The building of an “adept, compact, strong” Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) is an objective requirement, one of the goals set by the Resolutions of the 13^th National Party Congress and the 11^th Military Party Congress, laying a solid prerequisite for building a revolutionary, regular, elite, modern VPA from 2030, meeting the task of Fatherland protection in the new situation. That necessitates party committees and commands of offices and units across the entire Military focusing their leadership and direction on fulfilling this strategic goal, via synchronous, drastic measures.

General Nguyen Tan Cuong visits Viettel pavilion at Vietnam International Defence Expo 2024 (photo: qdnd.vn)

Under resolutions and directives by the Party, the Central Military Commission (CMC), and the Ministry of National Defence (MND), especially Resolution 05-NQ/TW, dated 17 January 2022, by the 13^th Politburo and the CMC’s Resolution 230-NQ/QUTW, dated 2 April 2022, on organising the VPA in the period of 2021 - 2030 and beyond, over the years, all-level party committees and commands have focused their leadership and direction on adopting measures to build an “adept, compact, strong” VPA synchronously under the pre-set road map and plans. The organisational structure of offices and units across the Military from tactical to operational levels has been adjusted properly with a balance between forces and relevance to the Party’s lines on all-people national defence and people’s war as well as Vietnam’s military art. Newly-founded offices and units together with units in charge of training and combat readiness in the key, strategic, border, sea, island areas have been adjusted with an increase in their strength and weaponry and especially provided with modern arms. Defence industry has recorded a robust development in a dual-purpose, modern manner; it has mastered technologies for designing and manufacturing some groups of modern weapons and technical equipment of urgency. It has gradually provided sufficient good-quality weapons and technical equipment for offices and units, especially those tasked with training, combat readiness, and border, sea, and island protection. The tasks of training, combat readiness, discipline management, regularity building, and logistics and technical support have been performed closely, seriously, effectively. Doing so has allowed the VPA to be an adept army in terms of politics and combat art, a compact army in terms of structure, and a modern army in terms of weaponry; the VPA has been capable of opportunely, effectively settling military - defence situations to avoid falling into passivity.

In the upcoming time, it is predicted that there will be many complex developments throughout the world and in the region; many hot spots will still exist and possibly become more complicated; the East Sea will be faced with potential destabilising factors. Domestically, our renovation cause, socio-economic development, defence, security, and diplomacy will be confronted with a lot of challenges. Hostile forces will continue their sabotage efforts comprehensively, promoting “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” from within, encouraging “depoliticisation” of our VPA. Meanwhile, higher requirements will be imposed on the tasks of VPA building, defence consolidation, and Fatherland protection. To fulfil the goal of basically building an “adept, compact, strong” VPA towards modernity in 2025, all-level party committees and commands across the entire Military should continue to grasp resolutions and directives by the Party, CMC, and MND and drastically, synchronously adopt several main measures as follows.

First, further promoting the role of all-level party committees and commands in the building of an “adept, compact, strong” VPA. Over the years, all-level party committees and commands have drastically implemented plans to build an “adept, compact, strong” VPA and maintained stability within themselves. However, to fulfil the goal of building an “adept, compact, strong” VPA, all-level party committees and commands should continue to well conduct propagation and education work to render their cadres, party members, employees, and soldiers fully aware of the great importance of building an “adept, compact, strong” VPA to the cause of Fatherland construction and protection.

To implement this measure, all-level party committees and commands should continue to renew their work styles and methods, strictly maintain the principles of democratic centralism, collective leadership, and individual accountability, promote responsibilities of commanders, political commissars, and junior political commissars at all levels, and align the outcome of the building of “adept, compact, strong” VPA with annual personnel evaluations. Due attention should be paid to improving all-level party committees’ leadership and combativeness, upholding unity within offices and units, promoting democracy, tightening discipline, heightening the spirit of criticism and self-criticism against drawbacks in the execution of programs and plans for the building of an “adept, compact, strong” VPA. Consideration should be given to supervising and inspecting the task performance of offices and units, particularly their force adjustment process, strictly carrying out final and preliminary reviews to draw lessons, opportunely detect and rectify weaknesses, and supplement measures of leadership and direction for successfully fulfilling all assigned tasks.

Second, offices and units should take more drastic action for their force adjustment process under the pre-set road map and plans. Force adjustment is an urgent requirement, an objective need, and an important foundation for building a revolutionary, regular, elite, modern VPA. Hence, party committees and commands of offices and units across the Military should drastically exercise their direction over the task of force adjustment under the road map and plans set by the CMC and MND. In the process, it is necessary to adhere to the Plan on organising the VPA in the period of 2021 - 2030 and beyond.

Offices and units, which are undergoing the force adjustment process or have yet to be in this process, should proactively review projects and plans, opportunely supplement tasks in a synchronous, close manner, maintain their internal stability, and avoid impacts on their political tasks; great value should be attached to handling redundancies after merger, ensuring a balance between components, and carefully considering each force’s capacity to complete their tasks. Offices and units, which have accomplished force adjustments, should continue to research and review their difficulties, bottlenecks, and emerging issues, propose and submit remedial measures to competent agencies, and strive to fulfil the goal of building an “adept, compact, strong” VPA in 2025. Moreover, it is essential to closely manage troops’ ideological developments and deal with drawbacks in policy work. Great weight should be added to adjusting the disposition of forces and means of offices and units, particularly the newly-founded ones in all three North, Central, and South regions, reviewing and promulgating functions, tasks, authority, and work relationships of offices and units, identifying specific duties of each job title, and perfecting the payroll of offices and units across the Military both in peacetime and wartime.

