Hanoi is the national political and administrative centre and the country’s economic, cultural, social, defence, security, diplomatic hub, holding a position of utmost importance. In addition to advantages, Hanoi is confronted with a lot of difficulties, particularly in dealing with social and defence-security issues as it is at the forefront of the hostile forces’ sabotage plan.

Grasping those advantages and challenges as well as the Party’s guidelines and new thought on the military-defence mission, over the past years, the Capital City’s armed forces have promoted their core role in cooperating with the city’s departments, committees, and sectors in counselling and effectively conducting the military-defence work. As a result, the all-people national defence, the posture of all-people national defence associated with the posture of people’s security, the defensive zone’s potential and posture, and the posture of “people’s hearts and minds” in the city’s area have been consolidated in accordance with its requirements and particularities; the efficiency and effectiveness of state management of national defence have been enhanced. The work of defence-security education, military call-up, and military university entrance exam and the policies regarding military families have been renewed and fulfilled the targets. The Capital City’s armed forces’ synergy and combat readiness have been unceasingly raised. They have closely cooperated with other forces in effectively settling the defence-security situations and natural disasters in the area, which has directly contributed to maintaining political security and social order and safety, facilitating Hanoi’s comprehensive development on a par with the status of a thousand-year-old heroic capital city.

Maj. Gen. Nguyen Hong Thai inspecting the Capital City's Military School

However, the awareness of a section of cadres, party members and people towards the military-defence mission and particularly the defensive zone building has yet to be sufficient. The achievements in the industrialization and modernization have not been effectively applied to enhancing the defence-security potential.

In the foreseeable future, the tasks of building and defending the Homeland and the Capital City will have new developments. A part from the advantages, the hostile forces will continue stepping up their sabotage with many cunning artifices while natural disasters, epidemics, environment pollution, traffic accidents, and social evils will witness complex developments. Those difficulties and challenges impose the very high requirements for the military-defence mission on the Capital City’s armed forces. To safeguard the country’s “heart”, the Capital City’s armed forces continue to adopt the measures synchronously, with a focus on the main points as follows.

First, enhancing the quality of giving advice to the City’s Party Committee and People’s Committee on leading and directing the performance of military-defence mission. The Hanoi Capital City Command (hereafter the Command) continue to grasp resolutions and directives on the military-defence work by the Party, particularly the Central Military and the Ministry of National Defence, cooperate with sectors, departments, and localities in giving sound advice to the City’s Party Committee and People’s Committee on leading and directing the military-defence work comprehensively and effectively. It focuses on counselling the City to issue and effectively implement the directives, resolutions, action programs, and plans on the military-defence work; to combine socio-economic development with defence-security and diplomacy; to make the master plan for socio-economic development towards 2020, with a vision towards 2030 in line with the building of all-people national defence and the postures of all-people national defence and people’s security as well as the building of municipal defensive zone and armed forces. Notably, importance is attached to advising the City on raising the effectiveness of military-defence work leadership, direction, management and operation, mobilizing the resources, particularly the economic, technological ones in building all types of the defensive zone’s potential, defending the Capital City in long and medium terms.

Moreover, offices and units, especially all-level military offices stay close to reality and advise local party committees and authorities on the measures to deal with difficulties and improve the quality of military call-up, policy work, and policies regarding military families; on land clearance and legal procedures for national defence land to completely deal with the existing issues and shortcomings. Notably, they focus on counselling the adjustments in the system of determination and projects for defensive combat, A2 mission, anti-terrorism, and protection of the country’s significant political events, improving their capability in grasping and forecasting the situation and advising all-level party committees and authorities on the proper strategies in order to prevent and opportunely, effectively handle the situations, resolutely maintaining political security and social safety in the Capital City’s area, and avoiding falling into passivity.

The militia and self-defence force practise shooting

Second, continuing to promote the core role in directing, counselling, and performing the military-defence work. The Capital City’s armed forces, particularly the all-level military offices promote the role as the standing agencies of the steering councils and boards in inspecting and performing the military-defence work at their levels. The Command continue to step up the work of defence-security propagation and education for all people, especially key cadres of the political system, religious dignitaries, and students so as to achieve a positive change in the awareness and responsibility of the whole political system and people towards the national defence task and the Homeland defence. Grounded on the recorded results, units of the Capital City’s armed forces continue to well perform the function as “an army ready for work”, actively carry out the mass mobilization work, take part in building the political system at the grass-roots level, well conduct the movements entitled “Gratitude” and “the Capital City’s troops and militia join hands in building new-style countryside”, and help the people with hunger eradication, poverty reduction, and natural disaster prevention and control. Doing so will help build the politico-spiritual potential and a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds” as the basis for successfully fulfilling the military-defence work.

The Command and all-level military offices continue cooperate with competent offices in reviewing and closely appraising the socio-economic development projects in the area, well performing the work of state management of national defence, and ensuring the close combination of socio-economic development and defence-security consolidation. At the same time, they proactively conduct the surveys, develop the plans for defence mobilization, and direct districts, towns, sectors, departments, and localities to formulate the plans on defence support for the first year of the war feasibly in accordance with the City’s condition and particularities. The Command continues to direct offices and units to advise party committees and authorities on stepping up the Action Program for the Resolution 28-NQ/TW in line with the Strategy for Homeland Defence in the new situation, Vietnam’s National Defence Strategy, and the Strategy for Homeland Defence in Cyberspace, with emphasis placed on building the military postures of the defensive zones at all levels in accordance with the particularities of each area, the strength of the Capital City’s armed forces, and the strategic defensive posture. In the process, localities align the building of defensive zones with that of civilian defence, prioritize investments in building the headquarters, combat bases, campaign-level key positions, key defensive areas, and logistics-technical bases so as to form an extensive, inter-connected, solid posture and meet the requirements set by the Capital City’s defence-security task.

Third, focusing on making the Capital City’s armed forces strong. The Command continue to advise the City’s Party Committee and Authority on building the politically, ideologically and organizationally strong three-category armed forces with the high synergy and making them capable of all assigned tasks. The active force is made “revolutionary, regular, seasoned, gradually modern” as well as “compact and strong”. Importance is attached to combining training with discipline management, building the cultural features of the Capital City’s soldiers, organizing training and exercises so that active troops could be politically strong and expert in maintaining combat coordination effectively in the City’s area. At the same time, the all-level military offices are made strong and capable of their role in counselling and performing the military-defence mission. The militia and self-defence force is made “strong and extensive” according to the Law on the Militia and Self-Defence Force and the City’s Plan for building this force in the period of 2016-2020 with the proper structure and increasingly high quality. Significance is attached to training commune-level military cadres and building the militia and self-defence force within offices and enterprises. Consideration is given to organizing training and exercises to enhance this force’ coordination within the defensive zones and cooperation with other forces in maintaining political security and social order and safety and taking part in fire and explosion prevention and control as well as search and rescue. As for the reserve force, great value is attached to making this force strong, closely combining personnel and equipment registration and management with organization of training and exercises under the regulations, and grasping the changes within this force so as to adopt the measures to encourage, mobilize, and expand the economy’s forces and means as the supplementation to the active units when necessary.

Fully aware of their task, honour, and responsibility, together with the Party Committee, Authority, and people of Hanoi, the Capital City’s armed forces continue to strive to successfully fulfil the military-defence mission and safeguard the area to make contributions to building a civilized, modern Capital City.

Maj. Gen. Nguyen Hong Thai, Standing Member of the Municipal Party Committee

Commander of the Hanoi Capital City Command