Against the complex developments of the security and political situation on a regional and global scale, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic, the Border Guard Force has been actively, proactively, synchronously, drastically taking measures and promoting its core role in the defence of the country’s territorial sovereignty and border security.

The National Assembly adopting the Vietnam National Border Law          (photo: VPQH)

According to the 12^th Politburo’s Resolution 33-NQ/TW, dated September 28^th, 2018 on the National Border Protection Strategy, “the management and defence of national border is a central, routine task of the entire Party, people, Military, political system, and country,… the armed forces will play a core role while the Border Guard Force will act as the specialised force and it will be the first combat force and fight to the end to safeguard the national border.” Grasping the assigned task, over the years, the Border Guard Force’s Party Committee and Command have directed the entire force to adopt measures to perform the border defence work comprehensively and firmly protect national territorial sovereignty and border security, thereby obtaining several notable results as follows.

First, the Border Guard Force (BGF) has proactively grasped, analysed, assessed and correctly anticipated the situation, cooperated with other forces in giving advice to the Central Military Commission (CMC), the Ministry of National (MND), the Party, and the State on issuing the Resolution 33-NQ/TW, designed the Draft Vietnam National Border Law and submitted it to the 14^th National Assembly for approval on November 11^th, 2020 as an important legal foundation for promoting the synergy of the whole political system and all organisations and individuals to manage and defend the national border and build strong border areas of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development.

Second, the BGF has closely managed and firmly safeguarded the country’s territorial sovereignty and border security, while flexibly implementing various strategies to deal with situations in the border areas to avoid passivity and maintain peace for the country’s development. It has regularly cooperated with neighbours’ border guard forces in conducting joint patrols and maintaining Agreements on Border Regulations. It has given advice on and taken part in border demarcation and marker planting between Vietnam and Cambodia. It has strictly maintained the combat readiness order and actively participated in natural disaster mitigation, search and rescue in the border, sea, island areas. Considering COVID-19 prevention and control as a central political task of urgency and a combat mission in peacetime, the BGF’s Party Committee and Command have directed units and offices to drastically implement measures for epidemic prevention and control, deployed troops and means to closely control border gates and trails, and frequently maintained over 1,600 checkpoints with nearly 7,500 cadres and soldiers along the border, thus being highly appreciated by the Party, the State, and the people, bolstering the image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the new period.

Third, the BGF has synchronously taken measures against crime and violations of national security and social order and safety in the border areas. It has proactively developed and executed projects and plans to prevent and combat the collection of intelligence, infiltration, and the hostile forces’ plots to take advantage of ethnicity and religion issues along the border. It has also designed and effectively implemented plans against crime of various types, particularly narcotic and human trafficking, smuggling, and trade fraud.

Fourth, the BGF has closely collaborated with competent offices in adjusting and executing the procedures for immigration control in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, while effectively realising the Prime Minister’s Decision on the national and ASEAN one-door electronic border defence procedures at sea ports and border gates. It has actively carried out administrative reform and applied technologies to closely controlling immigration. Due attention has been paid to renewing forms of border cooperation and exchange and closely combining border defence diplomacy with people-to-people diplomacy, especially the Border Defence Friendship Exchange Programmes. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the BGF’s Command has submitted the Plan on organising narrow meetings with the border guard forces of Laos and Cambodia to the MND for approval. Up to now, the BGF has executed the twinning programme for 180 couples of border guard posts and advised local party committees and authorities on organising such a programme for 207 couples of residential areas along the border, thereby making contributions to cementing mutual trust and building a border of peace, friendship, cooperation, and sustainable development.

Fifth, the BGF has directed units to actively take part in making the all-people border defence increasingly strong and building a firm posture of all-people border defence. It has effectively implemented the Prime Minister’s Decision 01/2015/CT-TTg on “organising the movement of all people taking part in protecting national territorial sovereignty and border security.” Besides, it has actively participated in consolidating political bases, building a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds” in the border areas, and helping the people, particularly in the remote, isolated areas with hunger eradication, poverty reduction, socio-economic and cultural development, and defence-security consolidation.

maintaining regular patrols along the border (photo: baochinhphu.vn)

In the upcoming time, there will be complex developments in the regional and global situation together with a lot of opportunities and challenges for our country. Violations of our national sovereignty, particularly in the East Sea, the Southwest Sea, and several strategic areas will possibly lead to instability. There will be an increase in types of organised, national, cross-border crime with the increasingly cunning artifices. Besides, we will have to face non-traditional security challenges, such as environmental pollution, climate change, natural disaster, and epidemic. To fulfil the assigned mission, party committees and commands of the BGF’s offices and units should focus their leadership and direction on implementing a number of central measures as follows.

1. It is necessary to grasp and execute the guidelines and policies by the Party, the State, the CMC, and the MND on the military-defence task and the border defence work, especially the Resolutions of the 13^th National Party Congress, the 11^th Military Party Congress, and the 15^th BGF Party Congress. Due regard should be paid to proactively cooperating with other forces in assessing and correctly anticipating the situation to advise the Party, the State, the CMC, and the MND on performing the border defence task, making the all-people border defence increasingly strong, and building a firm posture of all-people border defence. Also, it is important to develop plans on introducing and disseminating the Vietnam Border Defence Law.

2. The BGF should comprehensively, adopt synchronous measures to manage and firmly protect the national border as well as prevent and fight against the COVID-19 pandemic simultaneously. It should give advice on adjusting three legal documents on land border between Vietnam and China. Coordination should be maintained to realise 2 legal documents and take part in negotiations on land border between Vietnam and Cambodia. Great value should be attached to intensifying the training work and stringently maintaining the combat readiness order for the defence of national territory and border security, natural disaster mitigation, and epidemic prevention and control.

3. Offices and units within the BGF should proactively, opportunely identify enemies’ plots and operational methods to counsel and design projects, plans and strategies for preventing and combating violations of national security. They should resolutely prevent and fight against crime in the border, sea areas, particularly narcotic and human trafficking, smuggling, and trade fraud, while ensuring the absolute safety of personnel, weapons, and equipment. Besides, consideration should be given to recommending the Government to amend, supplement and promulgate legal documents on immigration, export, and import. Also, it is essential to renew and improve the management of border gates and immigration in line with the 4^th industrial revolution.

4. The BGF should renew the contents and forms of cooperation and friendship exchange between forces and locals from two sides of the border to build strategic trust towards peace and stability on a global and regional scale. Significance should be attached to cooperating with international organisations and other countries’ competent offices in detecting, preventing, and combating hi-tech, cross-national and cross-border crime.

5. The BGF’s offices and units should enhance the work of propagation and education to raise border locals’ responsibility and awareness of the Party’s guidelines, the State’s law, and relevant international treaties and make them clearly understand the hostile forces’ sabotage scheme and violation of our territorial sovereignty and national interests. The BGF’s affiliates should continue taking part in making political bases increasingly strong and efficient and promoting the effectiveness of border guard cadres’ in participation in party committees of border districts and communes. In addition, more border guard cadres should be assigned to take part in party meetings at villages and hamlets to improve localities’ leadership and task performance.

Well implementing the above-mentioned measures will help translate resolutions of all-level party congresses into the border defence task and encourage cadres and soldiers of the BGF to keep promoting the core role in protecting the country’s territorial sovereignty and border security in the new situation.

Maj. Gen. LE DUC THAI

Member of the Party Central Committee

Commander of the BGF