Building the all-people national defence is a central, routine task of the entire Party, people, and Military, with the latter playing the core role. Fully aware of that, the Military has been adopting synchronous, drastic measures for building the solid all-people national defence and defending the Homeland in all situations.

On December 22^nd 1944, the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army Team (the forerunner of the Vietnam People’s Army) was founded. Over the past 75 years of construction, combat, maturity, and development, the Military has always proved its core role in encouraging all people to fight the enemy, consolidating the national defence, and defending the Homeland. In the war against the French, responding to the Appeal for National Resistance in 1946 by President Ho Chi Minh, with the motto of “all-people resistance, comprehensive resistance, and durable resistance,” the Military acted as the core force, creatively, courageously fighting against the enemy, winning the victory of Dien Bien Phu “resounding across five continents and shaking the globe,” ending nearly one hundred years of the French rule, ushering the North in the new period of independence and socialism. In the war against the U.S. Imperialists, with a scorching revolutionary spirit, the Military continued to prove its role as the main force in fighting against the U.S. and encouraging the people to devote human and material resources to the cause of national liberation. The revolutionary action movements, such as “reinforcing the South with every single kilo of rice and soldier,” “sacrificing blood, sweat, tears, and accommodations to pave the way for military vehicles,” and “all for the front line,” created the high morale among our troops to fight against the enemy in all fields and on all fronts with all available weapons and equipment in any circumstance. All people engaged in combating the enemy, all households took part in the resistance war, and people volunteered to join the war with the spirit of “splitting Truong Son Mountain Range to save the country,” which clearly expressed the revolutionary heroism. In the period of Homeland construction and protection, the Military continued to well perform its function as “an army ready for combat, for work, and for protection”, fighting to defend the country’s border in the Southwest and the North, actively taking part in developing the country, consolidating national defence, and safeguarding the Homeland.

Sr. Lt. Gen. Phan Van Giang giving his opinions on the amendments to the Law on the Militia and Self-Defence Force (photo: quochoi.vn)

In the country’s renewal cause, grasping the Party’s defence-military viewpoints and guidelines, the Military has promoted its core role in exploiting all resources available to build the all-people national defence and achieved significant results. Notably, the Military has advised the Party and State on formulating the guidelines and policies on national defence, such as the 9^th and 11^th Party Central Committees’ Resolutions No.8 on the Strategy for the Homeland defence in the new situation, the Constitution of 2013, the amended National Defence Law of 2018, and many other strategies and resolutions. Recently, it has counselled the Government to issue the Decree 21/2019/NĐ-CP, dated February 2019, on defensive zones, which has helped meet the requirements for consolidating national defence and protecting the Homeland in both long and short terms. At the same time, it has frequently adjusted, supplemented, and completed the mechanisms and policies for national defence in accordance with the country’s condition and the regional and global situation. It should be noted that the Military has advised the 6^th Party Central Secretariat on issuing and effectively executing the Directive 381-CT/TW, dated October 17^th 1989, on adopting the 22^nd of December - the Vietnam People’s Army’s founding day as the All-People National Defence Festive Day. Over the past 30 years, the All-People National Defence Festive Day has encouraged the participation of people from all walks of life and created the synergy for the Homeland defence. The all-people national defence’s types of potential, especially the politico-spiritual one have been improved. The military potential has been consolidated comprehensively. The country’s economic, cultural and technological potential has been continuously developed to readily deal with the defence-security situations. The three-category armed forces have been made strong with the increasingly higher synergy and combat readiness and power. The “people’s hearts and minds,” all-people national defence, people’s security, and all-people border defence postures have been consolidated as a solid foundation for promoting the nation’s strength for the Homeland defence.

However, the awareness of a section of people, cadres, and party members towards the all-people national defence, partners, and opponents has yet to be sufficient. Some even think that building and improving the national defence potential is the responsibility of the Military only. There have been some weaknesses in studying, assessing, and strategically anticipating the situation as well as in giving advice to the Party and State. The defence industry has yet to meet the requirements for the task of defending the Homeland.

At present, the situation around the world, in the region, and particularly in the East Sea continues to be complex with the risk of dispute and instability, which will directly impact on our country’s benefit. Domestically, the hostile forces are stepping up “self-evolution” and “self-transformation,” while inciting the divisions among the Party, State, Military, and Public Security. More dangerously, they demand to “depoliticize,” “civilize,” discredit the Military, and deny its role. In addition, the non-traditional security challenges will greatly impact on the building of the all-people national defence. Thus, in the upcoming time, the Military should further promote its core role in building the all-people national defence and firmly protecting the Homeland, with a focus on the following.

