On the occasion of the 30^th anniversary of the All-People National Defence Festive Day (December 22^nd 1989 - December 22^nd 2019) and the 75^th founding anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army (December 22^nd 1944 - December 22^nd 2019), the National Defence Journal would like to introduce an important article by comrade Nguyen Phu Trong, Chief of the Communist Party of Vietnam, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Secretary of the Central Military Commission.

Party Chief and State President Nguyen Phu Trong chairing the CMC’s Conference to review the military-defence work in 2019 (photo: qdnd.vn)

Over its past 75 years of construction, combat, and development, the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) has always been the core force in making great victories in the fight for national liberation, independence, freedom, and unification as well as in the Homeland construction and defence. Those victories have been attributed to various factors, with the Party’s comprehensive, absolute, sound leadership over the VPA acting as the decisive one. The Party, State, and people of Vietnam are always proud of and pin their faith in the VPA - a heroic army of a heroic nation.

Since its inception and during its process of leadership over the Vietnamese revolution, our Party has always flexibly employed Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s ideology on building a new-style army in accordance with Vietnam’s specific condition, while affirming the inevitability of leading and organising our VPA into a core force in enabling all people to take part in the fight against the enemy and the cause of national liberation and defence. The Brief Political Platform, which had been designed by President Ho Chi Minh and approved by the Party Founding Conference in 1930, specified that “the Party must organise a worker-peasant army.” According to the Resolution on the “Self-Defence Teams” passed by the Party’s First Congress (March 1935), the revolutionary worker-peasant self-defence teams must be placed under the uniformed command of the Communist Party’s Central Military Commission and the Communist Party’s command over the standing self-defence teams must be strictly maintained. In the task of force construction and development, the Party determined to make guerilla teams follow the “political path” and consider the political struggle as the basis for the armed struggle to seize power. After the birth of the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army Team, in addition to the commanding system, the Party established a party cell to lead and direct the Team to perform its task in an absolute, comprehensive manner. That laid a solid foundation for the Team to promote the strength to win the first battle, starting our VPA’s tradition of “being determined to fight and to win.”

The Party’s leadership over the VPA has been affirmed since the latter’s inception via a close, proper mechanism to ensure that it will always be “a military organisation of the Party,” loyal to the country, and pious to the people. The VPA has been educated on the Party’s guidelines, the State’s law and policy, its function and task, partners, and opponents as well as the requirements for the Homeland defence in each revolutionary period. As a result, every party member, cadre, and soldier of our VPA have always expressed their loyalty, fulfilled all revolutionary tasks assigned by the Party, and overcome all hardships to defeat the enemies. Under the leadership of our Party and Uncle Ho, the VPA and all people successfully conducted the 1945 August General Uprising, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam - the first worker-peasant state in Southeast Asia, opening a new era - the era of national independence and socialism.

In the war against the French Colonialists, grasping the Party’s guidelines on an all-people, all-round, enduring resistance war, encouraging the entire nation’s synergy, fighting the enemy from small to large scales, conducting offensives from tactical to operational levels, and launching strategic attacks and counter-attacks, our VPA recorded resounding victories. The 1953-1954 Winter Spring Offensive with the historic victory of Dien Bien Phu “resounding across five continents, shaking the globe” as its peak forced the French Government to sign the Geneva Accords of 1954. It was the first time an army equipped with primitive weapons defeated a professional army, leading to the collapse of colonialism, strongly encouraging the national liberation movement all over the world.

In the war against the U.S., for national salvation, with the spirit of “nothing is more precious than independence and freedom,” our VPA and the entire Party and people surmounted numerous difficulties to continuously defeat the US war strategies. Our military and people’s great victories in the South and the North, especially our victory against the US B-52 strikes in Hanoi, Hai Phong, and other northern provinces in December 1972 forced America to sign the Paris Accords on Vietnam, enabling us to focus our strength on conducting the 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising with the Ho Chi Minh Campaign as its peak, completely liberating the South, reunifying the country, victoriously ending 30 years of the war for national liberation.

In addition to fighting for national liberation, following President Ho Chi Minh’s teachings: “helping our friends is to help ourselves,” with a spirit of pure proletarian internationalism, our VPA stood shoulder to shoulder with the armed forces and peoples of Laos and Cambodia against the common enemies. Right after the end of the war against America, our VPA had to fight for defending the national border and perform the noble international mission, helping the Cambodian people to escape the genocide, bolstering the image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in their heart.

