Firmly managing and protecting sovereignty and security of maritime border is an important and regular task in the cause of national defence. Grasping that spirit and adhering to specific functions, tasks, and situations, Phu Yen Provincial Border Guard Party Committee and Command have focused on comprehensively leading and directing, and drastically and synchronously implementing solutions to constantly improve the quality and efficiency in the performance of this important task to create favourable conditions for the province to develop rapidly and sustainably.

Phu Yen, a coastal province in the South-Central region, has 4 coastal districts, towns, and cities, with a total coastline of 189 km, a sea area of about 6,900 km², and many mountain ranges protruding into the sea to form bays, lagoons, and puddles, that is favourable for aquaculture, seafood, tourism, and trade development and expansion of maritime exchanges with other countries... for economic development. However, this is also one of the areas that violations of law often take place, especially drug trafficking; illegal traveling and residence; social evils; use of explosives and poisons for fishing, depletion of vegetation, and disputes and violations of fishing grounds; smuggling, trade fraud, etc.

In that context and based on the assigned functions and tasks, the Provincial Border Guard Party Committee and Command continue to adhere to the leadership and direction of the Border Guard Party Committee Command and Phu Yen Provincial Party Committee and People's Committee and coordinate with the local departments,  branches, agencies, mass organisations, authorities, and functional forces in deploying synchronously and drastically multiple measures to resolutely fight against and promptly prevent crimes and violations of the law at sea to ensure stability of the political security and  social order, maintain sea and island sovereignty, and create the best environment and conditions for the province’s quick and sustainable development.

Patrolling the coastal areas

Firstly, focus on building a strong Provincial Border Guard in all aspects, especially politics, to serve as the core and specialised force in managing and protecting sovereignty and security of maritime border.  This is an important and decisive content and a basis for the Provincial Border Guards to improve the overall quality and combat power to fulfil all assigned tasks. To well implement this content, the Provincial Border Guard Party Committee and Command has focused on leading and  directing units to promote political and ideological education, particularly education to raise awareness and sense of responsibility for cadres and soldiers about this central political task; building the soldiers’ stable political bravery and high determination to make them ready to receive and fulfil the task well; improving the leadership capacity and combat power of Party organisations; building clean and strong Party organisations in association with building comprehensively strong “exemplary and typical” units; strengthening the committees at all levels in association with building a contingent of presiding officers, especially those at the grassroots level, to serve as a foundation to build  strong units; actively reviewing and consolidating the organisation and staffing of agencies and units towards being “elite, compact, and strong”, particularly the units performing combat manoeuvres, patrols, and controls, and border guard posts and stations in important and key areas, such as Vung Ro Port Border Guard Station,  Xuan Dai Border Guard Station, Hai An Border Guard Station, etc.

Along with building politically strong units, the Provincial Border Guard has advocated to perform well the training, discipline management and training, and improvement of combat readiness level and qualifications for the soldiers. To implement, the Provincial Border Guard Party Committee and Command have led and directed units to harmoniously combine comprehensive training with intensive training on border guard operations under their duties; attach training contents to the actual situation on the maritime border area of the province; improve abilities, skills, and level of manoeuvre, reconnaissance, coordination, cooperation, struggling, and combat in an effective way; actively develop, supplement, and complete the Border protection determinations and plans and options for combat cooperation with relevant forces; and organise units’ training according to identified options and situations and participating in local defence zone drills, etc. In addition, the Provincial Border Guard has also mobilised resources to invest in upgrading and modernising equipment and means for professional work, especially means for patrols and control at sea and islands, implementation of electronic border guard procedures at ports or border crossings... to increase efficiency in the performance of tasks.

