Phu Quoc City, the first island city in our country, is a locality with great potential and strengths in terms of economy, culture, trade, tourism, and foreign relations. At the same time, it holds a strategically important position in national defence and security within the defence posture of Kien Giang Province, Military Region 9, and the southwestern maritime and island region of the Fatherland. Over the years, Phu Quoc City Party committee, authorities, armed forces, and people have overcome numerous challenges, exerted efforts, and successfully achieved their set goals. The City’s economy has shown significant growth, and the living standards of its residents have been notably improved. Its socio-economic infrastructure has seen remarkable developments, gradually aligning with the potential and strengths of an island city - a centre for international eco-tourism services. The potential and overall national defence posture, people’s security, “people’s hearts-and-minds” posture, and defensive area have been strengthened and reinforced. Political security, order, social safety, and national sovereignty at sea have been effectively managed and safeguarded.

A review meeting of the City's Military Party Committee of first half of 2023

However, in the face of complex developments in the East Sea and the southwestern seas, potential unpredictable risks have had a significant impact on the stability and development of the city. Moreover, due to the vibrant economic, trade, tourism, and service activities in the area, it has also become a hub for hostile forces and criminal activities, particularly those related to infiltration, subversion, and the exploitation of sensitive issues concerning “ethnicity,” “religion,” “democracy,” “human rights,” and unresolved grievances among the people, aimed at distorting the Party’s policies and State’s guidelines, inciting complaints which negatively affects political security, social order, and public safety. Given this situation, Phu Quoc City Party Committee has deeply embraced the Party’s viewpoint: “Economic development is the top priority, Party building is the key, cultural development is the foundation, and ensuring national defence and security is an essential task that requires continuous attention”. It has placed a strong emphasis on leading the simultaneous development of the economy and society while strengthening national defence and security; building a robust defence area; and providing effective leadership for national defence and military work to create a stable and conducive environment for the comprehensive development of the City.

First and foremost, it strengthens the leadership of the Party committee and government management and administration in national defence and military work, as well as in the construction and operation of defence area. Adhering to the Party’s military and defence policy, particularly the 8^th Central Party Committee Resolution (the 11^th Tenure) on “Strategy for safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation” and directives and instructions of the Military Region 9 and Kien Giang Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee on the national defence and military work, the City Party Committee has concretised to develop and issue numerous resolutions, directives, plans, and projects to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of leadership and direction regarding local defence and military work and construction of the defensive area. Based on these measures, it has directed the City Military Party Committee and Military Command to promote their core role in collaborating with the Police, Border Guards, and other relevant agencies to provide advice to local authorities and efficiently carry out defence and military tasks. Consequently, the City’s defence work has been consistently closely led and directed. Drawing from experiences gained through the implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution No.28-NQ/TW and the Government’s Decree No.152/2007/NĐ-CP and Decree No.21/2019/NĐ-CP on the construction of defensive areas, the City has reviewed, improved, and maintained the implementation of regulations and mechanisms related to defence area construction and operation. Due to its remote location and independent activities, the City Party Committee has paid special attention to closely linking economic development with national defence and security, building a robust defence area, and ensuring there is no compromise on economic development. In practice, hundreds of economic development projects have been implemented in Phu Quoc, including many foreign-invested ones, all of which have been meticulously assessed to meet national defence and security requirements. In conjunction with this, the City has placed great importance on planning and constructing of defensive area military posture, ensuring continuity and stability across islands and between islands and the mainland and building a strong, clean political system to consolidate the trust of the people in the Party’s leadership and strengthen the “people’s hearts-and-minds” posture. To date, the City has completed the military defence posture planning and mobilised significant resources to invest in constructing key defence works, forming an interconnected defence posture at all levels, ready to ensure national defence in various situations. Furthermore, the City has also enhanced state management in national defence and security and directed the military agency to closely coordinate with the Police, Forest Rangers, Naval Region 5, Coast Guard Region 4, and Brigade 950 in accurately assessing and predicting the defence and security situation to provide counsel to the City Party Committee and People’s Committee in handling defence and security issues, safeguard national sovereignty, maritime border security, and island security, and prevent unexpected incidents.

