The 379th Economic – Defence Division, 2nd Military Region is tasked with building the Muong Cha Economic – Defence Zone by the Ministry of National Defence (MND). It also undertakes combat readiness, training, and building of its units; collaborates with military bodies at all levels to build defence zones and political bases, and infrastructure; conducts mass mobilisation; help people to settle down; maintains political security and social order and safety; consolidates defence, security posture to firmly protect the area, and so on.

The area where the Division is deployed and performs its missions is a remote border area with enormous difficulties. The area has a 280-km borderline with China and Laos and is characterised by jungles and mountains. The traffic infrastructure has not been developed yet. There is a high rate of poor households in the ethnic minority groups whose intellectual standard remains low and life is full of hardships and difficulties. Meanwhile, hostile forces step up acts of sabotage, inciting establishment of the so-called “State of Mong,” and carrying out illegal missionary work. Drug-related crime, trade fraud, free migration, etc., are difficult to control, thus posing numerous difficulties and challenges to combination of economic development and national defence.

On deeply grasping situations, its functions and missions, and the importance of the Northwestern strategic area, over the past few years, the Division Party Committee and commanders have adopted drastic, synchronous solutions to enhance the effectiveness of combining economic development and national defence and obtained comprehensive outcomes. The military and defence works have been done closely and effectively, contributing to timely resolution of defence, security situations in the area. Projects on building infrastructure within the economic-defence zone in association with plans to develop economy, culture, and society and to ensure national defence and security of districts, provinces, and the Military Region are carried out synchronously and effectively. Special importance was attached to propagation, mass mobilisation, and building of political bases. Concrete, creative models and best practices in assisting compatriots in economic development were leveraged. The advisory, instructional work and coordination of production and business activities among departments, production teams, factories, etc., gained increasingly high results. The Division has been awarded with many noble prizes by the State, MND, and the 2nd Military Region in recognition of its outstanding achievements in the past 20 years.

To obtain the above-mentioned results, the Division Party Committee and commanders attach regular importance to popularisation and education with the aim of raising awareness and responsibility of party committees, commanders, cadres, employees, and soldiers for combination of economic development and national defence. Of special note is the propagation and education about position and significance of combining economic development with national defence; effective application of resolutions and directives of the Party, State, and People’s Army on combining economic development and national defence, most notably the viewpoints, objectives, requirements, contents, roadmaps, and missions to implement the investment project on the Muong Cha Economic – Defence Zone by 2020 and vision 2025 as specified in Decision No. 4128/QD-BQP, dated 25 October 2013 of the MND, also known today as Decision No. 1379/QD-BQP, dated 25 April 2022 of the MND. Due to large area of the project, scattered deployment of units, and difficult mountainous terrain, the Division focuses on developing a corps of cadres and party members who possess political steadfastness, sense of self-management, self-training, and compliance with discipline and regulations on civil-military relations, high responsibility, and determination to surmount difficulties and complete tasks, especially those working in production teams, factories, mass mobilisation squads, and young volunteer intellectuals. This measure helps to deal with fear of difficulty, hardship, interaction with people, etc., during task performance. Consequently, in the most recent 5 years, 98% of the Division party members have been constantly graded mission accomplishment, of which more than 90% are good and excellent. 100% of party organisations are categorised as mission accomplishment, of which between 90 – 95% are good and excellent. All cadres and soldiers keep their minds on their work.

Granting cows for local people at Sin Thau commune, Muong Nhe district, Dien Bien province

In addition to enhancement of awareness and responsibility, the Division effectively carries out projects on combining socio-economic development with strengthening national defence and security in the area. On the basis of funds allocated for the Muong Cha Economic – Defence Zone, the Division builds critical infrastructure, including roads, irrigation works, clean water supply, electricity, schools, medical clinics, etc., in connection with economic, cultural, social development plans, maintenance of national defence and security, and construction planning of military structures within district, provincial defence zones. Projects carried out by the Division have become significant premise for socio-economic development of localities. These projects both directly promote shift of regional economic structure, development of commodity economy, land reclamation, increase in rice harvests, application of advances in science and technology to the increase of labour productivity and help to improve people’s standard of living, steadily eliminate old farming habits, and eradicate hunger and reduce poverty. Additionally, the Division collaborates with localities to evacuate people to six concentrated residential areas and establish three villages, which contributes to people’s settlement in the border area. The Division also recruits 142 young people according to the project on increasing young volunteer intellectuals and generating human resources for constructing and safeguarding the strategic border areas firmly.

