Close combination of socio-economic development and strengthening of national defence and security is a fundamental viewpoint and a consistent, strategic guideline of our Party in the cause of national building and defence. This is also a task Phu Quoc Party Committee and People’s Committee have focused their leadership on with the aim of turning Phu Quoc into a centre for tourism and luxury services of the country and Southeast Asia.

Phu Quoc city, Kien Giang province is the first coastal city of Viet Nam established according to the Resolution passed by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly (14th tenure) on 9 December 2020 on the basis of inheriting the status quo of Phu Quoc district. This is a breakthrough of the province and the southern region, which aims to build Phu Quoc into a centre for tourism and luxury services of the country and Southeast Asia. The island city of Phu Quoc is located in the Southwestern waters of Viet Nam, 46 kilometres from Ha Tien town of Kien Giang province and adjacent to the waters of Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia. Given its natural conditions and position of strategic importance, Phu Quoc city both has huge potential for socio-economic development and plays a vital role in national defence and security within the defensive posture of Kien Giang province, the Mekong River plain, and the country.

Currently, facing requirements and missions of safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation and grasping the Party’s view that every step of socio-economic development is a step of fortifying national defence and security, the authorities of Phu Quoc city continue to focus their leadership of close combination of socio-economic development with strengthening of national defence and security.

First, the city concentrates on enhancing local party committees’ and authorities’ awareness and knowledge with a view to achieving consensus about missions of localities and the task of building the all-people national defence in the new era. If localities only attach importance to economic aspect and socio-economic development while underestimating national defence and security and lacking readiness for shifting themselves from peacetime to wartime, they will be extremely confused and passive in case of contigencies. On the basis of grasping and strictly implementing the Directive No. 12-CT/TW, dated 3 May 2007, of the Politburo (10th tenure) on “Promoting the Party’s leadership of defence, security education in the new situation” and the Decree No. 116/ND-CP, dated 10 July 2007, of the Government on defence, security education, the municipal Party Committee and People’s Committee have issued resolutions, action programs, directives, etc., to enhance leadership of local defence, military work. They have constantly strengthened the Defence and Security Education Councils from the city level to commune, ward, and town level organisationally and promoted their operational quality, facilitating their regular, effective operation; taken initiative in sending key cadres of the political system at all levels to defence, security educational programs as provided by law, thereby improving cadres’, party members’ and people’s level of competence and awareness of building the all-people national defence, all-people defence posture, and people’s security posture. This will serve to enhance their vigilance and effective response to all plots of reactionaries and hostile forces; enable them to creatively apply theory and experience; and contribute to increased quality and effectiveness of combining economy with national defence and security and vice versa.

The municipal Party Committee and People’s Committee attach importance to leadership of close combination of socio-economic development and strengthening of national defence and security, ensuring that all plans and projects are evaluated strictly in every aspect, especially those potentially affecting national defence and security. The network of roads, harbours, airports, and industrial parks must be dual-purpose, both for economic development and national defence and security, capable of shifting peacetime production to wartime production and being mobilised for meeting requirements of combat mission. Today, there are some major projects in Phu Quoc. All the projects have been carefully appraised by the city, ensuring close combination of economic development and national defence and security. They are the direct base for promoting potential of local defence industry, enabling it to successfully provide logistical, technological support for the defensive zone. Additionally, the city requests production facilities to pay attention to development of the reserve, contributing to maintenance of political security, social order, and safety.

The city promotes propagation and education with the aim to mobilise the all-people strength for building defensive zones, consolidation of national defence and the great national solidarity, strengthening and enhancing operational effectiveness of the political system at all levels. To internalise resolutions and directives of the Politburo, Secretariat Committee, and the Provincial Party Committee on national defence and security, every year, the Municipal Party Committee and People’s Committee promulgate documents to instruct branches and levels to actively realise those resolution and directives in accordance with their characteristics, missions, and ability. Attention is paid to alignment between building and firm protection of sovereignty over waters, islands, and national boundaries. They also instruct functional forces to successfully carry out diplomatic tasks; cooperate with border districts and posts of neighbouring countries to timely address complex issues in adjacent waters and prevent illegal migration, immigration, smuggling, and commercial fraud. To implement the Decree No. 03/2019/ND-CP, dated 5 September 2019, of the Government on coordination between the Ministry of National Defence and Ministry of Public Security in protection of national security, maintenance of social order and safety, preventing and combating crime, and national defence mission, the city directs units of the VPA, Public Security, and Border Guard to coordinate with the 5th Naval Region and the 4th Coast Guard Region to proactively grasp situation in all directions and key areas; strictly keep control of illegal migration and immigration; timely detect and deal with foreign vessels’ violation of the waters of Viet Nam; effectively respond to smuggling in the Southwestern waters; effectively prevent and respond to natural disasters; undertake search and rescue, etc., contributing to firm maintenance of political security, social order and safety in the area. Units of the Municipal Military Command, Public Security, Border Guard, Coast Guard, and Navy work closely with communes and wards to conduct propagation and legal education to facilitate cadres’ and people’s awareness of the importance of the waters and islands in the cause of building and safeguarding the Fatherland, thereby bringing into play the synergy of people from various walks of life to create comprehensive power to master and firmly protect sovereignty over the Southwestern waters and islands.

In addition, the city focuses its leadership on establishing strong, safe, autonomous communes and towns; building comprehensively robust armed forces; regularly adjusting defence and security posture in accordance with socio-economic development; investing in fortifying defence works, especially the key defensive ones; adapting plans to protect critical economic, political, cultural, social infrastructure; and conducting defensive zone exercises as provided by law.

Combining economic development with promoting defence, security potential is an objective inevitability and a vital content of the guidelines for national development aimed at successfully realising the two strategic tasks, namely socialist building and firm protection of the socialist Fatherland of Viet Nam. On grasping that viewpoint, the Party Committee and Government of Phu Quoc city continue to try their best to implement this important task, contributing to firm defence of independence, sovereignty, political security, and social order and safety in the area and building of the Phu Quoc city that is civilised, modern, harmonious, friendly, and worthy of the name “the Pearl of Asia” and its ranking within “the top ten list of the most famous island on the planet.”

HUYNH QUANG HUNG, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Phu Quoc city