Building the all-people border guard generally and in Quang Tri province particularly consists of many contents and tasks. Of which, intensely improving the awareness and responsibility of all levels, branches, localities and the entire people; actively taking part in developing the socio-economy, building the grassroots political system; improving the effectiveness of border foreign affairs and building the forces, etc. are main contents which have been intensely implemented by the Provincial Border Guard, making contribution to managing and firmly protecting the territorial sovereignty and national border security. 

Quang Tri Provincial Border Guard is mainly tasked with managing and protecting the land line of over 187km, bordering with two provinces of Savannakhet and Salavan in Laos, the coastal lines of over 73km and 06km around Con Co island. The border area in the Province consists of 28 communes and towns with 03 ethnic groups of Kinh, Pa Co and Van Kieu living. In recent years, bringing into the key role in building the strong all-people border guard, the Provincial Border Guard has well advised, coordinated and propagandised all levels, branches, forces and the people to be thoroughly aware of the position, importance and requirements of building the strong all-people border guard; coordinated to effectively conduct programmes and projects on developing the economy, culture and society combined with consolidating and strengthening defence, security and foreign affairs in border areas; the border protecting forces have been strongly and widely built, creating the overall power to firmly protect the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Fatherland, and maintain the political security, social order and safety in border areas.

Conducting joint patrol with Lao counterpart

However, presently, in the two land borders, sea waters and islands managed by the Provincial Border Guard, activities of illegal exit and entry, illegal narcotics tradings and transportation, smugglings, trading frauds, etc. have been in complicated situations;   Reactionary forces, political opportunists and religious extremists have continuously enhanced their sabotages against our Party, State and Army. In this situation, to lay the foundation for accomplishing the assigned tasks in a long lasting and sustainable way, the Provincial Border Guard’s Party Committee and Command have determined to proactively bring into play the key role in building the all-people border guard with many synchronous and effective solutions.

Firstly, propagandising and educating the awareness and responsibility of all levels, branches, localities and the entire people for the task of building strong all-people border guard. Accordingly, the propaganda and education by the Provincial Border Guard should make the whole political system and people thoroughly understand the tasks of safeguarding the Fatherland, protecting the national borders; the situations within internal and external borders, especially the plots and trucks of hostile forces, illegal missionary work, crimes of drugs, human trafficking, etc. To improve the quality and effectiveness of this work, the Provincial Border Guard’s Party Committee and Command have directed the subordinate departments and units to proactively coordinate with the local party committees, governments and functional organs to build suitable plans and propaganda documents with each subject and locality. The public relations groups and teams in border posts have actively carried out “3 follows, 4 togethers” with the local people to do the public relations and propaganda, improve their awareness and responsibility for taking part in managing and protecting the sovereignty over the national borders according to Decision No. 1555/QĐ-UBND, dated 20 June 2019 by Quang Tri Provincial People’s Committee on the Project of “Improving the quality and effectiveness of the movement of the entire people joining hands in protecting the territorial sovereignty and national border security in the 2019 – 2029 period”, bring into play the roles of village patriarchs, leaders and reputable people to propagandise, mobilise and collect active individuals to take part in managing and protecting the borders. Together, the Provincial Border Guard has closely coordinated with some border areas to organise activities on the annual all-people Border Day on 3th March, maintain the routine and quality of  the pages of “For the border sovereignty and security” and “All-people border guard” on the local mass media, thereby making cadres, party members, armed forces and people thoroughly understand the meaning, importance and necessity to build the strong all-people border guard;  and that firmly protecting the territorial sovereignty and national border security is the responsibility of the whole political system and people, and the Border Guard playing as the core and specialised force. This is also to implement the policy on defending the Fatherland from afar, and “defending the country since it is still in peace”.

Secondly, actively taking part in building the strong political system at the grassroots, developing the economy, culture and society combined with strengthening the defence and security in border areas. Based on the strict grasp and implementation of resolutions and directives from the Defence Ministry, Border Guard Command and Quang Tri Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee on participating in building the grassroots political system, developing the socio-economy in border areas, the Provincial Border Guard has selected and established several work groups and increased cadres to border areas. In the implementation, the Province has paid attention to leading and directing offices and Border Guard units to build, sign and strictly follow the regulations on coordinating with other party committees of border districts; between the party committees of border posts and the ones of border communes and districts in doing the border tasks, especially the task of building the strong all-people border guard, at the same time, continued to grasp and implement Regulation No. 148-QĐ/TU, dated 26 February 2021 by the Provincial Party Committee on the tasks, authorities and working relationships for the party committee members who are cadres of border posts joining the party committees in border districts and communes; brought into play the roles as the consultants of the party members joining the party committees in border villages, the party members being in charge of households in solving difficulties of the areas, making a crucial contribution to building the strong political system in the local areas.

