Over the years, the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee of Soc Trang have always exercised their leadership and direction over the state management of national defence to contribute to ensuring that the military-defence task would be effectively performed in conformity with law.

First of all, the province has managed and operated the performance of the military-defence work according to functions and in accordance with the situation and the task requirements. The Provincial Party Committee, People’s Council and People’s Committee have released resolutions and directives on the military-defence task with specific goals and steps. Emphasis has been placed on developing military-defence forces, posture, and potential and combining socio-economic development with defence-security consolidation. Importance has been attached to completing and concretising mechanisms and regulations into legal documents on national defence, the militia and self-defence force, and military service properly. The province has regularly grasped the situation and promoted the role of Military and Public Security offices in giving advice on issuing legal normative documents as the basis for localities and units to perform the military-defence work and for the province to formulate strategies for dealing with defence-security issues and protecting the area and maritime security to avoid passivity. The Provincial People’s Committee has directed competent offices to supplement and perfect legal normative documents on the defence work in line with the administrative reform. Besides, a reform in designing and appraising legal normative documents on the defence work has been carried out publicly, democratically and transparently.

In addition to the highly-classified contents of the military-defence task, the province has received opinions about the other contents from the people and social organisations in order to promote socialist democracy. Thus, policies and legal normative documents on the military-defence work by the province and especially the Military Service law, the Law on the Militia and Self-Defence Force, and the Law on the Reserve Force have been translated into life, acted as a tool of state management, and ensured that all citizens would fulfil their obligations and responsibilities for the Homeland protection. Additionally, the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee have strictly maintained the work of inspection and supervision, settled letters of complaints relating to the sphere of national defence, and regularly held dialogues between authorities, businesses, and citizens to deal with problems, encourage the development of production amongst all economic sectors, mobilise all social resources, and increase the economic-defence potential within the province.

Defence and security education for religious dignitaries                            (photo: dangcongsan.vn)

Second, the province has frequently attached significance to managing defence and security education as the basis for raising the awareness and responsibility of cadres, party members and citizens towards the military-defence work and effectively performing the military-defence task. Offices and units have grasped and realised documents by the Party, the State, and the Government, such as the Law on Defence and Security Education and the Government’s Decree 13/2014/NĐ-CP, dated February 25^th, 2014 stipulating measures to implement the Law on Defence and Security Education. All-level defence and security education councils have been consolidated both qualitatively and quantitatively (particularly after the Provincial Party Congress for the 2020-2025 tenure), while regulations and plans for those councils have been developed in accordance with local practical condition. On a yearly basis, the Provincial People’s Committee directs the Provincial Military Command to closely cooperate with the Provincial Organisation Commission and the province’s departments and sectors in formulating and announcing plans on defence and security education to learners so that they would proactively attend training courses. In 2020, Soc Trang organised 45 defence and security education courses for all religious dignitaries and business managers in industrial zones as well as for more than 26,814 students. The provincial military agency collaborated with the Provincial Youth Union in holding 3 “military semester” classes for 250 students, while setting up the “all-people national defence” column on Soc Trang’s television and newspaper. As a result, cadres at all levels have well applied their knowledge of national defence and security to the state management of national defence and the performance of defence-security missions at localities. Cadres, party members, and citizens within the province have been fully aware of the Party’s military-defence guidelines, maintained their vigilance against the hostile forces’ “peaceful evolution” strategy, and heightened a sense of responsibility for the military-defence work. Meanwhile, local party committees, authorities, unions, and citizens have seriously carried out the defence work.

Third, combine socio-economic development with defence-security consolidation and the building of all-people national defence and defensive zones. The Provincial People’s Committee has synchronously taken measures for the state management of national defence and security in accordance with local practical condition. In this regard, great weight has been added to managing sectors’ execution of master plans and projects for development. Military offices have closely cooperated with localities and provincial competent offices in appraising projects of socio-economic development to ensure that socio-economic development would provide material and technical resources for defensive zones and the posture of all-people national defence as well as lay a solid foundation for successfully fulfilling the military-defence task in peacetime and readily satisfy the demands of the people’s war for the Homeland defence (if occurred). On an annual basis, the province directs all-level military offices and sectors to build and complete documents and plans for defensive combat, anti-terrorism, natural disaster prevention and control, and search and rescue.

Besides, due attention has been paid to closely managing the use of the allocated budget and mobilising local resources for the military-defence task, particularly defence activities at grass-roots level and the building of rear bases and clusters of depots at provincial and district levels. Priority has been given to upgrading and constructing stations for repairing weapons and technical equipment, and building defence works for the provincial armed forces’ operations. Urban planning and construction as well as the development of production, business, and services have been closely aligned with defence-security consolidation. Typical examples includes the Wonderland commerce, service, ecotourism zone in the town of Vinh Chau, the wind farm project in the districts of Cu Lao Dung and Tran De and Vinh Chau town, and the system of sea ports and inland waterways, aimed at meeting the demands for cargo and passenger transport, boosting socio-economic development, and readily serving the defence task. With reference to its marine economy, the province has directed localities to actively plant the protected forests, construct over 400 kilometres of coastal embankment, upgrade the system of sea ports, develop logistics services and tourism, organise teams of high-powered fishing vessels, and readily mobilise them for the defence task and the protection of national sovereignty over seas and islands. At present, the province is calling for investment in the deep-water port of Tran De, the national highways of 60 and 61B, the bridge of Dai Ngai, and the system of provincial roads to connect Soc Trang with key economic zones.

Fourth, seriously inspect and supervise localities, offices, and units’ performance of the military-defence work. Inspections and supervisions have been conducted both regularly and irregularly and enabled local party committees, authorities, and military offices to realise their weaknesses and opportunely seek for remedial measures. During its term, the Provincial People’s Committee carries out at least one inspection of every locality and office’s performance of the military-defence work. Meanwhile, units have been asked to inspect one another and include the work of inspection in yearly and half-year emulation movements. Localities and units have been required to conduct reviews of the military-defence work and opportunely rectify weaknesses and shortcomings to make contributions to enhancing the state management of national defence at each level. The Provincial People’s Committee has also proactively inspected all-level offices’ handling of letters of complaints relating to the defence work. It has regularly held dialogues between authorities, enterprises and the people to deal with problems and create a favourable condition for all economic sectors to develop production, mobilise all social resources and increase the economic-defence potential in the area. In the past 5 years (2015-2020), the province has conducted 384 inspections and 9 investigations of sectors, localities, and units’ performance of the military-defence work; therefore, the mechanisms for leadership, management, and operation have been increasingly perfected.

In the upcoming time, Soc Trang will keep raising the quality and effectiveness of sate management of national defence and successfully fulfilling the goals and tasks of socio-economic development and defence-security consolidation set by the Resolution of the 14^th Provincial Party Congress for the 2020-2025 tenure. Also, the province will focus on well organising elections of deputies to the 15^th National Assembly and all-level people’s councils for the 2021-2026 tenure to greatly contribute to building strong government agencies at all levels.

TRAN VAN LAU, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee

Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee