Fully aware of the militia and self-defence force’s important role in the cause of Fatherland construction and protection, Quang Ninh province has always attached great value to encouraging this force’s role in performing its military and defence tasks to contribute to maintaining political security and social order and safety, firmly protecting national sovereignty in its border, sea, island areas, providing a solid foundation for its rapid, sustainable development.

As a coastal border province located in the Northeast of the Fatherland, over the years, in addition to socio-economic development, Quang Ninh has always attached importance to building the militia and self-defence force (MSF) and promoting this force’s role in performing military and defence tasks at grass-roots level.

The Provincial Military Command encourages troops of the MSF taking part in a defensive zone exercise

Grasping and executing the MSF Law and higher echelons’ relevant documents, the Provincial Military Party Committee (PMPC) and the Provincial Military Command (PMC) have advised the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People’s Council, and the Provincial People’s Committee to issue resolutions, directives, plans, and projects on the organisation, building, and operation of the MSF in accordance with realities in each period. In 2021, the PMPC and the PMC promoted their core role in collaborating with competent offices, sectors, and localities to effectively implement Decision 2830/QĐ-BQP, dated 12 September 2020, by the Ministry of National Defence on “promulgating Plan to build pilot models of militia and self-defence”. As a result, many militia and self-defence models, such as standing border militia squads, maritime militia platoons, self-defence platoons within private businesses, and military commands within state-owned businesses have been established. In addition to force building, the PMC has collaborated with the Provincial Public Security, the Provincial Border Guard, Vietnam Coal and Mine Industries Corporation, and naval and coast guard units to adjust and supplement Regulations on coordination between the MSF and others in the process of performing tasks to ensure relevance to each area’s particularities. Doing so has helped create a solid legal corridor, encourage the involvement of the entire political system and people, promote synergy for building a “strong, extensive” MSF, and achieve uniformity in leadership and direction to bring into play this force’s role in performing tasks.

Besides, the province has added great weight to enhancing party committees’ leadership, authorities’ management and operation, and military agencies’ command over the MSF’s operations. Emphasis has been placed on maintaining regulations on duty, combat readiness, and coordination between the MSF and other competent forces to conduct patrols, grasp and opportunely handle incidents, especially in sea, border areas and industrial zones. Between 2020 and 2024, the MSF collaborated with the Provincial Border Guard and the Provincial Public Security to solve 2,500 cases of illegal immigration, smuggling, and drug transport across the border, providing information to enable competent forces to settle 300 violations of law at sea, contributing to maintaining security and order and firmly protecting national sovereignty over the Fatherland’s border, seas, and islands.

A live-fire test for the MSF held by Mong Cai city

As an armed force of the masses at grass-roots level, the MSF plays a role of importance in propagation and mass mobilisation work to build a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds”. Hence, the province has required all-level military agencies to direct the MSF to monitor situational developments and closely work with sectors and unions to renew methods of propagation under the motto of being “flexible, close, effective, and appropriate to each area and target individuals”. A focus has been placed on disseminating the National Border Law, the Law of the Sea of Vietnam, the Military Service Law, and the MSF Law, encouraging the people to comply with regulations on land management, complaints, denunciations, immigration control, and border, sea, and island protection, collaborating with offices and unions to visit and encourage religious dignitaries and ethnic minorities to live and work according to the law, making contributions to cementing national great unity. In the past 5 years, the MSF has taken part in 1,500 sessions of propagation relating to new cultural life and social evil prevention and control with the participation of hundreds of thousands of citizens; it has encouraged young people to join the Military, with all targets being achieved yearly. Doing so has helped render the people across the province fully aware of hostile forces’ plots and artifices and cement the people’s faith in the Party and State.

