The posture of people’s hearts and minds is of importance to the building of all-people national defence posture. Hence, the Coast Guard Zone 3’s Party Committee and Command have always focused their leadership and direction on synchronously taking measures for the building of a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds” at sea to promote the synergy in the defence of national sovereignty over seas and islands.

The Coast Guard Zone 3 performs its function and task in a vast sea where weather conditions are extremely harsh. Meanwhile, the situation at sea has complex developments. Other countries increase their military operations and many of their vessels violate our sovereignty, explore and exploit our natural resources, and prevent our marine economic activities. Moreover, violations of law and crime of all types are increasingly dangerous. The Zone’s forces and means are scattered and frequently operate at sea in long duration. Grasping the Party’s guidelines on all people’s national construction and protection cause and being fully aware that it is vital to promote the synergy of the people from all walks of life for defending national sovereignty and maritime safety, the Zone’s Party Committee and Command have taken various measures synchronously for building a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds” as the basis for making the all-people national defence and people’s security postures at sea increasingly strong.

First of all, the Zone has enhanced the work of education and propagation to raise citizens and fishermen’s awareness and responsibility, arouse national pride and patriotic tradition amongst them, cement their faith in the Party, the State, and the armed forces, and enable them to keep their mind on their work and cooperate with competent forces in safeguarding the national sovereignty over seas and islands. The Zone’s Command has signed an agreement on coordination in propagation with provincial party committees, authorities, mass mobilisation commissions, propaganda and education commissions, sectors, and departments. Focuses of propagation have been placed on rendering the people fully aware of the Party’s guidelines and the State’s law on the national sovereignty over seas, islands, and continental shelf, maritime delimitation agreements signed by Vietnam and other regional countries, legal and historic evidence of Vietnam’s sovereignty over Truong Sa and Hoang Sa archipelagos, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982), the Law of the Sea of Vietnam (2012), and the Law on the Vietnam Coast Guard (2018). At the same time, due attention has been paid to disseminating the Government’s Directive 45/CT-TTg, dated December 13^th, 2017 on “several urgent tasks and measures to respond to the European Commission’s warning on illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing” and illegal acts at sea. Instructions on how to report violations of Vietnam’s waters by foreign military or civilian vessels to our competent forces, how to deal with other countries’ search and seizure within the seas around Truong Sa and Hoang Sa archipelagos, and how to handle accidents at sea have been given to fishermen. In the process, importance has been attached to renewing and diversifying forms of propagation, promoting the role of reporters and press agencies, making propagation relevant to the Party’s guidelines, the State’s law and policy, reality at sea, and tasks of localities and the Zone, and resolutely fighting against wrong arguments, distortions, and false information about Vietnam’s sea and island situation by hostile forces. In the past 5 years (2015-2020), the Zone conducted the work of propagation and education relating to law, seas, and islands for more than 250,000 cadres, party members, youth union members, young people and students, delivered nearly 230,000 leaflets, and posted over 928 pieces of news, articles and reports via press agencies both inside and outside the Military.

Commander of the Zone giving presents to beneficiaries

Over the time, due regard has been paid to improving the people’s mental and material life and providing firm support for fishermen at sea. It should be noted that great value has been attached to executing the Programme entitled “the Vietnam Coast Guard provides firm support for fishermen at sea,” actively taking part in the movements, namely “all people unite in building new-style countryside and civilised urban areas,” “the whole country joins hands for the poor - no one will be left behind,” and “paying debt of gratitude,” providing free medical examination and medicine for the people, giving financial assistance to students in difficulty, and building a strong political system and safe areas at grass-roots level, thereby bolstering the image of Coast Guard soldiers in the people’s hearts and producing a positive ripple effect within the society.

Being fully aware that search and rescue and helping the people at sea represent a combat mission in peacetime and a command from the heart of each Coast Guard soldier, in any circumstance, regardless of harsh weather conditions, even on the high seas, cadres and soldiers of the Zone have always opportunely protected and helped the people with the handling of accidents or with natural disaster and epidemic prevention and control. Between 2015 and 2020, the Zone received and analysed information about search, rescue, and maritime safety during 270 incidents, and rescued 25 vessels with 358 crew members, including 8 Chinese ones. At the same time, the Zone actively participated in the fight against COVID-19 and drought in the Mekong Delta, thus contributing to stabilising the people’s life and bolstering the image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers - Coast Guard soldiers” in the new period.

In addition, the Zone has focused its leadership and direction on maintaining law, security, order, and safety at sea, preventing and combating crime of all types, and creating a favourable condition for fishermen. Under the spirit of resolutely, courageously fighting against crimes and violations, the Zone has enhanced patrols and law enforcement at sea, particularly within the sea around Truong Sa archipelago and Southern continental shelf, while preventing foreign vessels from violating Vietnam’s waters. Great value has been attached to closely cooperating with competent offices and other forces in combating smuggling, trade frauds, and narcotic trafficking, thereby making great contributions to pushing back such evils, preserving security, order, and safety at sea, protecting our country’s natural resources from being transported to other countries, and avoiding the loss of our State’s tax revenue.

Besides, the Zone’s Party Committee and Command have concentrated their leadership and direction on building a comprehensively strong Zone, raising the synergy and combat power, and making the Zone capable of successfully fulfilling all assigned missions. Offices and units within the Zone have strengthened the work of political and ideological education to build up all cadres and soldiers’ political zeal and determination to surmounted difficulties, hardships, and temptations. Consideration has been given to resolutely fighting against the degradation in political ideology, ethics and lifestyle as well as the signs of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation.” Due attention has been paid to strictly maintaining party meetings, improving party organisations’ leadership capacity and combativeness, and enhancing the studying and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and lifestyle, the Campaign titled “promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the new period, and the “four-good, four-no, four-combating” movement by the Vietnam Coast Guar as well as other campaigns and movements. Moreover, due regard has been paid to building a contingent of cadres and party members both qualitatively and quantitatively and making mass organisations and Soldiers’ Councils strong as the basis for the building of comprehensively strong units. At the same time, the Zone has strictly adhered to directives and commands, while closely cooperating with other forces in grasping the situation at sea, giving sound advice to higher echelons, and directing its affiliates to effectively settle complex situations at sea. It has stringently maintained the order for combat readiness, developed, adjusted and supplemented combat determination and plans as well as projects for natural disaster, fire, explosion prevention and control and search and rescue. Furthermore, it has placed emphasis on raising the quality of training, military standard order building, and logistics-technical support as the basis for building a comprehensively strong, “exemplary, typical” Zone.

At present, the task of maintaining maritime security and safety and the defence of national sovereignty over seas and islands are imposing more demanding requirements on the entire political system and people. Bringing into play the recorded good results, the Coast Guard Zone 3 will keep implementing its measures for building a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds” at sea as the basis for making the all-people national defence and the people’ security increasingly strong and capable of safeguarding the Homeland’s sacred sovereignty over seas and islands.

Maj. Gen. DO HONG DO, Commissar of the Coast Guard Zone 3