Stationed and tasked with training, combat readiness, and the protection of the maritime sovereignty of the South-Central Coast, including the Spratly Islands, Naval Region 4, despite its advantages, faces numerous difficulties and challenges. Given the complex and unpredictable developments in the world, the region, and the East Sea, the Vietnam People’s Navy in general, and Naval Region 4 in particular, are burdened with a heavy task of increasingly high demands. Being fully aware of this, the Region’s Party Committee and High Command have proactively implemented comprehensive leadership and directive measures in building a comprehensively strong, “exemplary and typical” unit according to Directive No. 79/CT-BQP, dated 22 July 2022, of the Minister of National Defence, and have achieved this status for consecutive years. This lays the foundation for the Region to enhance the overall quality and combat strength and successfully fulfil all assigned tasks, thus genuinely becoming the core force in protecting the national maritime sovereignty, receiving high appreciation from the Navy, the Ministry of National Defence, and the people.

To achieve this outcome, first and foremost, the Region has identified the building of a politically strong unit as the key factor determining the building of a comprehensively strong, “exemplary and typical” unit. For the Region, this matter is of paramount importance given the complex developments in the East Sea and the fact that officers and soldiers have to carry out long-term missions at sea and on islands under harsh conditions. Moreover, the downsides of the market economy and social media have directly impacted personnel’s thoughts, feelings, and mindsets. Thoroughly grasping the viewpoint of “men before gun”, the Region’s Party Committee and High Command attach importance to the intensification of political education and ideological leadership, with a focus on implementing the Project entitled “Innovating political education in units in the new period” following the principle of “one reduced, one increased, three real, two close, and two enhanced”. Agencies and units have organised comprehensive education, with an emphasis on the Party’s military and national defence policies, particularly the Resolution of the 8^th Central Committee (13^th tenure) regarding the Strategy for Homeland protection in the new situation and Vietnam’s Maritime Strategy, to help the personnel to thoroughly grasp the tasks of the Navy and the Region, the importance of the seas and islands, the policies, guidelines, and countermeasures of the Party and the State regarding the East Sea, the task of protecting the maritime sovereignty in the new situation, and the honour and responsibility of the Navy. Besides, they focus on educating about the traditions and noble qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers and Navy Soldiers”, equipping personnel with a firm political stance, the determination to overcome difficulties, and the vigilance against all conspiracies and plots of hostile forces, especially infringement actions on the sovereignty of the Homeland’s sea, islands, and continental shelf. To grasp, manage, direct, and effectively resolve personnel’s thoughts, Naval Region 4 emphasises the effective implementation of the principle of “staying close to the soldiers, understand them, and trust them”, actively propagating and spreading examples of good people, good deeds, “using the good to eliminate the bad”, and “using positivity to push back negativity”. Consequently, the results of the annual political awareness assessments always meet and exceed the set targets, with 100% of officers and soldiers having firm political determination and being loyal to the Party, the Homeland, and the people. Moreover, they can identify our adversaries and partners and the conspiracies of hostile forces so that they can effectively handle situations at sea as per the viewpoints, principles, and countermeasures of our Party and State.

Additionally, the Region’s Party Committee pays special attention to enhancing the leadership capacity and combat strength of the grassroots party organisations and the quality of the officers and party members, particularly in specialised units and forces operating in key, impoverished areas. The Region also vigorously implements breakthroughs of “two qualities and two promotions”, building party cells according to the
“four goods”³ criteria. Simultaneously, the Region attaches importance to the education, management, and training of officers and party members, as well as principles of democratic centralism, collective leadership, and individual accountability. The Region strengthens inspection and supervision following the principle of “broadened supervision and focused inspection”. With synchronised measures, the leadership quality of the party committees and party organisations and the sense of responsibility of party members have been enhanced. On an annual basis, the rate of party members with good and excellent task completion exceeds 90%, in which over 20% having excellent task completion; 100% of the party units having good and excellent task completion; over 88% of party cells having good and excellent task completion; and no party cell or party committee failing to complete their tasks. As a result, the Region’s Party Committee have excellently completed its tasks for many consecutive years.

