leadership content in annual and regular leadership resolutions of Party committees and Party organisations at all levels; in the action programmes and work plans of agencies and units. Improve the leadership, direction and implementation capacity of Party committees and commanders at all levels and promote responsibility in coordinating with local levels and sectors to comprehensively, synchronously and in-depth implement the programme of coordination in propaganda and mobilisation of people to participate in building and protecting the sovereignty of the seas and islands of the Fatherland.

Second, continuing to innovate the contents, forms, and methods of propaganda about the sea and islands with the motto "Sensitive, sharp, profound, effective, practical, and close to the target", focusing on oral, visual, and press propaganda, coordinating the organisations of key activities, creating highlights and widespread influences, creating positive changes in the awareness of all classes of people. Thereby, consolidating and enhancing trust, consensus, affirming sovereignty, mobilising resources, and combined strength to protect the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland, contributing to maintaining political stability, building strong localities, agencies, and units, and successfully completing all assigned tasks.

Focus on improving the quality of information and propaganda, especially the situation at sea, the results of local socio-economic development, promptly orienting ideology and public opinion. Continue to improve the quality of propaganda content on seas and islands in conjunction with propaganda, dissemination and legal education for the subjects, focusing on cadres, party members, civil servants and students. Along with regular propaganda content according to regulations, focus on identifying topics related to events, actual situations at sea and tasks in specific periods. Based on historical evidence, propaganda contents continue to strongly affirm the determination to protect the sovereignty of seas and islands, and the territorial integrity of the Fatherland. Focus on political and ideological education, building awareness, responsibility, love for the homeland, seas and islands to become good values, sacred feelings, strengthening belief in the ability to protect the sovereignty of seas and islands, building the determination to "be ready to sacrifice to maintain the sovereignty of seas and islands of the Fatherland". At the same time, clarify the nature, plots and tricks of foreign countries and hostile forces against the sovereignty of the seas and islands, especially issues related to Vietnam's sovereignty over the Paracel Islands and Spratley Islands. Strengthen propaganda and mobilise people in coastal localities in general and fishermen in particular to strictly comply with the law when working at sea; promote propaganda to implement Directive No. 45/CT-TTg of the Prime Minister. Proactively coordinate, effectively and in-depth implement the programme "Vietnam Navy as a fulcrum for fishermen to go offshore and stick to the sea", the activity "Navy sponsors fishermen's children", etc.

Third, actively innovating and diversifying coordination activities in a comprehensive, in-depth and broad direction. Accordingly, agencies and units need to proactively exchange information with local authorities in developing and implementing plans, adjusting coordination programmes on sea and island propaganda to be closer to reality, requirements and tasks. Coordinate well in compiling documents, leaflets, pictures, video tapes, staging and performing theatrical programmes. Promote the role of cultural institutions; mobilise the combined strength of all levels, sectors, organisations and all forces, especially the youth unions, trade unions and local women's unions in propaganda. Combine propaganda on sea and islands through field trips, visiting and giving gifts to fishermen, mass mobilisation and policy work. Organise delegations to visit, learn about reality, encourage soldiers and people in sea and island areas, especially outpost islands and combat-ready units; timely share, encourage, motivate, and add strength to Navy officers and soldiers in the cause of fighting and protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland. Actively coordinate to organise specialised exhibitions on seas and islands, competitions, cultural and artistic exchanges, visits to historical sites combined with traditional education activities associated with historical sites and feats of the Navy in the area. At the same time, promote mass mobilisation work, gratitude activities, build new rural areas, civilised urban areas; actively help and support fishermen to go offshore and stick to the sea with practical actions.

Fourth, promoting the application of modern forms of communication, especially social networks to widely, quickly, and effectively disseminate contents related to Vietnam's seas and islands and orient public opinions. Continue to effectively implement the mechanism of providing and sharing information on the situation of the sea and islands, activities of officers and soldiers of the Region to promptly disseminate widely on central and local newspapers and radio stations and on mass media. Promote coordination of propaganda on social networking sites, groups, electronic information portals, specialised pages, and columns of localities and units. Regularly and successfully summarise and draw lessons, promptly disseminate and replicate good models, new and effective ways of implementing coordination of propaganda on the sea and islands, contributing to building a "people's heart position", firmly protecting the sacred sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland.

Rear Admiral NGUYEN DANG TIEN, Political Commissar of the Region