First, continuing to advise the Party and State on enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of leadership and direction over the building of the all-people national defence. This is a measure of decisive importance to building the all-people national defence. To improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Party and State’s leadership and direction, the Military must proactively grasp all developments of the regional and global security and political situation, the country’s potential and national defence mobilization capability for the defence of the Homeland. Based on the specific situation, it should counsel the Party and State to develop the guidelines on building the all-people national defence and the posture of all-people national defence in peacetime, transforming them into the posture of all-people warfare in the event, and making the people’s armed forces, particularly the Military “revolutionary, regular, seasoned, gradually modern.” It is important to continue completing the mechanism for maintaining and enhancing the Party’s absolute, direct leadership and the State’s focalized, uniformed management towards the cause of national defence and security. This is an unchangeable principle to ensure the Military’s absolute loyalty to the Party, State, and people as well as make it operate in accordance with the political guidelines and its function and assigned task. Moreover, it is necessary to give advice to the Party and State on settling difficulties in building and mobilizing types of potential, particularly the economic one for the national defence mission as well as on exploiting resources to modernize the Military and build the all-people national defence.

As the hostile forces are stepping up their sabotage strategy in various fields, particularly in the political and ideological field, we should take measures synchronously for maintaining and enhancing the nature, tradition, prestige, and status of the Military and its core role in consolidating national defence and protecting the Homeland. To that end, the Military should renew comprehensively the leadership mechanism, frequently consolidate the system of party organizations from the Central Military Commission (CMC) to grass-roots level, promote the role of military party organizations within committees, ministries, sectors, and localities in advising the party committees and authorities at their level on leading and directing the building of the all-people national defence. It is essential to grasp and strictly execute the Party’s viewpoints, guidelines, goals, requirements, and measures for building the all-people national defence. In the process, central and local offices, committees, and sectors should update and supplement new points in accordance with the developments of reality. Due attention should be paid to carrying out the work of defence and security propagation and rendering cadres, soldiers, and all people fully aware of the necessity of building the all-people national defence and the dialectical relationship between national construction and defence. At the same time, it is essential to develop theories about and review the building of the all-people nation defence as the basis for counselling and directing this task. Besides, it is necessary to study and gradually complete the system of legal normative documents on building the all-people national defence in accordance with the National Defence Law. Greater importance should be attached to smoothly, synchronously, and effectively operating the mechanism in which the Party would exercise leadership, authorities would be responsible for management and operation, and military offices would cooperate with other offices and sectors in counselling and performing the task. Military offices should enhance their capacity to give advice to the party committees and authorities at their level on building the all-people national defence in the new situation.

Second, proactively studying and assessing the situation, and making strategic forecasts. Studying, assessing, and anticipating the situation would provide a central foundation for developing proper strategies and projects, settling the situations, and advising the Party and State on formulating and opportunely adjusting the guidelines, policies, and laws on the defence-military work. Thus, the strategic advisory offices under the Ministry of National Defence, particularly the Institute for Strategic Studies, the Department of Operations, and the Department of Foreign Relations should proactively cooperate with each other in grasping, assessing, and correctly, opportunely anticipating complex situations in the air, on ground, at sea, and in cyberspace as well as the global, regional, and domestic situations, with emphasis placed on the border, sea, border, strategic areas. To do so, there should be specialized measures from strategic to tactical levels for opportunely detecting and foiling the hostile forces’ plots and artifices. Moreover, it is important to actively prepare the strategies, forces, and means for settling the situations. Due regard should be paid to frequently adjusting, supplementing, and completing the combat projects and defensive plans nationwide and in each strategic direction in accordance with the situation, particularly the projects to deal with riots and terrorism. Consideration should be given to strictly maintaining the order for combat readiness, closely managing the border, airspace, seas, islands and cyberspace, completely handling the incidents, correctly and opportunely making reports, and resolutely avoiding falling into passivity at all strategic, operation, and tactical levels.

To deal with the rapid development of the situation, forces should attach importance to enhancing their capacity to undertake researches and make strategic forecasts, particularly about major powers and neighbours’ defence and security strategies, while monitoring and grasping other countries’ new strategic adjustments and artifices. Besides, it is essential to flexibly, creatively employ methods of defence struggle, take advantage of the support of overseas Vietnamese community and progressive people around the world, combine legal struggle with political and diplomatic struggle and combat on the field, and ensure the Party’s viewpoints and guidelines, the international law, and regional agreements. We should resolutely, persistently use peaceful means instead of military and armed methods, avoid falling into the enemy’s trap, and determinedly defend the national independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity as well as the Party, State, regime, people, and national benefit in all situations. When we grasp, study, assess, and settle the situation, we should promote the role and involvement of the masses and relevant forces in the areas as well as encourage the synergy for decisive victories.

