Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty at a conference on defensive areas (Photo: qdnd.vn)

In the coming time, though peace, cooperation, development will be the mainstream in the region and the world, factors causing complexity, instability, unpredictability remains and have a direct impact on the cause of Homeland protection of our armed forces and people. Hostile forces will facilitate their sabotages against our revolution by their “Peaceful Evolution” strategy. In such a context, the strategic staff work should be more innovative, active, sensitive, and effective. To meet the requirements, functional bodies of the Ministry of National Defence, especially the General Staff, need to concentrate on the followings:

1. Be active in updating the situation for exact strategic forecast in the field of defence and military. This issue is of paramount importance in strategic staff work. Agencies need to further grasp the two strategic missions, viewpoints and guidelines relating to defence and military mentioned in the Party’s resolutions, directives, particularly the “Strategy to safeguard the Homeland in the new situation” and thereby enhance the work of situation update, research, evaluation, analysis and give out exact forecast. Particularly, agencies need to have exact and timely assessment of partners and opponents of the Vietnamese revolution; anticipate the likely strategic situations, v.v. Thereby, agencies propose systematic, comprehensive and possible guidelines and policies for active prevention and coping with defence and military situations avoiding unexpectedness in strategy and the enemy’s disturbance to worsen the situation; meanwhile, giving out thorough direction for organization building, forces deployment to enhance the country’s defensive capability, especially the focus directions and areas. When researching, agencies must pay attention on anticipation and discovery of new issues, creating breakthroughs in the work of strategic forecast.

2.  Focus on study and staff work to build the all-people defence meeting the requirements of Homeland protection in the new situation, especially advice on building all-people defence potentials and posture, associated with a steadfast people’s security posture in each area and in the whole country. Attach importance to proposing guidelines, solutions to supplement, perfect leading, directing and managing mechanism to enhance the quality and effectiveness of the establishment and operation of defence zones; develop strategies and policies for tightening the combination between defence and economy and vice versa; renovate and enhance the quality of defence and security education, etc. For a better implementation of the policy to associate socio-economic development with defence and security consolidation, agencies need to screen, and make proposal to the Government on finalizing the general plan on defence deployment in combination with socio-economic development countrywide to strengthen defence and security posture, especially in the areas with borders, seas, islands and strategic zones.

In addition, continue to renovate strategic thinking on Homeland protection, push up practice review, develop theory on strategic combat, military and defence strategy, define guideline and method for strategic combat, develop theory on military art, on military science and technology, on people’s war under new circumstances, especially combat on seas and islands; be ready for new model of aggressive wars of the enemy, effectively cope with nontraditional security challenges. Study to make adjustment in forces, combat posture and establish new strategic deployments in areas, regions; combine closely between the on-the-spot forces with mobile forces to ensure the continuity, steadiness without strategic isolation or separation, meeting requirements in dealing with defence and security situation and defensive combat to protect the Homeland. Not only advising, proposing major guidelines on building defence and security potentials and posture, strategic staff agencies need to be active in study and develop new ways for defence struggle towards the direction of fight in parallel with cooperation, avoiding conflict and confrontation, isolation and dependence; at the same time, be ready to cope with an aggressive war (if war is to occur) at any scales; always stick to viewpoints, and policy in external affairs of the Party, State to make proposals and solutions for promoting defence diplomacy in the new situation, etc.

3. Attach importance to building the comprehensive strength, combat readiness quality and combat capability for armed forces, especially the People’s army and promote the key role of armed forces in the mission of Homeland protection in the new situation. Strategic staff work need to stick to the Party’s orientation on building the military “revolutionary, regular, seasoned and gradually modernized”; advice and propose to the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence plans to build the military strong in politics, ideology, organization in which the military’s political strength is the base for enhancing the comprehensive strength and combat capability. Firstly, the General Staff and functional bodies need to continue their proposals on building, supplementing, completing legal system on building the military and on Homeland protection and other related strategies for setting legal basis and orientations for strategic implementation in the field of defence and Homeland protection. Continue to study and propose restructuring the military towards seasoned, compact, powerful and modern direction, meeting the requirements of Homeland protection in the new situation. Attach importance to the advisory task on the straightforward modernization of some forces in the light of Party Central Resolution (XI tenure) and the Military Party Resolution (IX tenure); propose mid and long term strategic solutions to develop defence industry, improve production capability of defence industry and mobilize the national potentials for defence, military missions, reducing the dependence on foreign sources, etc. In addition, push up study, direction for building and enhancing the quality of the reserve forces; intensify state management on the defence mission in ministries, localities to best mobilize resources for Homeland protection.

4. Actively advice and direct units armywide to cope with situations effectively and flexibly. The General Staff and strategic agencies need to focus on directing, guiding and checking units adjusting, supplementing, completing their combat plans, coordination plans in each strategic direction, areas in accordance with reality; cope with situations actively, effectively and opportunely; closely monitoring and controlling the air  and the sea, borders and key areas, firmly protect the Homeland.

Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty

Member of the Party Central  Committee

Chief of the General Staff of the VPA, Deputy Minister of Defence