Kien Giang is a border and coastal province, located in the southwest of the country with favourable geographical and natural conditions as well as potentials in socio-economic development, especially the maritime economy. Moreover, this province has a prominent position in terms of national defence, security, and foreign affairs of Military Region 9 and the southern region. Being aware of these issues, over the years, the provincial armed forces have always actively coordinated with other relevant forces and promoted their pivotal role in strengthening national defence, defending the locality and the Fatherland under any circumstances. The province has always attached importance to building the all-people national defence, the all-people national defence posture associated with the people’s security posture, and an increasingly solid defence area, with the participation of all sectors, forces and people, in which the armed forces act as the core force, thus maintaining political stability, social order and safety, creating favourable conditions for the locality to develop quickly and sustainably.

In recent years, to build a more practical and effective all-people national defence to create a firm foundation for the successful implementation of military and defence tasks, the Provincial Military Command has actively advised the Provincial Party Committee, the People’s Council, and the Provincial People’s Committee to improve the effectiveness of leadership and state management of national defence. Military agencies at all levels advise party committees and authorities on a yearly basis to issue resolutions and directives to perform military and defence tasks with specific goals, guidelines, and steps in building forces, military posture and potential; combining socio-economic development with strengthening national defence and security. Actively coordinating with the Border Guard and the Public Security in researching, assessing, and forecasting the situation for the province to issue legal documents under its authority, creating a legal basis for localities and units during the implementation process, especially in planning policies and countermeasures to deal with issues of national defence, security, area protection, sovereignty and security at sea, not to be passive under no circumstances. Additionally, advising on consolidating and improving the operational quality and efficiency of the steering committees and councils on national defence and security and defence area building, thus meeting requirements and tasks in the new situation. Strengthening guidance and direction on the implementation of military and defence work by thoroughly grasping documents and organising conferences such as thematic training, periodic summary, preliminary, etc. at all levels, branches, and the armed forces, thereby, helping cadres and party members at all levels firmly grasp the contents and measures on the mechanism of leadership, direction, and administration; improving the state management capacity for party committees and authorities at all levels as well as heads of agencies and units.

With the advice of the Provincial Military Command, the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee have stepped up the work of national defence and security education for the whole people. Accordingly, the national defence and security education councils at all levels are regularly consolidated and operate effectively. During the implementation process, party committees and commanders at all levels have stepped up propaganda and education on national defence and security tasks. Promoting cooperation with Kien Giang’s Radio and Television Station and Kien Giang’s Newspaper to build a column on National Defence; coordinating with domestic press agencies to timely report military and defence activities as well as fight against false and hostile views. Reporters and propagandists regularly approach the grassroots, organise propaganda activities on the Party’s guidelines, the State’s policies and laws on national defence in the new situation.

Implementing the work of fostering knowledge of national defence and security, the province has sent 18 officials of groups 1 and 2 to training courses on national defence and security organised by higher echelons. Besides, actively organising training courses on national defence and security for 3,000 officials of groups 3 and 4. Regarding religious dignitaries, the Military Command has advised the province to open 2 classes with 212 participants. Military agencies at all levels have coordinated with nearby colleges, vocational schools, and high schools to implement and complete national defence and security education for approximately 43,000 pupils and students in the 2021-2022 academic year, making a big change in the awareness and responsibilities of all levels, branches, forces, and the whole people, especially the young generation in the cause of national defence.

The provincial armed forces have attached importance to building potentials, forces, and postures in defence areas, closely combining socio-economic development with defence and security enhancement by effectively coordinating with branches and sectors. Military agencies at all levels have advised party committees and local authorities to adjust population plans as well as build new-style rural areas, economic zones, industrial parks, and economic-defence zones along borders, seas, and islands, ensuring unity and synchronisation with the building of military posture in defence areas. The Provincial Military Command has coordinated with other departments, agencies, and sectors in surveying, appraising, and supervising dual-use works, contributing to socio-development in association with national defence, security, and defence capabilities of the province, such as infrastructure of defence works of defensive areas; building a system of fishing ports, a fishery logistics service area, a system of petroleum depots, contributing to socio-economic development in association with ensuring national defence, security, and defence capabilities of the province, such as Phu Quoc International Airport, Rach Gia Airport, Cai Lon and Cai Be Sluices, coastal corridors, border patrol roads, etc., meeting the requirements of socio-economic development, ready to serve in case of emergency.

