Building a robust political and spiritual potential is fundamental and decisive in determining the quality and effectiveness of building the all-people national defence and the provincial and city defensive areas in the cause of Homeland development and protection. Therefore, the Party Committee, authority, people, and armed forces of Thai Binh have promoted its implementation with scientific and appropriate measures.

Thai Binh is a coastal province in the Gulf of Tonkin, belonging to the part of the Red River Delta triangle, with a rich history of revolutionary struggle as well as potential in land, water and gas resources. Moreover, it is one of the three provinces recognised as a world biosphere reserve in the Red River Delta region, hence holding significant importance in politics, economy, culture, society, national defence, and security. Recognising its potential and advantages, in recent years, alongside the socio-economic development, Thai Binh has always attached importance to consolidating and strengthening national defence and security, building the armed forces, constructing defensive areas, especially strengthening the capabilities of provincial and district defensive areas, making them increasingly solid. Notably, the Province prioritises and promotes the building of political and spiritual potential to create comprehensive internal strength, thus contributing to maintaining political security and social order. 

The Provincial Military Party holds meeting to elaborate leadership resolution for 2024

In the upcoming period, it is forecast that the situation in the Province will remain stable, with positive socio-economic developments and maintenance of national defence and security. However, the multi-dimensional impact of the negative aspects of the market mechanism, rural security issues, natural disasters, epidemics, and sabotage by hostile forces continue to affect the Province’s military and national defence tasks, the building of the all-people national defence, and the construction of defensive areas. Therefore, to build a robust political and spiritual potential that contributes to strengthening the national defence capabilities in defensive areas and maintaining political security, social order, and safety, Thai Binh focuses on implementing the key measures as follows:

Firstly, intensifying propaganda and education for officers, party members, and the people to make them further understand the position, role, and importance of building political and spiritual potential. This is a pivotal measure aiming at unifying awareness and fostering high consensus from the Party Committee and authority to agencies and organisations within the political system, armed forces, and people regarding the task of building political and spiritual potential. Accordingly, the Party Committee and Military Command proactively advise the Provincial Party Committee, People’s Council, and Provincial People’s Committee to direct departments, branches, sectors, and organisations to continue promoting propaganda and education to enhance awareness and responsibility for officers, party members, and the people towards the tasks of strengthening national defence and security and protecting the Homeland in the new situation. The education content should be profound and comprehensive, focusing on the Party and State’s guidelines and viewpoints and the resolutions and directives from the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence regarding nation-building and protection. Building on this foundation, efforts are made to enhance patriotism and instil pride in the heroic traditions and people of the Homeland, thereby fostering determination, responsibility, and confidence of all social strata towards the Party Committee, authority, and armed forces in combining the development of the society with the development of the economy, improving people’s lives with strengthening national defence and building the capabilities of defensive areas, including political and spiritual potential.

In innovating the forms and methods of propaganda and education, in addition to conventional means such as meetings, conferences, and focused learning sessions, Thai Binh intensifies propaganda through central and local mass media. Simultaneously, through cultural and artistic activities, traditional festivals, and community activities in residential areas, propaganda and educational content is integrated into the daily lives of individuals. Furthermore, the Province promotes educating and providing national defence and security knowledge to specific groups, particularly religious dignitaries and team leaders in foreign-invested enterprises and private businesses.

The provincial armed forces help local people in disaster relief

Secondly, providing strategic advice to build a comprehensively strong grassroots political system and a solid “people’s hearts and minds” posture. The grassroots political system, where the Party’s policies and guidelines are applied to daily life, directly implements and successfully fulfils local and grassroots tasks. Therefore, the Province directs the vigorous implementation of central resolutions and directives regarding Party and political system building; enhancing the leadership capacity and combat power of party organisations, the pioneering and exemplary role of officers and party members in executing military and national defence tasks. Accordingly, the Provincial Military Command coordinates with departments, sectors, and branches to provide counsel to the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee in rearranging and organising the agencies in the political system, ensuring their eliteness, compactness, efficiency, and effectiveness. Besides, the Province builds a contingent of officers at all levels, especially key personnel in departments, sectors, branches, and localities, with political qualities, revolutionary ethics, political qualifications, professional expertise, and leadership and managerial skills commensurate with their tasks.

Based on strict adherence to the Party’s principled issues, party committees and authorities at all levels regularly innovate their operational content and methods. They formulate and refine each organisation's working regulations and the supervision and feedback mechanisms of the Fatherland Front and other socio-political organisations, hence fostering high consensus among the public. The Province consistently strengthens and consolidates mass organisations, including the Youth Union, Women’s Union, Farmers’ Union, Veterans’ Association, and Labour Union, by clearly defining their principles, purposes, and operational methods, ensuring alignment with their functions and tasks. This aims to promote dynamism, creativity, and diversification of activities and address bureaucracy, bureaucratisation, and ineffective operations. Through these efforts, they reinforce, build, and harness the strength of the national unity bloc in the cause of nation-building and protection. 

Thirdly, building robust provincial armed forces in terms of politics, ideology, morality, organisational structure, and personnel serves as the backbone for building political and spiritual potential in defensive areas. This is decisive to the provincial armed forces because it determines the fulfilment of military and national defence tasks and the building of the all-people national defence in general and the political and spiritual potential in defensive areas in particular. Therefore, the top priority is for the Provincial Military Command to coordinate with the Province’s Public Security and Border Guard in raising awareness and responsibility among officers, party members, and soldiers in implementing the Party’s policies and guidelines, the State’s policies and laws, and higher echelons’ resolutions and directives regarding the building of the people’s armed forces under the spirit of the Resolution of the 8^th Plenum of the Party Central Committee. This involves the synchronised and effective implementation of measures regarding personnel work, particularly in building a contingent of key leaders, with the spirit of “seven dares”, possessing solid political determination, competence, moral qualities, exemplary conduct, and absolute loyalty to the Homeland, the Party, the State, and the People. Furthermore, it is necessary for the Province to actively combat and thwart the sabotage activities of hostile forces in ideology and culture.

Additionally, the Provincial Military Command advise the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee to direct and guide district (city) party committees in establishing and operating commune-level military party cells as per regulations and guidance from the Central Organisation Commission (to be completed by the second quarter of 2024). Moreover, it effectively implements the “electronic party member notebook” software and the “exemplary military party cell building” project within the party committee; conducts the education and training to develop party members; strengthens the inspection and supervision of the leadership in the implementation of political tasks and Party building work by party organisations and members, timely handling violations as per Party regulations, state laws, and military discipline. The Provincial Military Command also protects internal politics, secrets, security, and safety in military and national defence activities and enhances mobilisation work, helping to consolidate the close-knit relationship between the Army and the people.

Last but not least, the Provincial Military Command directs its forces, agencies, and units, especially commune-level military agencies, to regularly coordinate with departments and organisations of the Public Security and Border Guard to proactively grasp the situation at the grassroots levels. Then, they should provide advice to the party committees and authorities to promptly resolve any issues related to rural security, agriculture, and religion and prevent hostile forces from exploiting them as “hotspots”. Furthermore, they combat different types of crime to create favourable conditions for socio-economic development and improve people’s lives. The Provincial Military Command continues to implement the Project entitled “Promoting the role of the People’s Army in popularising law education and mobilising people to obey the law at the grassroots level in the 2021 - 2027 period”, which contributes to building robust political and spiritual potential, a solid all-people national defence, and secure defensive areas.

Senior Colonel PHAM DUC KIEN, Political Commissar of the Thai Binh Provincial Military Command