Currently, the entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army are very excited, proud, and deeply confident in a new turning point in our country's revolutionary cause launched by General Secretary To Lam. That is the determination to "...bring the country into a new era of national rise". That turning point poses new requirements for the fields of national defence, security, and foreign affairs.

The Vietnamese people's thousands of years of history have gone through several periods of brilliant development, but never before have the country's performance and the nation's position been affirmed as they are now. The renovation process over the past 40 years has made great achievements and historical significance, changing the face of the country, significantly improving the material and spiritual life of the people. Along with the great achievements of the renovation process, we have integrated with the world in width, depth and height, and have become comprehensive strategic partners with 09 leading countries in the world. Our country has never had such a foundation, potential, position and international prestige as today. Entering a new era requires strong and synchronous development in all aspects of all fields; in which, strengthening national defence, security and foreign affairs is an important and regular task, requiring special attention to the following contents:

Strengthening national defence

It is pivotal to make national defence stronger and more solid to successfully fulfill its tasks. Thus, it is necessary to focus on the following key issues:

First, strengthening and promoting the combined strength of the great national unity bloc in which the armed forces are essential; and combining national strength with the strength of the times to successfully perform the national defence tasks. That is the invincible strength to firmly safeguard the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity; maintain the sovereignty of the country's borders, seas, islands, airspace and cyberspace; protect the Party, the State, the People, social order and security; proactively prevent and defeat all plots and sabotage activities of hostile forces, not to be passive or surprised in any situation. The core goal of strengthening national defence is defined in the Document of the 13th National Party Congress as: "To maximise the combined strength of the entire nation and the entire political system combined with the strength of the times, to maximise the consensus and support of the international community to firmly protect the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Fatherland, to protect the Party, the State, the People, the socialist regime, the culture and national interests; to maintain a peaceful environment, political stability, national security and human security; "Building an orderly, disciplined, safe and healthy society to develop the country in the orientation of socialism".

Second, strengthening political and social power. Strengthening national defence means maintaining and strengthening the absolute and direct leadership in all aspects of the Party, the centralised and unified management of the State over the armed forces in the cause of safeguarding the Fatherland. Firmly pursuing the goal of national independence and socialism; maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for socio-economic development; closely combining two strategic tasks: successfully building socialism and firmly safeguarding the socialist Fatherland of Vietnam; clearly identifying internal strength as the decisive factor, socio-economic development as the central task, Party building as the key task; consolidating national defence, security, and foreign affairs as an important and regular task; building and developing culture and people as the spiritual foundation of society, an important endogenous strength. Closely combine economy, culture and society with national defence and security; combine national defence and security with economy, culture and society in each strategy and socio-economic development plan of the country.

Third, making the national defence potential increasingly strong to fulfill all tasks assigned by the Party, State and People. Accordingly, it is necessary to strengthen the capacity of human resources, material resources, finance, and spirit at home and abroad to carry out national defence tasks. The key content is to strengthen the building of armed forces to be revolutionary, disciplined, elite and modern; including the modernity in force organisation, discipline, working style, and order; and the modernity in the method of combat with people as the centre, prioritising ensuring the number of troops for units to be ready to fight and carry out special, important, and regular tasks. Strengthening modern weapons and means is also an important factor to protect the Fatherland, prevent and be ready to deal with new forms of war, high-tech war. To carry out this task, it is necessary to carefully study the methods of applying modern science and technology; equip, exploit and use modern weapons suitable for new combat conditions combined with Vietnamese military art. Building a national defence posture and a "people's heart and mind posture", forming a widespread, solid and flexible combat posture.

The Vietnam People's Navy, one of the modernised forces (Photo: qdnd.vn)

Strengthening security

Strengthening security must strengthen the security force to ensure stability and peace for the country. The main tasks and contents of strengthening security are:

First, strengthening political security. This is the core and consistent element of national security and regime security. Strengthening political security focuses on protecting the role and leadership of the Party over the State and society; protecting the State, the People and the socialist regime; ensuring social security and the peaceful and happy life of the people. Effectively preventing and neutralising all infiltration, terrorism and sabotage activities of reactionary organisations, plots to intervene and overthrow from outside, preventing the formation of opposition political organisations. Preventing, stopping and fighting against plots and tricks to sabotage the Party's ideological foundation; effectively fighting against false and hostile arguments in the mass media, especially in cyberspace. Effectively manage cultural and ideological activities, and combat deviant manifestations. Propagandise and orient the masses to the policies and guidelines of the Party and State. Prevent and promptly handle subjects that disrupt social order and safety. Ensure absolute security and safety for the activities of Party and State leaders, key targets, foreign affairs activities, and major events of the country, ensuring that Vietnam is a peaceful country and a safe destination for international friends.