In the period of national construction and defence, the VPA has continued to well fulfil its function as an army ready for combat, for work, and for production, played a core role in building the all-people national defence and the posture of all-people national defence associated with the people’s security posture as well as defensive zones, proactively advised the Party and State on military-defence and Homeland protection strategies, correctly assessed, anticipated, and effectively dealt with situations to avoid passivity, particularly in the fight for national sovereignty over seas and islands and the Homeland’s territorial integrity, and well performed the work of military diplomacy, thereby maintaining peace and stability for the country’s development. Moreover, the VPA has always played a vanguard role in the Party building and rectification, accelerated the building and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics, and lifestyle, actively taken part in the defence of the Party’s ideological foundation and the fight against wrong, hostile viewpoints, the hostile forces’ “peaceful evolution” strategy and their plots to “depoliticise” and “civilise” our Military. At the same time, it has focused on performing the training and combat readiness task, helping the people with hunger eradication, poverty reduction, natural disaster prevention and mitigation, search and rescue, and building strong political bases and a firm posture of “people’s hearts and minds,” thereby bolstering the image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the new period.

Over the past 75 years, in any revolutionary period, even in the hardest time, the Communist Party of Vietnam has always exercised its absolute, direct leadership over the VPA. This is the most decisive factor in ensuring the victory of the Homeland construction and defence cause and the VPA’s development and victory. Being trained and led by the Party, our VPA has always had in itself the nature of the working class, nation, and people, preserved the revolutionary ideal, combat goal, and political zeal, acted as a sharp instrument and absolutely loyal, reliable political force of the Party, State, and people, and built up the tradition of “being loyal to the Party, pious to the people, and ready to fight and sacrifice for national independence and freedom and socialism, fulfilling any assigned task, settling any hardship, and defeating any enemy.”

In the upcoming time, the situation worldwide and regionally will continue to witness complex, unpredictable developments. Non-traditional security challenges will be greater. Strategic competition between major powers will be more intense. The situation in the East Sea will be more complex. The trend of alignment and globalisation and the 4^th industrial revolution have been profoundly impacting on all countries from various aspects. Domestically, in spite of socio-economic achievements, the macro-economic stability has yet to be steady. The country’s potential and status in the international arena continue to be raised. However, it still faces a lot of difficulties and hardships. The hostile forces continue to step up the “peaceful evolution” strategy, “self-evolution,” “self-transformation,” and their plots to “depoliticise” and “civilise” our Military, particularly prior to, during, and after the all-level party congresses and the 13^th National Party Congress. The task of national construction and defence imposes new requirements while our people’s struggle for defending sea and island sovereignty and territorial integrity will be durable and complex. In 2020 and beyond, the VPA’s task will be more demanding. To fulfil the function and assigned task, it is imperative to maintain and enhance the Party’s absolute, direct leadership over the VPA, with a focus on the following.

First, stepping up the work of education to achieve a consensus on the necessity of maintaining and enhancing the Party’s leadership over the VPA. Theoretically and practically, an army always has within itself the nature of the class which has organised it, and it will always be subject to that class’ leadership. That provides basis for identifying the combat goal and ideal, function, task, and relationships of an army. The VPA has been directly established, led, educated, and trained by the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh. Thus, it always has in itself the nature of the working class, nation, and people, and it fights for the Party’s goal and ideal, for the national independence and freedom, and the people’s happiness. The Party’s leadership over the VPA is an objective inevitability and a decisive factor in the Military’s development, combat strength, and victory. In any circumstance, the VPA must remain steadfast in the absolute, direct leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Without the Party’s leadership, our VPA will lose combat ideal and fall into the political, ideological and organizational decay, thereby being incapable of defeating the enemy. The painful lesson on the collapse of socialism in Soviet Union and Eastern European countries remains valuable. Therefore, the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the Ministry of National Defence (MND) should focus their leadership and direction on performing the work of political education and ideological orientation so that the VPA’s cadres and soldiers would keep improving the revolutionary nature, tradition of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers,” and combat morale to become a really sharp instrument for protecting the Homeland, Party, State, and people. At the same time, it is necessary to actively fight against all incorrect perceptions of the Party’s leadership over the VPA and to ensure the Party’s leadership over the modernisation of the VPA.

Second, focusing on making the Military Party Organisation really pure and strong politically, ideologically, organisationally, and morally. This acts as a determinant to enhancing the Military Party Organisation’s leadership capacity and combat strength and making it capable of leading the VPA to successfully fulfil the military-defence and Homeland protection task. It is important to improve the effectiveness of the ideological work and make Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s ideology become the VPA’s ideological foundation and the lodestar for its operations. Due regard should be paid to proactively fighting against the wrong, hostile viewpoints, defending the Party’s ideological foundation, and making the VPA absolutely loyal to the Homeland, Party, and people and strong enough to overcome all difficulties and challenges. Consideration should be given to consolidating party organisations, renewing their leadership method, and raising their capacity to introduce and execute resolutions and directives. Great value should be attached to renewing and building scientific working method, enhancing the work of inspection and supervision, and strictly maintaining the Party’s discipline. The Military Party Organisation should continue to play an exemplary and vanguard role in executing the resolutions and regulations on the Party building and rectification, strictly observing the principles of democratic centralism, collective leadership, and individual accountability, and raising the role model-setting responsibility of cadres and party members, particularly the key ones at all levels. Besides, it is essential to resolutely to fight against the signs of degradation in political ideology, ethics, and lifestyle as well as “self-evolution,” “self-transformation,” bribery, negative practices, and corruption.

