74 years ago, under President Ho Chi Minh’s directive, the Vietnam Propaganda Unit of the Liberation Army, the first main force of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), was established on December 22^nd, 1944. This epoch-making event marked the birth of the Vietnamese armed forces and testified to the Vietnamese working class and nation’s correct and creative application of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought to the practice of the Vietnamese revolution regarding the building of a new-model army. Over the past 7-plus decades of building, fighting and maturing, led, educated and trained by the Party and President Ho Chi Minh, the VPA has always maintained its close-knit ties with the people and stuck to the goal of national independence and socialism, gaining a series of glorious victories, winning wars against foreign aggressors, playing a core role in the struggle for national liberation and the cause of national construction and defense, serving as a sharp revolutionary violence tool and a loyal political and combat force of the Party, the State and the people.

During the country’s  30 year-plus Doi Moi, the VPA has made tireless efforts to surmount numerous difficulties, to successfully fulfil its functions as an army ready for combat, for work and for production, as well as to proactively undertake strategic studies and predictions, thereby properly advising the Party and the State on prudent decisions in order to opportunely and effectively handle defense and security situations on land, at sea and in the air and to avoid being pushed into passivity. At the same time, the VPA has also promoted its core role in building the all-people national defense, the posture of all-people national defense associated with that of the people’s security and the building of strong municipal and provincial defense zones. Moreover, the VPA has attached much importance to military training, combat readiness, regularity building, discipline maintenance, logistics, defense industry, science and technology, defense diplomacy, and so on. The Vietnamese military personnel’s living standards have been considerably improved while their combat readiness has been further stepped up.

The whole VPA has put great store by mass mobilization to cultivate the VPA-to-people close-knit relationship, in which “the people are the water and the army is  the fish” as well as to help the people with hunger eradication, poverty reduction, the building of new-style rural areas and local political bases, disaster relief, search and rescue, thereby contributing to bolstering the image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers”, to consolidating the great national unity and building a firm posture of “the people’s hearts and minds”.

Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich reviews the honour guard of the Army Corps 1 (photo: qdnd.vn)

Special attention has always been paid to building the VPA into a revolutionary, regular, elite and gradually modern army. A lot of measures have been adopted to expand leadership capacity and combat power of Party organizations within the VPA as well as to enable the building of strong and clean Party organizations to be in tandem with that of comprehensively strong units. Emphasis has been placed on making the VPA politically strong and absolutely loyal to the Party, the State, the people and the socialist regime. In any circumstance, the Vietnamese military personnel set examples of willingness to endure pain and suffering, to make the supreme sacrifice and to successfully fulfil all assigned tasks, truly becoming the mainstay of the Party, the State and the people. The whole VPA’s aforementioned achievements have greatly contributed to safeguarding independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, to defending the Party, the State, the people and the socialist regime, as well as to maintaining socio-political stability and a peaceful environment for national construction and development.

While peace, cooperation and development remain the prevailing trend, risks still loom large. There are growing trends in territorial disputes, ethnic clashes, religious conflicts, separatism, terrorism and cyber attacks. Major powers tend to take hard-line stances towards international relations in both economic and political terms and they willingly make compromises for the sake of their national interests. There remain potential conflicts in the East Sea, which pose threats to regional and global security. Meanwhile, Vietnam is confronted with many challenges in socio-economic development, defense and security consolidation, as well as Homeland construction and protection. Hostile and reactionary forces tend to step up their sabotage activities against the country politically, economically, ideologically and culturally via “peaceful evolution”, “self-evolution”, “self-transformation”, “depoliticization of the military”, “civilization of the military”, etc. Against this backdrop, in order to successfully fulfil all assigned tasks, the VPA shall unceasingly promote its core role in building the all-people national defense, thereby safeguarding the Homeland in any circumstance. Importance shall be attached to the following.

First, thoroughly grasping situations and enhancing the quality of strategic predictions in order to properly advise the Party and the State on military/defense affairs and Homeland protection in the new situation.

This is a matter of great importance to the performance of military tasks and Homeland protection, especially amidst our country’s intensive and extensive international integration. Therefore, the VPA shall thoroughly grasp and consistently implement the Party’s guidelines on military affairs and Homeland protection in the new situation while proactively undertaking strategic studies and predictions, thereby properly advising the Party and the State on prudent decisions in order to opportunely and effectively handle diplomatic, defense and security situations and to avoid being caught off guard. Agencies and units under the Ministry of National Defense, particularly those at strategic level, shall closely cooperate with other relevant bodies, especially the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in sharing information and undertaking strategic studies and predictions. It is necessary to thoroughly grasp the Central Military Commission’s Resolution 347-NQ/QUTW, dated May 23^rd, 2015 on enhancing the quality of strategic studies and predictions regarding military affairs until 2020 and beyond. Strategic studies and predictions shall be on an objective, scientific, comprehensive and focalized basis in order to properly handle international relations, thus safeguarding national interests and maintaining independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.

Second, promoting the VPA’s core role in building the strong all-people national defense to meet the exigencies of Homeland protection.

Building the strong all-people national defense is a responsibility shared by the Party, the people, the VPA and the entire political system with the VPA playing a core role. To this end, the VPA shall closely cooperate with agencies and ministries at central and local levels in making the all-people national defense comprehensively strong by means of various synchronous measures that stay close to reality. The building of the strong all-people national defense shall run in parallel with that of the people’s security, particularly the posture of “the people’s hearts and minds” in strategic, border, maritime and island areas.