Second, strengthening economic security, social security, cyber security, human security, effectively handling traditional and non-traditional security challenges, fighting against corruption and negativity. Timely detect and handle threats to the national economy; protect the Party's policies and guidelines and the cause of innovation, promote industrialisation and modernisation of the country. Proactively detect loopholes and shortcomings in economic management; investigate, discover and strictly handle corruption crimes, recover assets for the State, contributing to improving the effectiveness of Party building. Demonstrate a pioneering role in ensuring sovereignty and national interests in cyberspace, ensuring the safety of the national information system. Strengthen human security, considering it an important task of security in the new situation. Proactively grasp and promptly handle non-traditional security factors, ensuring the stability of the country.

Third, strengthening security potential by firmly consolidating people's security, people's security posture, "people's hearts and mind posture", building a clean and highly combative People's Public Security force. The Ministry of Public Security continues to pioneer in arranging a streamlined, effective and efficient organisational apparatus with the motto "Ministry is refined, province is strong, district is comprehensive, commune is close to the grassroots"; Promote the building of an increasingly strong police force to meet new requirements and tasks, firmly protect national security, ensure social order and safety; firmly protect border and territorial security, political, economic, cultural, social security, and human security.

Strengthening foreign affairs

Strengthening foreign affairs means strengthening the entire foreign affairs and diplomacy system to strengthen relations with countries around the world in a trustworthy, practical and effective manner, ensuring national sovereignty and security, protecting national interests and enhancing Vietnam's position in the international arena.

First, promoting and enhancing the pioneering role of foreign affairs and diplomacy. The 13th National Party Congress determined: "Continue to promote the pioneering role of foreign affairs in creating and maintaining a peaceful and stable environment, mobilising external resources to develop the country, enhancing the country's position and prestige. Build a comprehensive and modern diplomacy with three pillars: Party diplomacy, State diplomacy and People's diplomacy". Constantly innovate thinking about foreign affairs, awareness of the world, position of the country, partnerships, objects, boldly find new directions, new ways of doing things, and expand new fields to meet the country's requirements; review, forecast and advise on foreign affairs; important tasks such as protecting the Fatherland early and from afar; promoting national and people interests; combining national strength with the strength of the times, mobilising the strength of the great national unity bloc, especially uniting the strength of the Vietnamese community at home and abroad.

Second, building a comprehensive and modern diplomacy with the identity of "Vietnamese bamboo". The former General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong stated: "We have built a unique diplomacy of the Ho Chi Minh era with the identity of "Vietnamese bamboo": solid roots, strong trunk, flexible branches, imbued with the soul, character and spirit of the Vietnamese people, etc. ‘Solid roots’ is the principle of national interests to serve the path of independence and self-reliance, taking real strength as the root; ‘strong trunk’ is the method of creating strength, in which the strength of great solidarity is the vital factor; ‘flexible branches’ is the style, the art of flexible diplomacy, the principle of "using the unchangeable to respond to all changeable". That is the way of behaving "know yourself, know others", "know the time, know the situation", "know when to stop, know when to advance" of Ho Chi Minh's diplomatic ideology.

Third, strengthening political potential. Foreign affairs and diplomacy are the cause of the entire Party, the entire people, and the entire political system, so it is necessary to promote the strength of the great national unity bloc in conjunction with gaining international support and cooperation; in which, national strength is collective strength of both material and spiritual. Foreign affairs and diplomacy under the direct and comprehensive leadership of the Party and the management of the State, promote the combined strength of the entire nation, the solidarity of the entire political system to create an open, multilateral, and diversified foreign affairs situation, contributing positively to the cause of national renovation.

To effectively carry out the above important tasks, under the direct and comprehensive leadership of the Party and the management of the State, it is necessary to have the right approach and steps, clearly recognising chances and opportunities, challenges and risks.

First of all, we must know ourselves, which means clearly recognising the position, geopolitical and geo-economic status, potential and strength of the country, firmly grasping the country's defence, security and foreign affairs potential at what level and the ability in all aspects to strengthen defence, security and foreign affairs at the highest, medium and lowest possible level. Knowing people means knowing the partners and subjects that have relationships with us, the role and position of partners and subjects and the combined impact of favourable and unfavorable factors on our country.

We must thoroughly recognise the issues of chances and opportunities, challenges and risks. Chances are favourable conditions, favourable circumstances from within the country and abroad. Opportunities are considered the peak of chances, a particularly favourable situation, even one of a kind, creating conditions for planning and implementing policies quickly and effectively in terms of time, opportunities happen very quickly compared to chances, sometimes passing as quickly as an arrow.

Challenges are difficult and complicated situations to test a person's courage and will. Risk is the highest expression of challenge, an extremely dangerous and urgent situation when a disaster may occur if it is not handled well and responded to promptly.

The scientific methods and bloody experiences of our ancestors are very concise. Grasping these methods and ways of handling them will lead to appropriate and effective policies to strengthen national defence, security, and foreign affairs, ensuring that the country is always at peace to firmly enter the new era of national development.

Prof. Dr. VU VAN HIEN