Grasping and implementing the 12^th Politburo’s Resolution 33-NQ/TW dated 28 September 2018 on the Strategy for National Border Protection, the Provincial Border Guard (PBG) of Son La has attached importance to promoting its core role and synchronously taking measures to build strong all-people border defence as the basis for firmly protecting the Fatherland’s frontier.

Practising projects to protect the border

The PBG of Son La is assigned to manage and protect over 274 kilometres of national border with the two provinces of Houaphanh and Luang Prabang of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Due to geographical barriers and problems left over from history, socio-economic development in the province’s border area is still slow; the people are faced with a lot of difficulties in their life; the rate of poor households is high. Within the province, hostile forces are stepping up their sabotage strategy and inciting ethnic minority people to join exile organisations demanding separatism and autonomy. Besides, illegal missionary work and crimes of all types are very complex, thus posing threats to political security and social order and safety. Against that backdrop, grounded on the Party’s military, defence, Fatherland protection guidelines, particularly the 12^th Politburo’s Resolution 33-NQ/TW on the Strategy for National Border Protection, the PBG’s Party Committee and Command have promoted their core role in coordinating with relevant offices and units to give advice to the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee on building action programs/plans for the Resolution. Significance has been attached to directing sectors and localities, especially 6 border districts to well conduct propagation regarding border defence work and the building of all-people border defence and the posture of all-people border defence associated with the postures of all-people national defence and people’s security.

Thanks to the PBG, political system, and all people’s tireless efforts and resolve, all-people defence border and the posture of all-people border defence within the province have been built and consolidated. Political bases within border localities have been strengthened, and they have operated increasingly effectively. Due regard has been paid to developing socio-economic infrastructures and improving the people’s life as the basis for firmly protecting national sovereignty and border, building a border of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development.

However, in addition to the recorded results, some cadres, party members, and citizens have yet to be fully aware of the building of all-people border defence; the combination of economic development and defence and security has yet to be close; coordination between forces in building all-people border defence has been partly poor; the effectiveness of grasping, anticipating, and handling defence and security situations in some areas has been still limited.

To overcome those above-mentioned drawbacks, continue to build robust all-people border defence, and maintain political security and social order and safety as the basis for the province’s “green, rapid, and sustainable” development, in the upcoming time, the PBG’s Party Committee and Command are determined to well perform their role in giving advice to the Border Guard Force’s Party Committee and Command as well as the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee on leading and directing national border management and protection. Based on the 5-year implementation of the 12^th Politburo’s Resolution 33-NQ/TW on the Strategy for National Border Protection as well as higher echelons’ directives and guiding documents on border defence work, the PBG will cooperate with the Provincial Party Committee’s Commissions for Organisation and Home Affairs as well as relevant departments, sectors, and forces in advising the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee to complete mechanisms and methods for implementing Resolution 33-NQ/TW, reviewing and supplementing action programs/plans aimed at fulfilling the goals, targets, tasks, and measures of national border protection in line with the Resolution of the 13^th Party Central Committee’s 8^th Plenum on the Strategy for Fatherland Protection in the New Situation. At the same time, it will promote its core role in proposing measures to build all-people border defence and the posture of all-people border defence associated with people’s security and the posture of people’s security as well as to formulate proper strategies to manage and protect national sovereignty and border.

In order to bring into play the synergy of the entire political system and people in the building of all-people border defence, the PBG’s Party Committee and Command will direct offices and units, particularly border guard posts to coordinate with all-level party committees and authorities to disseminate and well implement the Party and State’s resolutions and directives on protecting national sovereignty and border security. Emphasis will be placed on Plan 93/KH-UBND dated 29 March 2022 by the Provincial People’s Committee to implement the Project by the Ministry of National Defence on holding specialised training courses regarding the Vietnam Border Defence Law, the National Border Law, the Protocol on Vietnam – Laos borderline and national border markers, and the Vietnam – Laos Agreement on land border and border gate management regulations. Doing so will help raise the awareness and responsibility of party committees, authorities, and people, particularly ethnic minority people in the border area towards national sovereignty and border as well as the obligations and benefits of each citizen and organisation in the management and protection of national sovereignty and border security.

Taking part in a literacy class for ethnic minority people

Furthermore, the PBG will actively take part in building and consolidating political bases, well organising activities to spread the Movement on all people’s participation in protecting territorial sovereignty and national border security in the new situation. First of all, it will focus on complying with the Regulations on Coordination between the PBG’s Party Committee and 6 border districts’ party committees as well as between border guard post and border commune party committees, while well implementing regulations and programs on coordination with local committees, sectors, and organisations. It will continue to deploy border guard post cadres to join border commune party committees, assign border guard post party members to attend meetings of border village party cells, with a view to enhancing grass-roots party organisations and party members’ leadership and combativeness, improving authorities’ management and operation, and promoting the roles of Fatherland Fronts, social – political organisations, village heads, and persons having great prestige in the border area.

The PBG will continue to cooperate with competent offices in helping the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee to implement projects on border population arrangement as well as to review, supplement, and adjust the planning of residential areas adjacent to border guard posts and stations. It will step up the movement on the masses’ self-management and protection of borderline, border markers, and social order, promote the effectiveness of self-management teams within border villages, and actively mobilise resources to effectively execute the movement titled “the Military joins hands to build new-style rural areas” as the basis for improving the people’s living standards, cementing the people’s faith in the Party and State, and building a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds” in the border area.

To well perform the core role in building robust all-people border defence and firmly protecting national sovereignty and border security, the PBG’s Party Committee and Command will focus on building politically, ideologically, organisationally strong offices and units, frequently reviewing, adjusting, and completing projects and plans on border and headquarters protection, natural disaster prevention and control, search and rescue. The PBG will step up breakthroughs in strictly maintaining combat readiness, holding exercises to raise its synergy and combat power, and enhancing regularity building and discipline management. Due attention will be paid to enhancing coordination between forces under the Government’s Decree 03/2019/NĐ-CP dated 5 September 2019 to opportunely detect, prevent, and thwart all plots and artifices of hostile forces and crimes of all types within the border area.

In addition, the PBG will closely cooperate with competent offices in proposing investment projects to build transport roads, border patrol road (phase 2), and feeder roads to national border markers within the border area. It will effectively carry out the Project on consolidating and relocating border guard stations, constructing and consolidating defence works, implement the Project on “Planning the system of Vietnam – Laos border gates”, modernise technical equipment, and improve the quality of electronic immigration procedures at border gates. Last but not least, it will continue to well conduct defence diplomacy, border defence diplomacy, and people-to-people diplomacy, maintain and multiply twinning models between competent forces and villages from the two sides of the border, thereby contributing to building up political trust, deepening the friendship and special relations between Vietnam and Laos, building robust all-people border defence, maintaining political security and border order and safety, protecting the Fatherland from early and afar.

Sr. Col. NGUYEN DINH HUAN

Commander of the PBG