The Resolution of the 12th National Party Congress identified 6 central tasks for 2016 – 2022 term, of which the fourth task is: “Resolutely, persistently fighting to firmly defend national independence, sovereignty, territorial unity and integrity; maintaining peaceful, stable environment for the country’s development…”. This is the Party’s fundamental viewpoint on national protection, demonstrating the dialectic relationship between the two strategic tasks. Maintaining peaceful, stable environment is the prerequisite to mobilize all resources to build and develop the country rapidly, sustainably.
On the basis of analyzing, objectively assessing the situation of the world, the region and the country, our Party has taken “the maintenance of peaceful, stable environment” as a strategic goal in the cause of Homeland protection. To some extent, that proves our Party’s consistency and flexibility, and the importance of “maintaining peaceful, stable environment” in the new situation.
In the years ahead, our people’s cause of national protection will have both opportunities and challenges. The country is in peacetime but faced with risks of instability. To maintain peaceful, stable environment, we must put in a great deal of effort, bring into play strength of the entire nation, and synchronously adopt measures in all fields. As for defence field, we should focus on the following points.
First, raising awareness of the relationship between national protection and maintenance of peaceful, stable environment to build and develop the country. This is a difficult issue as there are fierce competitions for influence among major powers in the region. Thus, education work must make levels, sectors, localities, and all people grasp the position, significance, and dialectic relationship between the maintenance of peaceful, stable environment and the task of Homeland protection, namely protection of national independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity.
It is necessary to understand that in the current situation, maintaining peaceful, stable environment is both the goal and the essential condition to fulfil the task of national protection; only when we maintain peaceful, stable environment, do we protect the socialist Homeland. However, it does not mean we trade our territorial sovereignty off for some kind of elusive peace. In this regard, we should resolutely follow the guideline: being resolute, persistent in strategy, flexible in tactics to manage this relationship.
Moreover, it is also necessary to understand that maintaining peaceful, stable environment is not only preventing the country from being involved in any wars, but also ensuring its actual stability. In this regard, we should remove all seeds and risks of instability, such as chaos, subversion, armed conflict, invasion in any forms and scales. Not being vigilant and not resolutely fighting against plots, tricks, violations of national independence, sovereignty, territory could lead to bad consequences. Nevertheless, not remaining calm, alert, and persistent would bring about even unforeseen consequences. Grasping this relationship would help facilitate sound management of complex developments.
It could be said that Homeland protection nowadays must be linked with maintenance of peaceful, stable environment. This is a central, frequent task of the entire Party, military, people, and political system.
Second, bringing into play key role of the people’s armed forces in maintaining peaceful environment and protecting the Homeland. To do this, we must continue to build the comprehensively strong people’s armed forces in terms of politics, ideology, and organization, with high-level synergy and absolute loyalty to the Homeland, the Party, the State and the people.
Facing complex developments of the situation, the armed forces must be really the core in maintaining peace and stability of the country. First and foremost, it is necessary to proactively make exact anticipation of strategic situations, timely propose measures in accordance with the Party and the State’s guideline and foreign policy on the basis of respecting common rules, law of Vietnam, and international law to settle any differences and strategic situations, draw up plans on preventing risks of armed conflicts and invasions soon and afar.
Third, closely combining defence with security, economic development with external affairs to maintain peace and stability of the country. In this regard, these fields must be combined flexibly, creatively in strategies, projects, plans, and each area, particularly strategic ones. On the basis of results of construction of economic – defence areas, we need to continue to invest in maritime economic areas, focusing on seas and islands of strategic defence and security. These are really basic, long-term factors that help combine components of the defence and security posture closely between coast, seas, islands, and external affairs, creating synergy to maintain peace and stability of the country.
Moreover, we should build a new mechanism to develop an open economy in all fields, giving priority to investment from foreign businesses and partners, in order to create interdependence and responsibility in defending mutual interests and maintaining peace and stability of the country. Besides, forces should further strengthen defence external work at various levels, particularly with neighbour countries, traditional friends, partners, and major powers. Accordingly, parties intensify information and experience exchange, holding joint patrol, working with one another in search and rescue, in order to build strategic trust in integration process. Throughout defence external affairs, we could make the international community understand that the nature of Vietnam’s defence is peace and self-defence; at the same time, we could take advantage of internal and external strength to maintain peace and stability of the country and successfully fufil the two strategic tasks, namely Homeland construction and protection in the new situation.
Assoc Prof, Dr. Hoang Xuan Lam