On the basis of reviewing the 10-year implementation of  the 10^th Politburo’s Resolution 28-NQ/TW, dated September 22^nd, 2008, the VPA shall continue to build strong provincial and municipal defense zones in the new situation, effectively implement the master plan to combine national defense with socio-economic development until 2020 throughout the country, enhance the quality of military training and exercises to enable localities to properly handle military affairs both in peacetime and wartime. Military-run enterprises and economic-defense zones shall actively participate in socio-economic development combined with national defense and security in strategic, border, maritime and island areas. Civilian-run enterprises shall be encouraged to help the VPA with producing and repairing military equipment, thereby contributing to enhancing the country’s military capability and to saving on the State budget. The law on national defense and the law on militia and self-defense forces shall be strictly enforced. It is essential to actively enhance the quality of defense and security education and to closely cooperate with public security forces in maintaining political security and public order across the country.

Third, concentrating on developing the VPA’s combat power for it to be capable of playing a core role in Homeland protection.

Under the resolution of the 12^th Party National Congress, “consolidating national defense, together with maintaining national security, political stability and public order, is a principal task assigned to the Party, the State, the political system and the people with the VPA playing a core role”. To this end, it is necessary to focus on strengthening the VPA politically, ideologically, organizationally and morally, making the Vietnamese military personnel absolutely loyal to the Party, the Homeland and the people, proactively identifying and countering hostile forces’ plots to incite “peaceful evolution”, “self-evolution”, “self-transformation”, “depoliticization of the military”, “civilization of the military”. In addition to political education, agencies and units across the VPA shall pay attention to mass mobilization, the campaign “learn from and emulate Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality and lifestyle”, “Determination to win” emulation movements and the campaign “Promote traditions and devote talent to deserve being Uncle Ho’s soldiers” while exerting themselves to make Party organizations clean and strong.

Party committees and commanders within the VPA shall continue to thoroughly grasp and strictly enforce the Central Military Commission’s Resolution 765-NQ/QUTW, dated December 20^th, 2012 on enhancing the quality of military training for the 2013-2020 period and beyond. Scientific and technological advances from the 4^th Industrial Revolution shall be proactively applied to military scientific and technological research in order to develop defense industry, meeting the exigencies of enhanced military capability in the new situation.

Fourth, stepping up international integration and defense diplomacy in the interest of firmly protecting the Homeland from afar.

International integration and defense diplomacy is of great importance to enhanced military capability and Homeland protection. Therefore, the VPA shall continue to thoroughly grasp and strictly enforce the Party and State’s foreign policy, particularly the Politburo’s Resolution 22-NQ/TW, dated April 10^th, 2013 on international integration, the Central Military Commission’s Resolution 806-NQ/QUTW, dated December 31^st, 2013 on international integration and defense diplomacy until 2020 and beyond. On this basis, the VPA shall step up international integration, develop deepened and sustainable defense relations, and promote cooperation with countries bilaterally and multilaterally, particularly neighboring countries, major powers, ASEAN states and traditional friendly states in the interest of maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for national construction, enhanced military capability and Homeland protection from afar.

The principle of being “firm in objectives but flexible in strategies and tactics” shall be stuck to while political and defense cooperation shall be closely combined with cooperation in military technology, military trade and defense industry in order to work towards stated goals regarding international integration and foreign relations. The VPA shall actively participate in multilateral defense cooperation mechanisms, particularly the UN peacekeeping operations, multilateral exercises focused on humanitarian assistance, search and rescue, and disaster relief on different scales. In the immediate term, the VPA shall proactively develop and finalize the master plan for defense diplomatic activities in 2020 when Vietnam takes over the ASEAN chairmanship; successfully organize border defense friendship exchange programs with neighboring countries; as well as promote the role played by the level-2 field hospital in the UN peacekeeping operations in South Sudan, thereby contributing to fostering mutual understanding, building strategic trust, enhancing the VPA and country’s status in the international arena.

Fifth, enhancing leadership capacity and combat power of Party committees and Party organizations within the VPA towards successfully fulfilling all assigned tasks.

This is a matter of principle for the Party to exercise absolute, direct leadership over the VPA in the cause of building and safeguarding the socialist Vietnamese Homeland. Agencies and units across the VPA shall continue to thoroughly grasp and strictly enforce resolutions and directives by the Party Central Committee, the Politburo and the Party Secretariat regarding Party building. Emphasis shall be placed on the Resolution of the 12^th Party Central Committee’s 4^th plenum on Party building and rectification; the 12^th Politburo’s Directive 05-CT/TW, dated May 15^th, 2016 on further learning from and emulating Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality and lifestyle; the action plan to implement the Resolution of the 12^th Party National Congress and the Resolution of the 10^th VPA Party Congress. Importance shall be attached to the quality of Party meetings at all levels within the VPA, the principle of democratic centralism, self-criticism and criticism. Cadres and Party members within the VPA, particularly commanders, shall further promote their exemplary and pioneering roles. Party committees and commanders shall step up inspection and supervision and maintain Party discipline in order to strengthen Party organizations within the VPA politically, ideologically, organizationally and morally.

Building the strong all-people national defense and enhancing military capability is our Party and State’s strategic line. Added urgency is lent to this amidst more demanding requirements of the VPA build-up and Homeland protection today. With national pride and fine qualities of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers”, the whole VPA will continue to make tireless efforts and to join the Party and the people in building a revolutionary, regular, elite and gradually modern army, capable of playing a core role in building the strong all-people national defense, enhancing the country’s military capability and firmly safeguarding the socialist Vietnamese Homeland in the new situation.

Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich, Member of the Politburo, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Minister of National Defense