Throughout the history of national construction and protection, generations of citizens of Thanh Hoa have always been industrious and creative in production and showed their courage to fight against the enemies and make contributions to the country’s impressive feats of arms. In the wars against the French Colonialists and the US Imperialists and the wars for the Homeland protection, Thanh Hoa contributed enormous human and material resources to the nation’s ultimate victory as evidenced by landslide victories in Ham Rong, Nam Ngan, Do Len, Lach Truong, and Ghep Ferry together with over 56,000 martyrs, nearly 47,000 war invalids and tens of thousands of elite soldiers within the province, which fully proved the revolutionary heroism and patriotic tradition of the people and troops of heroic Thanh Hoa province.

In recent years, under the all-level party committees and authorities’ leadership and direction, Thanh Hoa province has obtained significant, comprehensive achievements in all areas and it is developing into an economic, political, cultural, and social hub of the North Central Coast and the country. It has maintained the rapid economic growth, at 11% on a yearly basis. Defence and security have been consolidated while social welfare and the people’s life have been considerably improved. It has made progress in building the Party and the political system, while maintaining a sense of unity within the Provincial Party Organisation and among the people from all walks of life. However, the province is confronted with a lot of difficulties and challenges. The living standard of a section of citizens, particularly in the mountainous, border areas is still low. A number of cadres and party members have yet to be fully aware of the defence-military task. Across the province, the hostile forces are taking advantage of the issues on social management, ethnicity, and religion to step up their sabotage plan. Crimes and social evils of all types in some areas are complex.

To fulfil the goal of basically industrialising and modernising Thanh Hoa and making it one of the top provinces in the country by 2030, the Party Organisation, Authority, people, and armed forces of Thanh Hoa have been devoting efforts to turning it into an “exemplary province” as instructed by beloved Uncle Ho, with a focus placed on carrying out the defence-military work as a central, routine task.

First of all, the Provincial Party Organisation has enhanced its leadership over the raised quality of defence and security education for all groups of learners and the provision of defence-security knowledge for all people so as to achieve a consensus between the Party and the people on facilitating Thanh Hoa’s economy, consolidating national defence, and making the province civilised and elegant. Grounded on its particularities and conditions, learning from the experiences and achievements gained over the years, the province has continued to improve the quality of defence-security education and put this important work in order. Emphasis has been placed on promoting the role of the all-level Defence and Security Education Councils, managing the number of learners of defence-security education, formulating the plans for defence-security education, and dispatching cadres to attend defence-security education courses under the regulations, particularly newly-appointed cadres, patriarchs, village heads, religious dignitaries, householders in the border area, and vessel owners in the coastal area. Due attention has been paid to encouraging mass media and communicators within offices, units, and localities to conduct the work of defence-security propagation, dissemination, and education for all learners and people. Doing so has helped make a solid positive change in forces and organisations’ awareness and responsibility for the defence task and maintaining the people’s revolutionary vigilance and responsibility to defend the Homeland.

The Provincial Party Committee Standing Board has attached importance to combining economic development with defence-security consolidation. It should be noted that the province is about 150 km south of Hanoi Capital and possesses an inter-connected traffic system, which creates a favourable condition for investment and economic development. Currently, across the province of Thanh Hoa, hundreds of projects, worth thousands of billions of VND, have been executed and created stable employments for tens of thousands of citizens; however, they have led to new complex issues. Under the Prime Minister’s Decision 1629/QĐ-TTg on making a development plan for Thanh Hoa province in the period of 2021-2030, with a vision towards 2045, the province has directed its competent offices to closely review, appraise, and supervise the planning of economic zones, industrial zones, seaports, and new urban areas in line with the defence-security plan. Priority has been given to developing industries, cottage industries, commerce, services, tourism, and agriculture and building infrastructures under a master plan. Up to now, economic development projects, industrial zones, and key economic zones within the province have been planned to closely connect with one another, from the marine space of Thanh Hoa - Sam Son and the General Economic Zone of Nghi Son to the industrial zone of Bim Son - Thach Thanh, the agroforestry zone of West Thanh Hoa, the North - South economic corridor (including National Highways 1A and 10, Ho Chi Minh road, and North - South railway), and the East - West economic corridor (including National Highways 47, 45, 217, and 15A).