The City Party Committee has placed a strong emphasis on leading the development of a robust armed force, which forms the core of military and defence tasks. Adhering to the Party’s perspective on building armed forces in the new situation, the City Party Committee has focused on leading the construction of “elite, compact, and strong” armed forces suitable for the area’s maritime and island characteristics. This includes prioritising the establishment of well-rounded, appropriately structured, and combat-ready units in critical areas and front-line islands. During the construction process, the City has particularly emphasised the construction, strengthening of organisation, and improvement of leadership capacity of military Party cells, especially the units located in dispersed and independent positions and military organs at the commune and ward levels, viewing them as the foundation for building strong armed forces. Concerning the people’s self-defence force, the City has directed its development towards being “strong and extensive”, prioritising the development of maritime self-defence forces and building a contingent of competent maritime self-defence cadres. In recent times, the City has implemented several measures to improve the quality of the self-defence force’s activities and effectively implemented the Plan for the Organisation, construction, training, and activities of the People’s self-defence force for the 2021-2025 period. As a result, the people’s self-defence force has played a vital role in executing military and defence tasks at the grassroots level. For the reserve forces, the City has directed localities to effectively manage military registration, roster checking, and strict supervision of reserve personnel and military equipment within their areas. It has also actively restructured and stabilised the organisation and structure of reserve units in accordance with regulations. So far, 94.34% of the reserve force on the island has been structured, with 18.76% being Party members.

Encourage new recruits on their enlist day

To enhance the combat readiness of the armed forces, along with building a strong political and ideological foundation, the City Party Committee has focused on improving the quality of training and exercises for various units. Based on the resolutions and directives of the Central Military Party Commission, Ministry of National Defence, Military Region 9 High Command, and Provincial Military Party Committee, the City has pushed innovation and improved the quality of training tailored to each unit. Accordingly, local authorities, agencies, and units have conducted training and exercises at their respective levels according to regulations, in line with the local context, using the defence of maritime and island areas as the basis for training and exercises. To meet the requirements of tasks in the new situation, the City has placed a strong emphasis on leadership in comprehensive military training, proposing and organising the execution of tasks for military agencies at all levels, and ensuring the ability to sustain long-term combat operations for military units. Furthermore, it has paid attention to leading and directing the effective organisation of defensive area exercises and district-level defence combat exercises, thus improving the overall capabilities of the armed forces, leadership abilities, and the capacity to handle situations related to national defence and security. Additionally, the City Party Committee has concentrated on the systematic implementation of measures to enhance the effectiveness of national defence and security knowledge education and dissemination for all subject and citizens, creating unity in awareness and action in implementation. In this regard, the City Party Committee has reviewed and improved the composition and structure of the National Defence and Security Education Councils at all levels, maintaining their activities in accordance with the prescribed regulations; directed the Military Agency to actively play the role of the permanent body of the National Defence and Security Education Council in leading and coordinating with various departments and agencies to provide advice to the City People’s Committee on the issuance of directives for the implementation of this crucial task. To achieve results, the City has strictly maintained a hierarchical organisation of the training, ensuring that all levels of party committees and government are responsible for this work; proactively expanded the target audience suitable for the area’s characteristics; and directed the continuous innovation of content and forms of education and dissemination, ensuring practical and effective approaches. Localities have flexibly applied forms of dissemination and incorporated national defence and security knowledge into activities and events hosted by organisations, associations, and festivals within their areas. The City Military Command has closely cooperated with the Centre for Culture, Sports, and Information and Kien Giang Newspaper in elevating the quality of the National Defence Education column on mass media channels, focusing on disseminating the Party’s viewpoint and direction on building a comprehensive national defence, the National Defence Law, Military Service Law, People’s Self-Defence Law, Vietnam’s Maritime Law, the Strategy for Sustainable Development of Vietnam’s Maritime Economy by 2030 with a vision to 2045, the Special Development Policy for Phu Quoc Island, and the European Commission’s warning on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, as well as local defence and military activities. These efforts aim to guide thinking, enhance awareness, and strengthen the responsibility of the Party members, cadres, and all layers of the population toward national defence and military tasks, protecting the Fatherland, and thwarting the schemes of hostile forces while maintaining political security, order, and social safety within the City.

With determination and high political consciousness, the Party Committee, government, armed forces, and the people of Phu Quoc City continue to strive to effectively carry out local defence and military tasks and ensure the stable political security, social safety, and a favourable environment for rapid, sustainable economic and social development, aiming to turn Phu Quoc into a first-class urban area by 2025, befitting its status as a national and international coastal and island tourism city.

TONG PHUOC TRUONG, Member of the Standing Committee of Kien Giang Provincial Party Committee, Secretary of Phu Quoc City Party Committee