Pilots of Air Force Division 371 exchange experiences after a flight training session

Third, focusing on raising the quality of education and training. The improved quality of training is one of the breakthroughs set by the Resolution of the 11^th Military Party Congress and an extremely important part of the building of an “adept, compact, strong” VPA, aimed at equipping all troops with comprehensive knowledge of military - defence work and great competence to fulfil their functions and assigned tasks. Therefore, the entire VPA should grasp the Party’s new thinking on military - defence tasks, partners and opponents, and the requirements of Fatherland construction and protection in the new situation; education and training programs and plans for groups of troops should be developed closely, scientifically under resolutions, directives, and guidance by the CMC and MND on education and training work.

In the training process, offices and units should adhere to the motto of “basics, practicality, and solidity”, organise synchronous, specialised training courses relevant to combat reality, intensify practice and tasks-based, situations-based training, and improve manoeuvrability in complex terrain and weather conditions and during hi-tech warfare. It is necessary to closely combine training with exercises, align campaign-level, strategic exercises with tactical, general exercises, and associate interoperability between services and corps with local armed forces’ combat within defensive zones. Great value should be attached to improving cadres’ staff work and operational command capacity, enhancing detachment-level units’ combat readiness, building up troops’ determination to fight and to win, cementing troops’ faith in our combat methods, weapons, and equipment, regularly conducting investigations, inspections, preliminary and final reviews to draw lessons on training work, particularly among newly-founded or merged units.

In education and training, academies and schools should adhere to the motto: “training quality of schools is the combat readiness capacity of units”, actively, proactively renew, standardise, and modernise their training curriculum relevant to the characteristics of hi-tech warfare, and continue to effectively execute education and training projects. Emphasis should be placed on raising the quality of researching, designing, supplementing, and completing training materials and textbooks, particularly for the newly-founded forces and units. Besides, information technology should be effectively applied in education and training.

Fourth, fostering defence industry development as the basis for raising the VPA’s synergy and combat power. Well implementing this measure will contribute to building an “adept, compact, strong” VPA towards modernity. Therefore, the entire Military should continue to grasp and effectively execute resolutions and directives by the Politburo, CMC, and MND on defence industry, especially Resolution 08-NQ/TW, dated 26 January 2022, by the 13^th Politburo on stepping up defence industry development towards 2030 and beyond to meet the requirements of Fatherland construction and protection in the new situation. It is necessary to well execute programs and projects on designing and manufacturing weapons, equipment, and defence products as well as on building military and patrol ships for forces in charge of protecting seas and islands, with the aim of increasing the VPA’s power and combat readiness. Achievements in the 4^th industrial revolution should be applied to develop a modern, dual-purpose defence industry, turn defence industry into the spearhead of national industry with its capability to research, design, and manufacture advanced weapons and technical equipment relevant to the VPA’s tasks.

Fifth, raising the quality of regularity building and discipline management. This is a basic measure aimed at building an “adept, compact, strong” VPA and ensuring that the Military will always be ready to undertake and successfully fulfil all assigned tasks. Thus, the entire VPA should continue to grasp and effectively realise guiding documents on regularity building and discipline management, particularly Directive 103/CT-BQP, dated 28 November 2019, by Minister of National Defence, and Directive 22/CT-TM, dated 5 July 2019, by Chief of the General Staff, on continuing to strengthen discipline management and education and ensure safety within the VPA. Due attention should be paid to educating troops on law-abiding awareness and improving capabilities and skills in troop education among all-level cadres, especially detachment-level ones. Cadres at all levels must grasp and well perform their functions and tasks under the Military’s regulations and the State’s laws; they must set good examples for their troops to study and follow.

Offices and units should continue to renew content and methods of troop education and training and develop practical, effective measures for discipline management to create a solid change in this work. They should strictly maintain regulations on study and work on a daily and weekly basis and closely manage troops at each level, particularly during rest hours and days off. They should closely work with localities and families to grasp and manage troops’ ideological developments and social relationships to proactively adopt preventive measures. In discipline management, it is essential to closely combine “building” with “fighting”, align education and persuasion with administrative measures, and take the positive against the negative. It is vital to strictly, objectively, honestly handle violations of law and discipline; the rate of normal disciplinary violations shall be below 0.2% on a yearly basis. Serious violations of discipline, training safety regulations, and traffic safety regulations shall be minimised. Besides, due attention should be paid to intensifying law education and dissemination among all troops, opportunely supplementing and completing documents on regularity building and discipline management in a close, scientific manner to prevent troops from exploiting possible “loopholes” in this regard.

Building an “adept, compact, strong” VPA represents a major, strategic line of our Party and State; it is one of the most important tasks that the entire VPA shall basically fulfil in 2025. To complete this crucial task, party committees, party organisations, cadres, party members, employees, and soldiers across the entire Military shall heighten a sense of responsibility, actively, proactively surmount all difficulties, and strive to fulfil all targets and requirements of building an “adept, compact, strong” VPA under the established road map and plans as the basis for raising the Military’s synergy and combat power, firmly protecting the Fatherland in the new situation.

Gen. NGUYEN TAN CUONG

Member of the Party Central Committee

Member of the CMC Standing Board

Chief of the General Staff of the VPA

Deputy Minister of National Defence