Secondly, strengthen the grasping of the local situation and actively coordinate closely with other forces in managing and firmly protecting the sovereignty and security of the maritime border.  As the area managed by the Provincial Border Guard consists of districts, towns, and cities, which are the economic, social, and tourism hubs of the province, with a large population density, dynamic marine service activities, diverse types of vehicles and boats..., there are high risks of destabilising factors. Meanwhile, the province's maritime border management and protection forces are limited and dispersed, and the nature of tasks is complex. Therefore, strengthening the grasping of the area and closely coordinating with relevant forces in performing tasks is a measure that is especially appreciated by the Provincial Border Guard. Accordingly, the Provincial Border Guard Command has paid attention to directing the synchronous implementation of professional measures in grasping the situation and basic investigation of the area, especially key areas of activities of hostile objects and criminals; promoting the role of the reconnaissance force and the people’ “eyes and ears”; grasping the situation at sea, rural security, and all kinds of crimes, especially key objects, foreign service and investment sectors, and activities of ships and fishermen at sea; and coordinating closely with the Navy, Coast Guard, Public Security, and Customs in the area under the motto of being “synchronous at all levels”, through comprehensive contents, from grasping the situation, propagation, mass mobilisation... to coordination in patrolling, controlling, and protecting sovereignty and security at sea, fighting against crimes, search and rescue, etc. To achieve high efficiency, the Provincial Border Guard has actively developed, supplemented, and perfected coordination regulations and plans; maintained the regimes of information exchange, notification, and periodic briefings and preliminary review; and clearly decentralised the scope and responsibilities in coordinating for subordinate units. Then, it has promptly analysed, accurately forecasted, and properly advised the Provincial Party Committee, Provincial People's Committee, and superiors to have appropriate handling policies. At the same time, it has proactively prepared and implemented professional plans and specialised projects to directly conduct and closely coordinate with functional forces in struggling and firmly protecting the sovereignty and security of the maritime border of the Province.

Thirdly, actively advise and act as the core in building a strong border defence system in the area.  This is also an important content to create an especially important foundation and resource to perform well the task of managing and protecting sovereignty and security of maritime border.  Therefore, the Provincial Border Guard has promoted the role of presiding over and coordinating with other forces in advising the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial People's Committee to propose leadership and direction guidelines and solutions to be close to the local practical situation in building the all-people border defence, particularly the strong all-people border defence posture. By closely following the characteristics and tasks of local socio-economic development, the Provincial Border Guard Command has focused on advising and developing the contents of the all-people border defence in association with the all-people defence and people's security and the all-people border defence posture in association with the all-people defence posture and the people's security posture. In implementing, the Provincial Border Guard has attached importance to promoting mass propagation and mobilisation to contribute to raising awareness and sense responsibility of all levels, sectors, and the whole people for the cause of protecting sovereignty and border security. To improve efficiency, the Provincial Border Guard Party Committee and Command have promoted leading and directing border guard units and stations to closely coordinate with local Party committees, authorities, departments, agencies, and unions, especially the Provincial Party Committee Mass Mobilisation Board, provincial newspapers, and radio stations, in propagating,  educating, and mobilising the masses in various practical forms; focused on propagating the Vietnam Border Guard  Law, National Border Law, Fisheries Law 2017, and decrees related to seafood exploitation and management of activities of persons and vehicles in the maritime border area and management and protection of security and order in the seaport area; specified plots, tricks, and modes of operation of hostile forces, types of crimes in the region; organised for all captains and owners of offshore fishing vessels to sign commitments not to encroach on the waters of neighbouring countries for fishing, etc.

Along with the above contents and solutions, the Provincial Border Guard has attached importance to advising and assisting local Party committees and authorities in the building of political bases, socio-economic development, improvement of material and spiritual life for people in the border area; associated local development with the task of protecting sovereignty and security of sea and island border; advised localities to renew the form and measures to implement the “All People's Border Guard Day” to achieve practical effects; promoted the construction of self-governing models of security and order, especially the models of united ship and boat groups in fishing; regularly done well in appraising and commenting on investment projects in the border area; coordinated with departments and agencies in signing and effectively implementing programs and plans for coordinating activities in supporting people’s economic development and poverty elimination and strengthening of national defence and security; promoted the effectiveness of military-civilian medical activities in taking care of people's health; and well implemented movements and drives, such as: “Home for the poor in the border and islands”, “The Border Guard joins hands to build new rural areas”, “Gratitude repayment”, “Support children’s schooling”, “Adopted children of Border Guard stations”, etc. to contribute to building and strengthening the “the people’s heart and mind posture”, bringing mass movements on sovereignty and border security protection into depth and substance, and maintaining political security, social order, and safety in the maritime border area to create a favourable environment for the province to develop quickly and sustainably.

Senior Colonel NGUYEN THANH HUONG, Deputy Commander cum Chief of Staff of the Provincial Border Guard