During implementation, priority is given to building important military works, which directly and regularly serve the operation of pre-built defensive areas, such as training grounds, headquarters of commune-level military agencies, combat areas, rear bases, logistical-technical bases; fulcrums, fulcrum clusters, militia posts, command posts, coastal and island mobile roads; rural roads, border patrol roads, roads around inhabited islands (Phu Quoc city and Kien Hai district), etc. Concentrating on completing ship and ferry docks to meet the requirements and tasks of national defence and security associated with socio-economic development; constructing combat works and landmarks for artillery’s control in the area. The Provincial Military Command has also participated in the appraisal of 172 projects, investment projects, and socio-economic development related to the military posture, national defence, and security. In addition, the Provincial Military Command has developed plans and regulations on coordination and synergy to protect security and sovereignty at sea with the Naval Region 5 Command and the Coast Guard Region 4 Command. At the same time, building, adjusting, and perfecting the system of documents, such as defensive operations, combat readiness, mobilisation and reception of reserve forces, fire prevention, prevention of natural disasters, search and rescue, etc.

In performing national defence and security tasks, in recent years, the Provincial Military Command has advised the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee to promote the synergy of the whole political system, focusing on building military forces capable of fulfilling the core tasks of local military and defence work. Agencies and units consolidate the staffing organisation in accordance with the functions and tasks of each force in the direction of being “elite, compact, and strong”. However, priority is given to ensuring the number of units on combat readiness, stationed on maritime borders and in key areas of national defence and security. Focusing on building a standing force in the direction of being “revolutionary, regular, elite, and gradually modern”; stepping up the renewal of training contents, programmes, and methods to supplement new contents suitable to the characteristics of the province’s maritime border and river delta; focusing on improving the quality of defence exercises at provincial and district levels, defensive combat drills at commune, ward, and township levels as well as drills for natural disaster prevention, search and rescue, etc. The Provincial Military Command has recently advised the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee to successfully organise a drill in the province’s defensive area with several new contents, which was highly appreciated by Military Region 9 Command. Thereby, contributing to improving the leadership capability of the party committees, the direction and administration of the authorities as well as the advisory roles of the branches, sectors, and organisations in handling situations related to defence, security, and combat readiness level of the local armed forces.

Regarding the militia and self-defence forces, the Provincial Military Command has effectively implemented Project 2930/ĐA-UBND issued on 23^rd December 2020 of the Provincial People’s Committee on the organisation of force building, training, and activities of militia and self-defence forces in the 2021-2025 period. Moreover, the Provincial Military Command has also advised the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee to lead and direct the building and operation of the standing militia squadron, which has achieved several positive results in the first stages of operation. Presently, the province’s militia and self-defence forces account for 1.21% of the province’s population and 26.26% of the party members; the number of officers of the Communal Military Commands who have been trained at the grassroots level raises (Commander-in-Chiefs with 97.22%, Deputy Commanders with 85.38%); 100% of the commune-level military branches have party committees that well promote the effectiveness of advising and leading the implementation of military and defence tasks at the grassroots level. Regarding the reserve forces, the Provincial Military Command directs agencies, units, and localities to well perform the task of reviewing and grasping the situation of reserve soldiers to manage and organise training and maintain stable mobilised source. Currently, according to the assigned targets, the province has coordinated with the receiving units to arrange 97.03% of reserve units; the percentage of professional and semi-professional reaches 93.25% (in which professional accounts for 79.09%); party members account for 15.02%, being ready to mobilise, meeting the requirements and tasks in any situations, which is highly appreciated by the Ministry of National Defence.

Besides, the provincial armed forces promote the implementation of policies on ethnicity and religion, contribute to the good settlement of social problems, especially the regimes and policies remaining after the war, ensuring appropriate viewpoints, regimes, and subjects; effectively implementing the Defence Dipomacy Project. Closely coordinating with units stationed in the area to advise and assist the authorities of remote and border communes in building a strong grassroots political system, helping people increase production, “reducing sustainable poverty”, maintaining political security, social order and safety in the locality, thus building a firm “people’s heart and mind posture”.

Senior Colonel NGUYEN VAN NGANH, Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Commander of the Provincial Military Command