Firmly protecting national sovereignty over seas and islands is the task of the entire Party, Military, people, and political system, with the people’s armed forces including Naval Zone 2 playing a core role. To successfully fulfil this important mission, Naval Zone 2’s Party Committee and Command have concentrated their leadership and direction on adopting synchronous, effective measures to raise the Zone’s synergy.

Naval Zone 2 is stationed in areas of strategic importance and tasked with safeguarding national sovereignty over crucial seas and islands. Being fully aware of that, over the years, cadres and soldiers of the Zone have always heightened a sense of responsibility to overcome all difficulties and successfully fulfilled all assigned missions. For many consecutive years, the Zone Party Organisation has been rated pure and strong, while the Zone has been recognised to be an “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong unit and rewarded by the Naval Command and the Ministry of National Defence. Currently, the situation in the East Sea has new developments. Major powers increase their military presence and promote “freedom of navigation operations.” A number of countries enhance military exercises and oil exploration to gradually assert national sovereignty, while monitoring, preventing, driving away, and arresting other countries’ vessels passing the region. Against such a backdrop, the Zone’s Party Committee and Command have directed affiliated offices and units to grasp the Party’s military-defence guidelines and comprehensively implement measures to keep raising their synergy and combat power for the defence of seas and islands in the new situation.

First of all, the Zone’s Party Committee and Command have attached importance to the work of propagation and education to raise the awareness and responsibility of cadres and soldiers towards the defence of seas and islands in the new situation. Grounded on higher echelons’ guiding documents, offices and units of the Zone have developed annual programmes and plans of political education in accordance with each group of troops. Emphasis has been placed on disseminating Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, and the Party’s guidelines on the Homeland protection and the defence of seas and islands in the new situation. Besides, the Zone has continued effectively implementing the Project to “renew political education at military units in the new period,” promoted the role of political offices and political cadres at all levels in renewing contents, forms, and methods of political and ideological education, and closely combined basic education with regular education. Via the work of propagation with respect to seas and islands, it has executed the Programme entitled “Vietnam People’s Navy provides support for fishermen at sea” to contribute to raising the awareness and responsibility of troops and citizens. Moreover, it has effectively realised emulation movements and campaigns, particularly the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics, and lifestyle in line with the Campaign titled “promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers – Naval soldiers” as an incentive for the successful fulfilment of its political task.

Additionally, all-level party committees, commands, and cadres have closely managed troops’ ideology and opportunely encouraged cadres and soldiers to surmount all difficulties and hardships. Due regard has been paid to improving mental and material life of cadres and soldiers, particularly forces performing their task at DK1 Platforms and sea. Importance has been attached to implementing policies for military families, especially for those in difficulty. Besides, offices and units of the Zone have resolutely fought against distortions of the situation in the East Sea, “peaceful evolution” strategy, and schemes of enhancing “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” by hostile forces. Doing so has enabled the Zone to build up its cadres and soldiers’ political zeal and determination to firmly protect national sovereignty over seas and islands.

A training course at sea by Brigade 167

Grounded on higher echelons’ resolutions, directives, and commands on combat readiness during COVID-19 prevention and control, the Zone has required its offices and units to sufficiently design, review, supplement, and adjust short-term and long-term combat documents and coordination plans. Affiliates of the Zone have stringently maintained regulations on duty at all levels, particularly on national holidays and in significant events of the country, the Military, and units, practised combat readiness projects, and opportunely ensured logistics-technical support for vessels and forces tasked with combat readiness. Moreover, the Zone has well organised exercises to improve its cadres and soldiers’ combat skills and capacity to settle situations in the field. Great weight has been added to grasping the situation in the air, at sea, and in the Zone’s stationed areas, closely monitoring foreign vessels passing the seas managed by the Zone, and opportunely giving advice on dealing with issues at sea, particularly in DK1 Platforms and the adjacent sea areas between Vietnam and Indonesia as well as between Vietnam and Malaysia. Consideration has been given to drawing lessons, preparing personnel and materials, seriously maintaining forces for patrolling, controlling, and firmly protecting the seas under the Zone’s responsibility. The Zone has deployed specialised radar and AIS systems at its headquarters, Brigades, and air defence – air force duty office, while conducting surveys on building a secret evacuation zone, submitting the construction project to higher echelons for approval, and recommending localities to include the evacuation zone in their defence land plan for the period of 2021-2030, with a vision towards 2050.

In order to bring into play its synergy during combat, the Zone has proactively closely cooperated with military and public security units and local authorities in grasping the situation in the air and at sea and regularly organising conferences to exchange information about political security, social order and safety, and security issues in the air and the seas under its responsibility. Due attention has been paid to reaching agreement on projects to settle defence situations and incidents in the Zone’s stationed areas and rendering citizens fully aware of the boundaries of military zones, restricted water areas, and safety belts so as to guarantee the safety and security of the Zone’s bases.

In order to keep raising the quality of training, the Zone’s Party Committee and Command have grasped and effectively executed the Central Military Commission’s Conclusion 60-KL/QUTW, dated January 18^th, 2019 on continuing realising the Central Military Commission’s Resolution 765/NQ-QUTW on “improving the quality of training in the period of 2013-2020 and beyond” as well as Naval Commander’s directives and competent offices’ guiding documents on combat training. The Zone has directed its offices and units to synchronously develop documents and plans on training work and organise training courses in accordance with each area’s particularities and each group of troops. Significance has been attached to designing plans on providing training courses for forces taking part in pandemic prevention and control. Besides, the Zone has required its affiliates to sufficiently prepare training records, lesson plans, and lectures, strictly maintain regulations on training registration and statistics, and hold refresher courses for cadres at all levels prior to each training season. Offices and units of the Zone have been asked to proactively adjust forms of training in the event of COVID-19 outbreak within themselves.

In order to make training work relevant to combat reality, the Zone has organised training courses on torpedo and bomb releasing and field training exercises at sea. It has also provided training courses for its troops during their patrols in the seas of its responsibility, particularly in the key areas and for vessels regularly performing their missions at sea.  It has trained its troops to hoist and receive torpedoes and missiles on vessels. Offices and units of the Zone have organised training courses at training centres and maintained combat coordination with other friendly units to increase the operational capacity of their specialised weapons and technical equipment. In addition, the Zone has continued working towards measures to raise the quality of training at DK1 Platforms. It has enhanced technical training and improved its manoeuvrability, combat deployment, and coordination with other forces in its stationed areas in a secret, safe manner. It has trained its troops to exploit and master long-range optoelectronic equipment and radar systems, while combining training work with measures to ensure the safety of personnel and weapons and aligning combat training with physical training.

Under the guidelines on building a “regular, modern” Zone, the Zone’s Party Committee and Command have directed offices and units to grasp higher echelons’ directives and resolutions on discipline management and education and raise troops’ awareness of military standard order building and discipline management. Emphasis has been placed on maintaining regulations on daily, weekly work and troops’ military etiquette, closely managing troops, especially in days off and rest hours, intensifying measures to ensure safety and minimise traffic accidents. The Zone has directed its affiliates to continue multiplying “regular vessels” and role models of military standard order building, discipline management, and safety assurance. Last but not least, consideration has been given to reviewing, adjusting, supplementing, and completing regulations on building regular DK1 Platforms and maintaining the operation of DK1 Battalion to direct and inspect those Platforms’ military standard order building. Doing so has enabled the Zone to increase its synergy and combat power as the basis for firmly protecting the seas, islands, and continental shelf under its responsibility. 

Sr. Capt. NGUYEN ANH TUAN, Commander of the Zone