Over the past years, the Economic-Defence Corps 327 (under the Military Region 3) has taken many drastic, synchronous measures to help the people with hunger eradication and poverty reduction, step up the mass mobilization work, and take part in political bases, thereby contributing to building a peaceful, prosperous border area in the Northeast.

The Economic-Defence Corps 327 is tasked with building 2 economic-defence zones (Binh Lieu - Quang Ha - Mong Cai Zone Project and Bac Hai Son Zone Project) in the Northeastern border area. The projects’ area includes 9 communes and 1 ward under Binh Lieu and Hai Ha districts and Mong Cai city, Quang Ninh province, with a 118.8-km-long land border and 13.2-km-long sea border. Before the projects were implemented, the area had been in special difficulty with poor socio-economic facilities, a large number of ethnic minority people, and a high rate of poor households. Besides, the political security and social order and safety have faced destabilizing factors, such as land dispute, encroachment on production and land, illegal border crossing, and cross-border smuggling have frequently occurred. Illegal missionary work, cross-border trafficking in women, and narcotic transport and use have been complex.

Well implementing the preferential treatment policy for the people with meritorious services to the revolution

Grounded on the situation and its task, the Corps’ Party Committee and Command have focused on boosting economic development and improving the people’s life in the projects’ area. Adhering to the master plan on the two economic-defence zones approved by the Government, the Corps has actively cooperated with the Military Region’s competent offices and Quang Ninh’s party committees, authorities, and sectors in conducting surveys and formulating detailed plans to combine socio-economic development with defence and security in the projects’ area. Grounded on those documents, the Corps has concentrated on building the system of socio-economic facilities, such as traffic, irrigation, electricity network, school, infirmary, and other essential works for the people and economic development. Due to the limited budget, the Corps has determined to prioritize investments in the key areas and essential works. In the process, the Corps has attached importance to combining its programs/projects with Central and local socio-economic development projects to create a close connection and cooperation and mutual support. Up to now, the Corps has completed hundreds of works in the projects, including 94.5 kilometres of rural traffic roads, 20 schools, 5 military-civilian infirmaries, 6 kindergartens, 37 cultural houses, hundreds of resettlement houses, and the system of electricity and irrigation, thereby greatly contributing to boosting the economic development in the area.

In addition, the Corps has actively cooperated with the forces in charge of bomb and mine clearance in clearing and restoring land for production. Despite difficulties and hardships, the Corps’ cadres and soldiers have worked with other units and localities in the area to clean 1,229 hectares of land, clear and restore 1,100 hectares of land, thereby facilitating migration and development of agriculture and aquaculture.

Most of the communes in the area of the Corps’ projects are in extreme difficulty; the majority of the population is ethnic minority people who are acquainted with the shifting cultivation; the climate is severe. Against that backdrop, the Corps has enhanced the projects for hunger eradication and poverty reduction, with a focus on encouraging the development of agriculture and forestry and scientific transfer as well as providing production assistance and vocational training for the people in the rural area. Under the motto of “making the people understand, believe, and follow”, the Corps has directed production teams, afforestation yards, and young voluntary intellectuals to “live, work, and speak the same ethnic language with the people” in order to encourage the people to change their animal and crop husbandry and apply technology to production. While executing the projects for hunger eradication and poverty reduction with the budget from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs, the Corps has closely cooperated with localities in selecting households in extreme difficulty to help them with production. Over the past years, with its budget and its troops’ effort, the Corps has succeeded in building and multiplying many projects and models of animal and crop husbandry. At present, the Corps is cooperating with localities in executing 16 models of farming and 17 models of animal husbandry with the participation of 760 households. Most notably, the Corps has been actively implementing the project for afforestation and protection of forests, water resources, and environment. Up to now, 5,605 hectares of forest have been planted by the Corps. It has taken care of nearly 12,000 hectares of forest and protected over 40,000 hectares of watershed forest. It has also handed 1.771 hectares of planted forest over Binh Lieu and Hai Ha districts and Mong Cai city, which has created stable employments and incomes for hundreds of households.

Carrying out the mass mobilization work and building new-style countryside

In addition to performing the task of economic development, the Corps’ Party Committee and Command has cooperated with local party committees and authorities in population planning and rearrangement and consolidation of political bases in the area. Under the strategy to deploy 2,000 households to live in the border belt, since 2003, the Corps has cooperated with localities in encouraging 1,875 households with over 7,000 people to move to the border belt, forming 16 clusters of residential areas in the border area, restoring a number of administrative units, and making many areas no longer devoid of population. At the same time, it has cooperated with local authorities, sectors, and unions in performing the economic-defence task and building the area under the signed agreements. The afforestation yards have frequently deployed working groups to encourage the people to observe the Party’s guidelines and the State’s law and policy, build hygienic, scientific lifestyle, and eliminate social evils and depraved customs. Besides, the Corps has successfully carried out the mass mobilization work and advised localities on building and consolidating all-level party committees and authorities as well as improving the quality of mass organizations. It has also organized the defence-security education courses for householders in the border area and the training courses on area and state management for cadres of communes, villages, and hamlets, thereby enhancing the quality of political bases and strengthening the local defence-security posture.

In addition to the above-mentioned measures, the Corps has frequently grasped and strictly implemented higher echelons’ directives on training and combat readiness, particularly at its afforestation yards in the border area. It has closely cooperated with local authorities, districts’ military offices, and border guard posts in the area in reviewing and identifying the billets and the zones for force deployment as well as building the system of fortifications and consolidating the defensive zone’s military posture. Moreover, the Corps has closely cooperated with the forces stationed in the area in inspecting the border markers and border patrol road to opportunely prevent violations of the Regulations on the border as well as in fighting against all plots and acts of sabotage by the hostile forces, thereby contributing to defending the national border sovereignty, political security, and social safety and order in the area.

Over the past 20 years, the Corps has gained a lot of significant achievements. Notably, the political system in localities within the projects’ area has been consolidated; the defence-security potential and posture have been strengthened; political security and social order and safety have been maintained; culture and the people’s life have gradually improved with the per capita income of 19-20 million VND.

With the recorded results, to continue fulfilling the assigned task to contribute to making the border area economically strong and firm in national defence, in the upcoming time, the Corps will grasp and effectively implement the Party’s guidelines, the State’s policy, and the resolutions and directives by the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence on building the economic-defence zones, while strengthen all-level party committees and commands’ leadership and direction over their tasks. Also, it will continue drastically, synchronously taking measures to improve the effectiveness of the projects on the economic-defence zones. In the medium term, it will focus on streamlining its affiliates’ structure in accordance with the task requirement, with priority given to production units and teams. It will cooperate with localities in building the models of production, hunger eradication and poverty reduction in line with defence-security consolidation, with emphasis placed on building facilities and organizing the input-output services in order to help the people with hunger eradication and poverty reduction. At the same time, due attention will be paid to carrying out the mass mobilization work and cooperating with local party committees and authorities and forces in the area in effectively implementing the movement entitled “the Military joins hands in building new-style rural area” in order to create a steady, synchronous change in the economic, political, social, defence and security terms in the Northeastern border area.

Sr. Col. Nguyen Tien Thep, Commander of the Corps