Defence and security education is an important part of the building of the all-people national defence and the all-people national defence posture associated with the posture of people’s security, directly contributing to bolstering the patriotism and national pride, and raising the awareness and responsibility of the whole Party, Military and people towards the cause of defence consolidation and Homeland defence.

Over the past years, particularly since the inception of the Law on Defence and Security Education, the work of defence and security education across the country has made progress and achieved many positive results. Specifically, all-level party committees and authorities, and heads of offices and sectors have been more fully aware of the importance of defence and security education, thus focusing on closely leading, directing and strictly performing this work. The system of legal and guiding documents on this work has been drawn up and issued as the legal corridor for the implementation process. The councils for defence and security education at all levels have been frequently consolidated and maintained the order for their operation; promoted their role in counselling the implementation process. Forms and methods of defence and security education for objects have been actively diversified and flexibly, effectively employed while the quality of this work has been raised.

Maj. Gen. Ngo Minh Tien addressing the conference to inspect the defence and security education work of the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (photo: qndn.vn)

Since 2013, across the country, nearly 2.7 million people from all walks of life have been provided with defence and security education under the regulations. Notably, the Standing Agency of the Central Council for Defence and Security Education has cooperated with the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, the Government Religious Committee, the Defence and Security Education Councils of the Military Regions 2, 4, 5, 7, and 9, and Hanoi city in providing defence and security education for over 300 seminarians from Saint Joseph Seminary of Saigon and Saint Quy Major Seminary. Besides, we have provided defence and security education for over 120 dignitaries who are members of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee in 12 Southern provinces, 320 Buddhist monks and students from the Vietnam Buddhist Academy and nearly 720 dignitaries, monks, and representatives of religious organizations in the Military Regions 2, 4, 5, 7, and 9 with the encouraging results.

The work of defence and security for students has been synchronously carried in both high schools and colleges, renewed and improved. Significance has been attached to building, training and cultivating a contingent of teachers of defence and security education. The work of disseminating defence and security knowledge to all people has been stepped up with diverse contents and in various forms in accordance with the particularities of each residential area while due regard has been paid to the work of material support for defence and security education. The system of centres for defence and security education across the country has been planned, upgraded, and increasingly completed. The results of defence and security education have been greatly contributed to building and improving the all-people national defence, particularly the posture of “people’s hearts and minds” within the defensive zones of provinces, military regions, and the whole country.

However, there have been weaknesses in this work. The operation of the councils for defence and security education in some localities has yet to be effective. The coordination between relevant offices and organization in this work has yet to be close. Some contents in the defence and security education program for students have been improper. Some colleges and vocational schools have yet to conform to the regulations on cooperation in defence and security education. In some places, the progress of construction of the centres for defence and security education under the Prime Minister’s Decision 161/QĐ-TTg has been slow. The work of disseminating defence and security knowledge for all people, particularly in the border, sea, island, remote, isolated areas has encountered a lot of difficulties.

Our Party, Military, and people’s Homeland protection cause has now advantages and faces many difficulties and challenges. There are unpredictable factors potentially destabilizing the situation in the world and the region. Domestically, the hostile forces continue to accelerate their “peaceful evolution” strategy, promote “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” from within, and incite separatism and conversion. Those characteristics have imposed new, high requirements on the work of defence and security education. To create a huge, comprehensive change in the awareness and responsibility of authorities, sectors, the entire political system and people towards the Homeland protection cause, it is necessary to synchronously take the measures to improve the quality and effectiveness of defence and security education, with a focus on the following.