Senior Colonel Nguyen Van Bach checks technical training in units of Naval Region 4

To achieve the goal of being “elite, compact, and strong”, the Region intensifies the consolidation of its organisational structure and enhances the quality of training and combat readiness. Regarding its organisational structure, the Region resolutely reduces surplus personnel in intermediary and service departments, prioritising sufficient personnel, weapons, and technical means for combat-ready units, forces stationed on islands, stations, and combat-ready ships. Moreover, it directs the replacement and withdrawal of troops on the islands as regulated, ensuring secrecy and safety. To improve the quality of training, on an annual basis, party committees at all levels issue thematic resolutions to lead the execution of training and combat readiness tasks with targets, requirements, and content suitable for the subjects and characteristics of the area, sea, and islands. The Region also directs effective implementation from the stages of planning, preparing facilities, training fields, and training grounds. Besides, commanding officers from the company level (ship level) upwards are trained regularly. During the training process, the units effectively implement the principle of being “basic, practical, and firm”; innovate training content towards practicality, ensuring suitability to scenarios, tasks, targets, battlefields, organisational structure, weapons, and equipment; focus on organising night training, training under extreme weather conditions, and long-duration operations at sea; improve the mobility, joint combat capability among surface ships, submarines, coastal missiles, coastal radars, and the air force. Plus, the Region directs its units to successfully organise exercises and live-fire drills, taking the firm protection of the maritime sovereignty and continental shelf of the Fatherland as the highest goal in training. As a result, 100% of the training met the requirements, of which over 85% achieved good and excellent results. Notably, over 98% of K1, K2, and K3 training for surface ships achieved good and excellent results, while the participation in exercises organised by the Ministry of National Defence, the Navy, and the Region was successful, with absolute safety. Along with training, the Region maintains the combat readiness of forces and means as per regulations; regularly practices information, air defence, and radar alerts for islands, stations, and combat-ready ships; coordinates with local authorities, the police, the border guard, and localities to firmly grasp the situations of the stationing areas, especially those of independent units; strictly maintains patrol, guard, control ins and outs of the Cam Ranh base; and keeps ships on duty at the Spratly Islands. Hence, these activities contribute to enhancing the combat readiness of the Region.

In regularity building and discipline training, the Region deeply ingrains Resolution No. 1683-NQ/ĐUQC, dated 9 June 2020, of the Navy’s Party Committee on “Strengthening regularity building and discipline management and training and ensuring safety, meeting the requirements in the new situation”, Directive No. 11851/CT-BTL, dated 18 September 2020, of the Commander of the Navy on “Strengthening regularity building and discipline management and training and ensuring safety for the 2020 - 2023 period”. Based on a thorough understanding of these two documents, the Region intensifies building regular agencies and units. To achieve effectiveness, the Region directs agencies and officers to set themselves as examples for units and soldiers respectively, work according to duties, and act according to regulations. It also requires officers and commanders to understand their soldiers, intensifying the education of the soldiers’ sense of self-discipline in complying with the state laws, military discipline, and the regimes and regulations of units, especially the ones regarding the handling of maritime situations. Simultaneously, the Region maintains strict daily routines, studying, and working regimes while managing personnel, weapons, and equipment. It combines proactive prevention with strict handling of disciplinary violations as a deterrence. Agencies and units link the regularity building and discipline training with developing a cultural environment, building “regular, green, clean, and beautiful” barracks, ships, and stations to make soldiers stay attached to the units. As a result, in recent years, the Region’s regularity building and discipline training work have been constantly improved, with no cases of state laws or serious disciplinary violations. In 2023 alone, the rate of common disciplinary violations decreased by 0.01% compared to 2022.

In addition to the above measures, the Region attaches importance to ensuring the logistics and technical work for different tasks. In this regard, the focus is on managing, preserving, and strictly maintaining the reserve of materials and logistic equipment serving various tasks, with priority given to combat-ready forces and fast-deploying ships that carry out long-duration missions at sea. The Region also improves the quality and effectiveness of regular logistic support, with an emphasis on maintaining stability and enhancing the living conditions and well-being of the soldiers. As a combat technical unit undergoing the process of modernisation, responsible for managing a large number of ships, boats, vehicles, weapons, and equipment, the Region always places significant importance on technical work. Accordingly, it directs its technical department and units to implement Campaign 50, the two breakthroughs of the Naval Technical Department, and the movement to build exemplary ships, vehicles, warehouses, and stations; maintain the regime of “Technical Day”, regulations on preservation, maintenance, and inspection of the technical status of equipment and vehicles before, during, and after performing tasks; calibrate measuring and testing equipment, especially those with strict safety requirements. Besides, the Region encourages initiatives, technical improvements, and application of technology in the research and manufacture of materials and modernisation of weapons and technical equipment, thus serving the tasks of training, combat readiness, and other ad hoc tasks. 

These measures to build a comprehensively strong, “exemplary and typical” unit of the Region have been the basis for enhancing the Region’s overall quality and combat strength, meeting the requirements of managing and firmly protecting the Fatherland’s sacred maritime sovereignty and continental shelf.

Senior Colonel NGUYEN VAN BACH, Commander of the Region