In the sea and island areas, the province has attached great value to combining marine economic development with the building of the all-people national defence posture and force at sea. Resources have been centred on building groups of fishing vessels on the high seas, the fishery logistics centre, and the system of seaports in the districts of Hau Loc and Tinh Gia and the city of Sam Son, thereby forming the inter-connected, solid coast-sea- continental shelf posture. At the same time, it has made investments in upgrading its traffic, health, post and telecoms system. The Road of But Son - Hoang Truong (Hoang Hoa district), the Coastal Road 4B (Quang Xuong district), 190 kilometres of main roads and nearly 200 kilometres of roads to connect the province’s western districts, 240 kilometres of inter-commune roads in the mountainous areas, Nghi Son Seaport, and Tho Xuan Airport have been upgraded and constructed to create a traffic network to connect its logistics - technical bases and key military areas, thereby contributing to boosting the socio-economic development and meeting the requirements for force and vehicle manoeuvre to deal with defence-security situations.

Great importance has been attached to making plans on building the postures within the defensive zones. Executing the Government’s decision on the master plan for national defence associated with socio-economic development, the province has directed its competent offices to complete a plan for using national defence land in the period of 2016-2020, formulate a plan for the defensive zones’ military posture in the period of 2016-2020, and adjust the master plan for national defence disposition and socio-economic development towards 2045 in accordance with the plan to develop Thanh Hoa into an industrialised province by 2030. At the same time, it has mobilised resources to construct defensive works under the stated plan. Since 2009, the province has invested hundreds of billions of VND in building defensive works on islands, basic headquarters, tunnels, and fire battlefields in order to increase the provincial and district-level defensive zones’ potential and posture. The Provincial Party Committee Standing Board has added great value to making the armed forces strong as a reliable, loyal political army of the party committees, authorities, and people, while raising the quality of military diplomacy and policy work. Grasping the Party’s guidelines on building the armed forces in the new situation, the all-level party committees and authorities have paid due attention to making the provincial armed forces compact and strong. In this regard, priority has been given to building the forces tasked with manoeuvre and combat readiness and making a contingent of military and public security cadres and offices strong comprehensively. Besides, the projects and plans for the militia and self-defence force, the reserve force, and military call-up have been well executed. Recently, the province has successfully organised a provincial defensive zone exercise and directed all districts, cities, and communes to hold defensive combat exercises, natural disaster prevention and control and search and rescue drills as well as force, vehicle, and vessel mobilisation rehearsals under the Government’s Decree 30/2010/NĐ-CP. Thanks to those exercises, the mechanisms and regulations for the operation of defensive zones have been supplemented and completed while the all-level party committees and authorities’ leadership, direction, and operation capacity and the forces’ capability in dealing with defence-security situations have been improved.

Moreover, consideration has been given to strictly, effectively implementing the Government’s Decrees 77/2010/NĐ-CP and 133/NĐ-CP. As a result, political security and social order and safety have been stabilised, there has been no “flashpoint”, and crimes, social evils, violations of law, and traffic accidents have been reduced. The work of military diplomacy and people-to-people exchange has been conducted in accordance with the Party’s foreign policy. It has maintained and promoted its relations with the armed forces and people of Huaphanh province (Laos). Also, due regard has been paid to facilitating socio-economic development, consolidating defence and security in the border area, and building a border of peace, stability, and development. The policy for the Army Rear and the “Gratitude” Movement have been well executed under the Government’s decisions and gained the encouraging results, thereby cementing the people’s faith in the Party, the State, and the socialist regime.

Bringing into play the recorded achievements and revolutionary tradition, the Party Organisation, Authority, and people of Thanh Hoa province will continue to heighten self-reliance and promote potential and strength to facilitate rapid, sustainable economic development in line with defence-security consolidation and make contributions to the country’s successful fulfilment of the two strategic tasks of national construction and protection.

Do Minh Tuan, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee