As the core force in managing and safeguarding national sovereignty over the Homeland’s strategic seas and islands, over the years, Naval Zone 3 has always focused on raising its synergy and combat power via synchronous, effective measures.

Building a politically strong Zone as the basis for improving its synergy and combat strength

This is the most fundamental principle for enhancing the Zone’s synergy and combat power. That principle includes all activities of leaderships, commands, and sectors aimed at building forces and personnel under the preset criteria. Being fully aware of that principle, the Zone’s Party Committee and Command have always attached importance to building pure, strong all-level party organisations and making cadres and party members capable of meeting their task requirements and playing a core role in building politically strong units. The Zone Party Committee has frequently correctly evaluated the quality of party committee members and secretaries as well as cadres and party members to work towards effective measures of leadership, with a focus on improving all-level party organisations’ leadership capacity and combativeness and building “four-good” party cells. It has directed all-level affiliated party committees to develop work regulations, raise the quality of executing their resolutions, and strengthen their leadership over all missions. At the same time, all-level affiliated party committees have been required to overcome weaknesses and shortcomings in observing the Party’s principle of democratic centralism, maintaining internal unity, and managing and training party members. They have also been asked to build a contingent of cadres and party members, particularly key ones at all levels and heighten their vanguard role and responsibility to set good examples for the masses to follow.

In order to render cadres and soldiers acutely aware of their tasks and improve their political zeal during their settlement of situations at sea, the Zone Command has directed its offices and units to renew contents and methods of political and ideological education to ensure that in any circumstance, all staff members would be absolutely loyal to the Party, the Homeland, and the People. In addition to basic political programmes, the Zone has focused on equipping troops with knowledge of the Party’s guidelines and the State’s laws and policies on settling disputes in the East Sea. As a result, all staff members have been fully aware of our Party and State’s viewpoints on respecting the status quo, not using or threatening to use force, and settling disputes by peaceful means on the basis of national independence, sovereignty, unification, and territorial integrity in accordance with international law. Besides, offices and units have actively renewed methods and forms of education and propagation, with significance attached to employing visual education and educating cadres and soldiers via practical activities in accordance with each group of troops. They have strictly maintained regulations on political study, closely combined regular education with the organisation of knowledge contests and forums, provided specialised topics, and designed manuals for cadres and soldiers. Due attention has been paid to promoting synergy created by all forces, organisations, and cultural institutions within units as well as press agencies in education and propagation. Great value has been attached to implementing measures for managing and effectively dealing with ideological issues, and proactively, synchronously, comprehensively carrying out party and political work to build a politically strong Zone as the basis for raising its synergy and combat power.

A training course on mine clearance at sea

A breakthrough in improving the Zone’s training quality and combat capacity at sea

Adhering to viewpoints, goals, and tasks of training set by higher echelons, the Zone Party Committee and all-level affiliated party committees have issued resolutions on combat training with contents, targets, and methods relevant to their task requirements. Each member of party committees and commands and each competent office have been assigned to lead, direct, and manage training work in a uniformed, effective manner. As the Navy’s training work depends on many elements, such as climate and weather at sea and modern technical equipment, the Zone has enhanced all-level party committees and commands’ leadership and direction over each stage and step of training work, particularly within units performing BM and CV tasks and manoeuvring for durable missions at sea. In addition, the Zone’s Party Committee and Command have determined to consider campaign-level training as the central part of training work, while directing all units to organise combat training courses and tactical exercises relevant to contents and scenarios of campaign-level training.

Prior to each training season, the Zone has proactively developed plans, held refresher courses for all-level cadres, and prepared facilities, equipment, technical means, and grounds for training at sea. In the training process, due attention has been paid to abiding by the motto of “basics, practicality, and solidity” so as to enable troops to “master weapons and technical equipment and observe safety regulations.” Emphasis has been placed on improving troops’ hands-on experience and skills at sea, combining training with military standard order building, discipline management, and safety assurance. Besides, importance has been attached to resolutely fighting against merit-driven practice, subjectivity, complacency, and fear of difficulties in the training process. In the medium term, in order to satisfy its task requirements, the Zone will concentrate on training combat teams to master weapons and technical equipment so that they will be capable of dealing with combat situations. It will improve its troops’ ability to independently control weapons and technical equipment at night-time and under complex weather conditions in the air, at sea, and on islands. In the long term, the Zone will direct its offices and units to closely combine training with practice and exercises under combat projects, align combat training with war service training at sea, and ensure logistics and technical support for training, combat readiness, and other missions.

Against harsh weather conditions, storms, floods, and COVID-19 pandemic, the Zone has opportunely adjusted training courses according to each degree of COVID-19, thereby fulfilling all training contents and programmes. Bringing into play those good results, in the time to come, the Zone will continue striving to accomplish all training plans and programmes, over 99% of its troops shall take part in training courses, and more than 90% of them shall achieve merit or distinction. Maps-based general tactical exercises, field exercises, and live-fire exercises organised by the Zone’s affiliates must be absolutely safe to make contributions to raising the Zone’s combat readiness and combat capacity at sea.

Proactively remaining vigilance and a high level of combat readiness

Under Directives by the Ministry of National Defence and the Navy on combat readiness, the Zone has stepped up a breakthrough in “improving the effectiveness of sea control and management and the quality of staff work.” Offices and units of the Zone have opportunely developed, adjusted, and completed their combat documents, stringently maintained regulations on training commands and offices to deal with situations at all-level headquarters, and frequently monitor and correctly evaluate the settlement of situations. They have also strictly maintained regulations on combat readiness duty for their forces and vessels. Due attention has been paid to ensuring close coordination between key vessels on duty and patrol ships under Directive 45/CT-TTg, dated December 13th, 2017 by Prime Minister on a number of urgent tasks and measures to remove the European Commission’s warning on illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in order to grasp the situation at sea.

To opportunely grasp new, complex developments at sea, the Zone has diversified methods of detecting and proactively responding to violations of our national sovereignty over seas and islands. Great weight has been added to ensuring smooth, timely, accurate communication and promoting the role of radar stations, AIS system, people’s intelligence force, and technical reconnaissance force to quickly, opportunely detect violations of the sea under the Zone’s responsibility. Moreover, the Zone has actively assisted fishermen in identifying strange targets and provided information to contribute to defending national sovereignty over seas and islands.

Furthermore, the Zone has placed emphasis on researching and evaluating issues as well as correctly anticipating and ananlysing other countries’ new plots and artifices in the sea of its responsibility. It has focused on clarifying other countries’ methods and acts of violating, encroaching on, and occupying our seas and islands, exploring and exploiting our marine natural resources, and causing conflicts against our economic and defence activities as well as other countries’ combat capacity and use of naval bases to violate our national sovereignty over seas and islands. Grounded on those analyses, it has opportunely advised higher echelons on formulating appropriate, effective remedial measures. At the same time, it has directed its forces at sea to proactively prepare combat projects under our Party and State’s guidelines, cleverly, opportunely settle situations, and prevent other countries from using pretexts for possible conflicts. It has closely cooperated with senior-level offices and friendly units in organising an inter-connected, solid posture at sea. Additionally, it has brought into play its synergy, remained resolute and persistent, and diversified forms of struggle to effectively deal with situations, avoid falling into passivity, and firmly protect national sovereignty and benefits at sea.

Against complicated developments at sea, cadres and soldiers of Naval Zone 3 will continue heightening a sense of responsibility and surmounting all difficulties to raise the Zone’s synergy and combat strength for safeguarding the Homeland’s sacred sovereignty over seas and islands.

Rear Admiral PHAM VAN HUNG, Commander of Naval Zone 3