To carry out the policy on closely collaborating with localities within the project area, the Division instructs its departments, production teams, and factories to proactively plan breeding, cultivation farms; apply advances in science and technology to improve effectiveness of production and business; prioritise cultivation of crops, cattle, and poultry with high economic value, etc., which are suitable to soil and weather conditions of the Northwest. The Division also attaches importance to establishment of models and key movements such as “good economic households”, “clusters of families raising native water buffaloes, cows, goats, and chicken”, connectivity between enterprises, production teams, and farmers growing macadamia trees, etc., and organises visits for people with the aim of multiplying models and best practices. Moreover, the Division provides local people with funds, breeding stock, scientific and technological skills in nurturing, processing, keeping, and selling products, which assists them in economic development and improving their material, spiritual life. The Division’s typical, effective models serve as places of interest for the Military Region and economic – defence units in the entire military.

To perform its function as “an army for work”, the Division proactively works with local party committees and authorities as well as other relevant forces to promote the effectiveness of mass mobilisation in the area. It regularly strengthens squads and teams in charge of mass mobilisation and special propagation; requests these squads and teams to closely monitor areas and carry out mass mobilisation according to the motto of “three trackings, four togethers, five haves”. By doing so, they both conduct propagation and mass mobilisation, get to know about people’s feelings and public opinion, and assist people in production and household economy. In the process of project implementation, the Division directs its departments and units to actively reform contents, forms, and methods of propagation and mobilisation to suit situations and compatriots’ awareness in the area; step up mobilisation models, campaigns, and movements in key areas in terms of political security and social order and safety. The mass mobilisation is conducted in concert with medical examination and treatment activities and award presentation for people entitled to preferential policies and poor households. As a result of good mass mobilisation, most of people in the area strictly abide by guidelines of the Party and policies and law of the State; remain vigilant for hostile forces’ plots of sabotage; refrain from teaching and learning illegal religions, uncontrolled migration, social evils, and so forth. Good mass mobilisation also creates favourable conditions for socio-economic development, strengthening of national defence and security, firm protection of national sovereignty and border security, and encouraging the provinces of Dien Bien and Lai Chau to develop steadily.

Additionally, the Division instructs its departments and units to actively participate in building and consolidating the grassroots political system under the motto of “following the grassroots level closely, concentrated leadership, drastic direction, proactive grasp and collaboration with local party committees and authorities to respond to situations right at the grassroots level”; thoroughly perceive programs, objectives, and missions of localities in order to have plans to participate in building political bases; and intensify inspection and supervision with a view to improving quality and effectiveness of participation. Over the course of five years, the Division has sent many cadres to local organisations and unions; trained and admitted 103 new party members and put an end to villages without any party members; strengthened 15 party organisations, 34 women’s union branches, 45 youth union branches, 45 militia organisations, 23 veterans associations, and so on. Therefore, the grassroots political system in the area is strengthened in terms of organisation, management and leadership capacity. The great national unity bloc is consolidated, which creates overall power to successfully complete targets of socio-economic development and guaranteeing of national defence and security in the area.

Furthermore, the Division works closely with local party committees and authorities and the armed forces in the area to build a robust all-people national defence. Together with other forces, it proactively advises local party committees and authorities in the project region to well carry out internal political protection; safeguarding of military, state secrets; and plans to prevent and deny infiltration and acts of sabotage within organisations. The Division also attaches importance to collaboration with the Public Security, Border Guard, and Local Military to collect and exchange information about political security, which lays the foundation for advising local party committees and authorities to formulate and implement civil defence plans as well as measures to prevent, struggle, and address defence, security situations, without being passive and surprised right from the grassroots level, contributing to stabilisation and firm protection of the Muong Cha Economic – Defence Zone in particular, the Northwestern border area in general.

Senior Colonel DANG XUAN THANH, Commander of the Division