In the short term, the all-level party committees should closely direct the work of preparing and successfully holding the all-level party congresses within the Military Party Organisation in the run-up for the 13^th National Party Congress. Due attention should be paid to preparing the personnel plan for those congresses and aligning the building of party committee members with that of key cadres to ensure the inheritance, stability, and development. In addition to preparation for the all-level party congresses, it is important to well perform the military-defence mission, raise the quality of training and combat readiness, build strong defensive zones, give sound advice, and make correct strategic forecasts in order to avoid passivity and all unexpected situations.

Third, raising the effectiveness and quality of the party and political work within the Military so as to make it strong politically. Enhancing the party and political work’s effectiveness and quality is to maintain and promote the Party’s leadership over the VPA’s task, thereby contributing to building strong organisations and making the VPA strong politically. The party and political work within the Military must adhere to the actual situations of the country and the VPA and the impacts by the global situation in order to proactively deal with the ideological issues and set out the proper content, forms, and methods to ensure that this work will always be the soul and lifeblood of the VPA. Importance should be attached to conducting the mass mobilisation work, cementing the people’s faith in the Party and the VPA, strengthening the unity between the Military and the people, and consolidating the “people’s hearts and minds posture,” particularly in the strategic areas. Besides, it is necessary to grasp and implement the personnel strategy, build a contingent of cadres at all levels, particularly at the strategic and campaign levels with pure ethnics, healthy lifestyle, proper quantity and high quality in order to meet the requirements for building a revolutionary, regular, elite, gradually modern VPA. At the same time, it is important to make political offices and cadres strong comprehensively and capable of giving sound advice to the Party, State, CMC, and MND on strategic issues to enhance the Party’s leadership over the tasks of military build-up, national defence, and Homeland protection.

Fourth, continuing to study, supplement and complete the mechanism for the Party’s leadership over the VPA. In each revolutionary period, the Party has established and unceasingly completed the mechanism for its leadership over the VPA, making it relevant to the revolutionary situation and task. As a result, our VPA has always been strong and capable of fulilling the task assigned by the Party and the people. The Party’s resolutions and regulations on party organisations and political offices within the VPA have greatly contributed to maintaining and enhancing the Party’s leadership over the VPA and the military party organisations’ leadership over offices and units. Consequently, the system of party organisations and a contingent of party members within the Military Party Organisation have always been strong politically, ideologically, morally and organisationally. The role and responsibility of commanders, commissars, political offices, and political cadres at all levels have been encouraged. The efficiency of the party and political work has been raised. At present, the task of Homeland defence and military build-up has witnessed new developments with the higher requirements; therefore, it is necessary to continue studying, supplementing, and completing the mechanism for maintaining and enhancing the Party’s leadership over the VPA. To do so, the all-level party committees should study and employ lessons on implementing the mechanism for the Party’s leadership over the Military, frequently renew their working method and style, and grasp the principles and regulations for cooperation in operating the leadership, management, and command system within the VPA. Besides, it is important to actively study new issues and matters of principle to advise the Party and State on developing and completing the guidelines and policies for the VPA in accordance with the situation’s new developments.

Fifth, resolutely fighting against and foiling the hostile forces’ plots and artifices to “depoliticise” the Military. Party committees and organisations within the VPA should attach significance to educating troops to clearly understand the hostile forces’ plots to deny the Party’s leadership over the VPA and to “depoliticise” the Military. A focus should be placed on defending the Party’s ideological foundation and combating the wrong, hostile viewpoints in the new situation and the “peaceful evolution” strategy in the ideological, cultural areas within the VPA. Due regard should be paid to providing correct information and orientating troops’ ideology in order to raise their immunity and revolutionary vigilance. All-level leaders and commanders should frequently grasp, manage, and well handle troops’ ideological developments and effectively deal with complex situations in accordance with the Party’s guidelines and the State’s law and policy. Emphasis should be placed on well conducting the work of internal political protection, preventing and combating “self-evolution,” “self-transformation,” and signs of degradation. The Military’s research, press, cultural, and artistic offices must maintain the Party’s political orientation, viewpoints, and guidelines, while actively fighting against the wrong, hostile viewpoints to defend the Party’s ideological foundation within the VPA.

To conclude, our VPA has been founded, led, educated, and trained by the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh, and it has always been sheltered and nurtured by the people. Bringing into play its 75-year tradition of construction, combat, and development, under the Party’s leadership, the VPA will continue to write new glorious pages in the national history. Our Party, State, and people are extremely proud of the heroic VPA and hope that generations of the VPA’s cadres and soldiers will achieve more great victories to deserve the country’s honourable tradition as affirmed by President Ho Chi Minh that “ours is a heroic nation and ours is a heroic army.”

Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam

President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Secretary of the CMC