A lesson about the border

Together with joining the building of grassroots political system, the Provincial Border Guard has actively advised and coordinated with all levels, branches and forces to effectively conduct programmes and projects of developing the economy, culture and society combined with strengthening defence and security in border areas, focusing on advising and proposing with the Provincial People’s Council and People’s Committee to prioritise the projects of socio-economic development, creating job opportunities, hunger eradication and poverty elimination so that the border residents could stabilise their production, develop the household economy, not abet the smugglings and free migration. At present, these projects are mainly to widen some effective production models such as breeding goats, organic coffee trees, transference of some seed rice and corns which have high productivity and quality, etc. In the long run, the Provincial Border Guard continues to coordinate with the local party committees and governments to effectively implement policies on agricultural and forestry encouragement, programmes on developing the economy, transferring the types of animals and plants, building  models of farmhouses, forestry gardens for border communes combined with the tasks of developing the economy, society, culture, medical care and education through some typical movements, models and programmes such as: The Border Guard joining hands to build new rural areas; Homes for the poor in the borders, seas and islands; Teachers in green uniform; Paving the ways for children to schools – adopted children of border posts, etc., through which, to gradually care for, improve the material and spiritual life, and build trust by the people to the Party, State and Army, building the strong “people’s hearts and minds posture” in the border areas of the Fatherland.

Thirdly, improving the effectiveness of the border foreign affairs and people’s diplomacy in protecting the territorial sovereignty and national border security. Strictly following the seniors’ guidelines and instructions on the border foreign affairs and the real situations of the internal and external borders, the Provincial Border Guard has continually maintained the close coordination with  the border protecting forces of Savannakhet and Salavan provinces of Laos in managing and protecting the territorial sovereignty and border security, struggling against and preventing crimes, searching and rescuing, coordinating to quickly and timely solve arising problems in borders and border gates. To gain high effectiveness, the Provincial Border Guard has advised the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee to build and issue the leading and directing documents suitably with the features of the border lines for the localities, departments, branches, unions and armed forces to actively join the work of border foreign affairs and people’s diplomacy, concurrently, pay attention to building and completing the mechanism of coordination and cooperation at all levels, widening the foreign relations to the levels of provinces and posts; maintaining the regulation of talks, general patrol, periodical briefings, etc. in order to implement all assigned rules of coordination and cooperation. 

With the motto of “helping friends being helping ourselves”, the Provincial Border Guard continues to open training classes on border-specialised knowledge for cadres, support the purchases of materials, equipment and facilities for the border protecting forces, and organise activities to help people in  Savannakhet and Salavan of Laos in their building the new rural areas, hunger eradication and poverty elimination, at the same time, effectively maintain the twining activities among residential areas from the two border sides to create the favourable conditions for the people to do their businesses and visit their relatives, making contribution to boosting the mutual economy, building the borders in peace, friendship, cooperation and development.

Finally, intensely building the strong and wide forces to manage and protect the borders. At first, the Provincial Border Guard pays attention to building a core and specialised force in the “elite, compact, strong, efficient, valid and effective” way, giving focus on building this force which is strong in politics, highly-skilled in combat,   competent in professional knowledge, enough in staff and frequently raising the combat spirit, proactively protecting the borders. Departments and units well do the training, combat readiness, actively organise and attend the military exercises of provincial and district defence zones and the defensive exercises at commune-level in order to continually improve the forces’ capability of coordination and collaboration in struggling against and successfully solving any situations of defence, security and crime prevention.

Together with building the core and specialised force, the Provincial Border Guard closely coordinates with the party committees, governments, military and police in border districts to organise and effectively maintain the activities of the self-managed groups of security and order, households taking part in managing the lines and national borders, self-managed groups of boats and safe quays, etc. These are the “prolonged hands”, “eyes and ears” of the functional forces, making contribution to creating the overall power to successfully accomplish the task of managing and firmly protecting the territorial sovereignty and national border security in all situations.

Senior Colonel LE VAN PHUONG, Commander of the Provincial Border Guard