Third, enhancing the quality of building the armed forces, with a focus placed on making the People’s Army “revolutionary, regular, seasoned, gradually modern” and capable of playing a core role in building the all-people national defence. Our Party has advocated building the people’s armed forces, particularly a “revolutionary, regular, seasoned, and gradually modern” Army, with priority given to modernizing several forces and making the Army politically strong as the basis for ensuring its absolute loyalty to the Homeland, Party, State, and people, raising its synergy and combat strength, and making it capable of successfully fulfilling the assigned mission. To that end, the entire Military should synchronously adopt measures for executing the CMC’s Resolution 606-NQ/QUTW, dated June 16^th 2018, the National Defence Minister’s Decision 2754/QĐ-BQP, dated June 30^th 2018, on approving the Plan for the Military’s organizational structure towards 2021, making the Military “lean and strong.” It is necessary to continue effectively implementing the CMC’s Resolution 765-NQ/QUTW, dated December 20^th 2012, on “raising the training quality in the period of 2013-2020 and beyond,” actively renew the work of training and exercise, enhance the combat readiness capacity, combine combat training with education, and align military standard building with discipline management and the building of comprehensively strong “typical, exemplary” units. Units of the Military should stringently maintain the order for combat readiness, flexibly employ the new methods and mechanisms for logistics, financial, and technical support and defence industry, apply the achievements of the 4^th industrial revolution to the work of combat training and readiness, and develop military technology and theories of military build-up, national defence consolidation, and military art.

Additionally, the all-level military offices should cooperate with local offices and sectors in advising local party committees and authorities on mobilizing all resources to build and make the local armed forces comprehensively strong with sufficient components and forces and high military specialized quality. They should further give advice to the CMC and MND on establishing new, necessary forces to meet the task requirements. At the same time, they should closely manage reservists and other resources to maintain the readiness for mobilization and give assistance to the forces in dealing with all situations and maintaining political security and social order and safety. Grounded on the 10-year execution of the Politburo’s Resolution 28-NQ/TW, dated September 22^nd 2008, on building defensive zones, it is important to effectively implement the Government’s Decree 21/2019/NĐ-CP on defensive zones. In the process, significance should be attached to making a close connection between the provincial-level defensive zone posture and the military region-level defensive posture to form the defensive posture in each strategic direction and across the country as well as aligning the building of the all-people national defence posture with that of the people’s security posture. Projects for mobilizing human and material resources must be prepared carefully. The forces’ strategic disposition should continue to be adjusted, with priority given to main, important defensive directions in line with the adjustment and supplementation of civil defensive plans to meet the requirements for the defence of the country in the new situation.

Fourth, stepping up defence diplomacy, creating peaceful, stable environment and advantage for building the all-people national defence. Defence diplomacy is an integral part and a pillar of the country’s diplomacy and plays a role of utmost importance to building the Military and the all-people national defence, consolidating national defence, and protecting the Homeland. Thus, we need to continue grasping and effectively executing the work of defence diplomacy under the Resolution of the 12^th National Party Congress, the CMC’s Resolution 806-NQ/QUTW, dated December 31^st 2013, and programs, directives, plans, and projects on international integration and defence diplomacy. It is necessary to enhance the quality of defence diplomacy, closely monitor the global and regional situation, and opportunely advise the Party and State on well managing our defence relations and cooperation with other countries. It is important to develop projects for diplomatic struggle, particularly those relating to the East Sea. Via defence diplomacy, we need to take advantage of the international community’s support for Vietnam’s legitimate benefits and exploit external resources to accelerate the modernization of the Military and all-people national defence. In the process, it is essential to make defence relations and cooperation practical, effective, and stable. Priority should be given to fostering relations and cooperation with neighbours, major powers, strategic partners, ASEAN member states, and traditional friends in the fields in accordance with the country and Military’s condition, such as the settlement of post-war consequences, humanitarian aid, UN peacekeeping operation, military medicine, navy, strategic research, science, technology, training, and education. We should harmoniously manage our relations and cooperation to create the balance of strategic benefit with major powers, while proactively reviewing and effectively implementing the signed documents. At the same time, we should actively join the mechanisms of bilateral defence cooperation within the ASEAN framework and carefully prepare the content and programs of defence cooperation when Vietnam undertakes the ASEAN Chairmanship of 2020. Due attention should be paid to enhancing defence dialogue, building the strategic trust, further raising the status of our Military and country in the international arena, and improving the effectiveness of border defence friendship programs with our neighbours (China, Laos, and Cambodia).

In the process, offices in charge of defence diplomacy, such as the Department of Foreign Relations and the Institute for International Defence Relations should closely cooperate with diplomatic offices of the Party, the State, sectors, ministries, and localities in ensuring the smoothness and effectiveness of defence diplomacy. Due attention should be paid to developing and completing the system of legal normative documents, signing agreements on defence diplomacy, and resolutely making this work practical, effectively and capable of defending the Homeland from afar by peaceful meaCao Bang focuses on developing economy and strengthening national defence and securityns.

Building the all-people national defence, improving the national defence strength, and enhancing capacity to protect the country represent a central, routine task and responsibility of the entire Party, people, and Military, with the latter playing the core role. Therefore, promoting the Military’s role in performing this important task would make contributions to making the all-people national defence strong and defending the Homeland in all situations.

Sr. Lt. Gen.  Phan Van Giang, Member of the Party Central Committee

Standing Member of the CMC, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army

Deputy Minister of National Defence