The province has directed the MSF to promote a vanguard role in natural disaster and epidemic prevention and control, search and rescue, new-style rural area building, hunger eradication, and poverty reduction. As the MSF is always ready to be mobilised in the quickest and timeliest way for dealing with situations at grass-roots level, the province has attached significance to promoting this force’s vanguard role. In fact, in response to Covid-19 pandemic’s complex developments, the province directed the MSF to take part in checkpoints, quarantine zones, and blockade areas. Along the border, militia teams maintained coordination to conduct 3,500 patrols, detecting and handling hundreds of illegal border crossings. Notably, when Storm No.3 (aka Yagi storm) made landfall in the province, nearly 42,000 deployments of the MSF’s cadres and soldiers were conducted to help the people with evacuation, reinforce dykes, and provide food for affected households. In new-style rural area building, hunger eradication, and poverty reduction, on a yearly basis, the MSF has collaborated with sectors and unions to provide assistance for the people in remote, isolated, border, sea, and island areas in developing their production and improve their life; thousands of its cadres and soldiers have taken part in constructing bridges, rural roads, and canals as well as repairing houses for the poor and families under preferential treatment policy. Self-defence units within businesses have made donations to the people in remote, isolated areas and given instructions on crop and animal husbandry, thereby contributing to the people’s improved income and life.

Currently, border, sea, island, religion security situation and non-traditional security issues are basically stable, but possibly face complex developments, thereby imposing increasingly high requirements on military and defence tasks as well as Fatherland protection. Against that backdrop, the PMPC and the PMC will continue to give advice to the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People’s Council, and the Provincial People’s Committee on the building of a “strong, extensive” MSF in the new situation, with a focus on several main measures as follows.

First, grasping and strictly executing Conclusion 41/KL-TW, dated 31 March 2009, by the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat on continuing to realise Directive 16-CT/TW on “enhancing the Party’s leadership over the MSF and the reserve force in the new situation”. The PMPC and the PMC will continue to help the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee adjust, supplement, and effectively execute resolutions, directives, projects, and plans on the organisation and building of the MSF, with “proper structure, good quality, especially good political quality”, in a close, uniform, proper manner. Due attention will be paid to realising Guidance 24-HD/BTCTW, dated 20 September 2023, by the Central Organisation Commission on “the organisation and operation of commune-level military party cells” in tandem with the cultivation and initiation of new members into the Party within the MSF, particularly self-defence units in foreign-invested businesses. The PMPC and the PMC will give advice to the province on the streamlining of military agencies and the MSF within offices, organisations, and communes under the Party Central Committee’s Resolution 18-NQ/TW, dated 25 October 2017, on “some issues regarding the continued renovation and organisation of a streamlined, effective, and efficient political system”, while actively taking part in the building of standing militia squadron under the pre-set road map.

Second, actively renewing training work and raising the MSF’s synergy. Adhering to the motto of “basics, practicality, quality”, the province will step up reforms in training content, programs, and methods to be relevant to target individuals and areas. As for mobile militia teams, emphasis will be placed on skills in coordination with competent forces to grasp situational developments, handle violations of law, regulate traffic, and maintain security and order. Regarding border militia units, importance will be attached to improving these units’ capabilities in detecting and handling violations of national sovereignty during their patrols. With reference to maritime militia and self-defence units, great weight will be added to training these units to use modern vessels and equipment and collaborate with other forces in conducting search and rescue operations at sea, combating violations, and protecting seas and islands. Concerning the self-defence force within coal enterprises, consideration will be given to training this force to cooperate with competent offices in grasping and settling safety issues and improving this force’s skills in using equipment for rescue during coal mine collapse.

Third, ensuring facilities, equipment, policies, and entitlements for the MSF. In addition to effectively implementing the Project on constructing commune-level military command headquarters and maritime and border militia and self-defence key positions in accordance with local particularities and defensive zone planning, the PMPC and the PMC will proactively assist the province in designing and executing other projects on providing equipment, policies, and entitlements for the MSF, with priority given to maritime and border militia and self-defence units as well as units taking part in exercises, training, natural disaster prevention and control, search and rescue, and duty on national holidays or during major political events of the country and localities. Last but not least, the PMPC and the PMC will continue to research and propose measures to ensure policies and entitlements appropriate to local resources, with a view to creating the best conditions for the MSF to keep promoting its important role in the cause of Fatherland construction and protection, worthy of an “iron shield” in the Northeastern region, contributing to safeguarding revolutionary fruits, maintaining peace and stability for the country’s development.

Sr. Col. KHUC THANH DU

Member of Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee Standing Board

Commander of the PMC