1. Enhancing the leadership and direction of all-level party committees, authorities and heads of offices and organizations over the work of defence and security education. This is a principle and a matter of decisive importance to the raised quality and effectiveness of defence and security education. Therefore, all-level authorities and sectors should step up the work of propagation to raise the awareness of all people, particularly key cadres at all levels towards the role of defence and security education in the current situation. It should be fully aware that defence and security education is matter of strategic significance and an important part of the national defence work in ministries, sectors, and localities, serving as a practical measure to build the politico-spiritual potential and the “people’s hearts and minds” posture as the basis for making the all-people national defence, the all-people national defence posture, and the people’s security posture strong. Ministries, sectors, and localities should continue grasping the Party’s resolutions and the State’s law on defence and security education with emphasis placed on the 10^th Politburo’s Directive 12-CT/TW, the Defence and Security Education Law, and Central Organization Commission’s Regulation 07-QĐ/BTCTW on the standard knowledge of defence and security for cadres and party members. Grounded on those documents, it is important to encourage the involvement of the entire political system and actively enhance the leadership of party committees and the management of authorities and heads of offices and organizations over this work. At the same time, it is essential to review, supplement, and step up the action plans and projects related to defence and security education for objects in accordance with each office, unit and locality’s conditions as well as take the results of this work as a criterion for the assessment of all-level party committees, authorities, and key cadres’ leadership and management capacity. Great value should be attached to promoting the role of the Defence and Security Education Councils, sectors, and organizations, particularly military and public security offices in counselling, directing, and inspecting the process. At the same time, it is vital to resolutely fight against the signs of formalism and indifference as well as the complete assignment of this work to military and public security offices.

2. Frequently consolidating the structure of the all-level councils for defence and security education and improving their capacity and effectiveness of operation. First of all, as the Standing Agency of the Central Defence and Security Education Council, the Department of the Militia and Self-Defence Force should cooperate with functional offices of relevant ministries and sectors in advising the Party, State, and Ministry of National Defence on the state management of defence and security education. Offices and localities should regularly consolidate the all-level defence and security education councils with proper structure under the regulations. Besides, it is necessary to further maintain the order for these councils’ operation; encourage the role of military offices as the standing agencies of these councils in cooperating with sectors and organizations in the process. The all-level defence and security education councils should grasp their functions and tasks, enhance the work of inspection and supervision, regularly conduct reviews to draw lessons, opportunely commend and multiply typical examples and effective models, and resolutely handle violations.

3. Stepping up defence and security education for all objects and people. The defence and security education councils of military regions, localities, and offices should frequently review and grasp the number of objects of education, particularly key, managerial cadres under the Central Defence and Security Education Council’s Guidance 175/HD-HĐGDQPAN; proactively formulate and implement the plans to provide defence and security education for all cadres and party members during the term of the party committees and people’s councils as a target; continue providing defence and security education for special objects. The Ministry of National Defence should continue to closely cooperate with the Ministry of Education and Training in directing educational institutions and localities to raise the quality of defence and security education for students; in stepping up the training of teachers of defence and security education and gradually standardizing this staff within schools. In addition, it is important to accelerate the progress of construction of the centres for defence and security education under the Prime Minister’s Decision 161/QĐ-TTg; by 2020, 90% of students will study this subject in the centres. Localities should actively renew, diversify, and step up the contents, forms and methods of defence and security education for all people to make contributions to raising the awareness of people from all walks of life towards the Homeland protection in the new situation.

4. Continuing to renew the contents, programs, and documents of defence and security education in line with the requirements for Homeland defence in the new situation. Amidst the rapid, complex, unpredictable developments of the global and regional situation as well as the development of the Homeland defence task, there should be proper adjustments in the programs for defence and security education. The adjustment must adhere to the Party’s new viewpoints and thought on defence and security, particularly the Strategy for Homeland protection in the new situation, the National Defence Strategy, the Military Strategy, the amended National Defence Law (2018), the Strategy for Homeland protection in cyber space, and newly-issued specialized strategies, while staying close to the developments of the hostile forces’ “peaceful evolution” strategy and their promotion of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” among us. Accordingly, ministries and sectors, particularly the Ministries of National Defence, Public Security, and Education and Training should work with one another to amend and supplement the contents, programs and documents of defence and security education in accordance with each group of learners and reality.

Grasping the Party’s viewpoints and strategies and the State’s policies and laws on defence and security education, bringing into play the recorded results, forces, sectors, and localities should better perform this important work to meet the requirements for Homeland defence in the new situation.

Maj. Gen. Ngo Minh Tien, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the Central Defence and Security Education Council