In order to raise the synergy and combat strength as the basis for successfully fulfilling all assigned missions, the Naval Zone 4’s Party Committee and Command have adopted measures synchronously, while focusing their leadership and direction on building up cadres and soldiers’ political zeal and combat determination as a central task.

Vice State President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh visits the Naval Zone 4

The Naval Zone 4 is tasked with training, combat readiness, and combat to protect seas and islands of the South Central Coast Region, including central targets and areas of paramount importance to the country’s economy, politics, defence and security. In recent years, the situation in the East Sea has witnessed complex, unpredictable developments. Other countries’ vessels have frequently operated illegally within our waters and seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign right, and jurisdictions at sea, thereby threatening the region’s peace and stability. Against that backdrop, the Zone’s Party Committee and Command have focused on improving the synergy and combat power to meet the task requirements. To that end, due attention has been paid to building up cadres and soldiers’ political zeal and great combat determination to overcome all difficulties and hardships and readily sacrifice themselves to firmly protect the Homeland’s sacred sea and island sovereignty.

To well perform this important task, the Zone’s Party Committee and Command have concentrated their leadership and direction on raising the quality of political education and ideological management. In this regard, importance has been attached to rendering troops fully aware of our Party and State’s guidelines and policies on the military-defence and Homeland protection tasks, particularly the 11^th Party Central Committee’s Resolution No.8 on “the Strategy for the Homeland Protection in the new situation” and the Central Resolution 36-NQ/TW, dated October 22^nd, 2018 on “the Strategy for the sustainable development of Vietnam’s marine economy towards 2030, with a vision towards 2045.” Cadres, party members, and commanders within the Zone have been required to grasp their tasks, partners and opponents in the new situation as well as our Party and State’s viewpoints and strategies on dealing with issues at sea. In the process, the Zone has closely combined political education with legal propagation, military standard order building, and discipline management. Moreover, great value has been attached to organising courses on special political topics, news briefings, politico-spiritual meetings, and forums and maintaining Political and Cultural Day, the Legal Study Day, and democracy dialogues. Doing so has helped build troops’ political zeal and absolute loyalty to the Party, the Homeland and the people, encourage their love for seas and islands, foster their determination and faith in victory, and maintain their readiness for fighting and sacrificing for the country’s sacred sea and island sovereignty.

The Zone’s Party Committee and Command have placed emphasis on improving the leadership capacity and combativeness of party organisations and raising the quality of cadres and party members. Due attention has been paid to seriously implementing the 12^th Party Central Committee’s Resolution No.4 on the Party building and rectification and the Naval Party Committee’s Resolution 5863-NQ/ĐU, dated July 8^th, 2008 on enhancing party organisations’ leadership capacity and combativeness and the quality of cadres and party members. 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,” actively improving the quality of party meetings, and adopting breakthrough measures to build “four-good” party cells. To effectively execute the 12^th Politburo’s Directive 05-CT/TW on studying and emulating Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and lifestyle and the Campaign titled “promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s Soldiers - Naval Soldiers,” all-level party committees and organisations have actively educated their cadres and party members on morality and lifestyle, while heightening the vanguard, exemplary role of commanders. Advocating that “supervisions must be expanded and inspections must be focalised,” they have also enhanced the inspection and supervision work and strictly handled violations of Party disciplines right at grass-roots level. Recently, the Zone Party Congress for the 2020-2025 tenure has been successfully, democratically organised and created a sense of unity and consensus. The Congress has succeeded in electing a “both red and expert” Party Committee which would help build a pure, strong Party Organisation and a comprehensively strong, “exemplary, typical,” “revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern” Zone.

Combat readiness

Furthermore, the Zone has built up its troops’ political zeal via the training work. It has adhered to the training motto of “basics, practicality, thorough grasp,” while “effectively exploiting weapons and technical equipment and ensuring safety regulations” as a breakthrough measure. Resolutions by party committees and plans by commanders at all levels have identified specific training targets in accordance with each office and unit’s task and function, with a focus on safeguarding the country’s sea and island sovereignty and the building of a “revolutionary, regular, elite, modern” Zone as the training goal. Due attention has been paid to organising training courses relevant to opponents’ characteristics and the projects to protect seas and islands. Individuals have been trained to be “expert at their position, know how to hold others,” and master weapons and equipment, especially the modern ones. Meanwhile, detachment-level units have been trained to be expert in independent and joint operations. At the same time, the Zone’s emulation movements have been directed towards its central political task and difficult, unscheduled missions, such as “training hard to become brilliant soldiers” and “training passionately regardless of harsh weather conditions.” The models, such as “standard, exemplary vessels” and “vessels of foreign language learning” have really encouraged cadres and soldiers to deal with difficulties and actively, quickly master modern weapons and technical equipment as the basis for building their faith in victory over enemies in any circumstance.

The building of cultural environment acts as an important prerequisite for troops to improve themselves towards the truth, the goodness, and the beauty. It will also help build up troops’ revolutionary morality, promote the virtues of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers,” and create a strong spiritual motivation for each cadre and soldier to fulfil their assigned task. To that end, offices and units have stringently implemented the Regulation on Democracy at grass-roots level and achieved a sense of unity and consensus between superiors and inferiors as well as between cadres and soldiers. The Zone has asked each cadre and party member to play an exemplary role in improving their morality and lifestyle and set good examples for soldiers to follow. At the same time, it has promoted the role of mass organisations, particularly the Youth Union in preserving the healthy cultural environment, pushing back social evils, and minimising violations of discipline. Due regard has been paid to building “green, clean, scenic, and standard” barracks,” raising the effectiveness of cultural institutions, and ensuring troops’ cultural and spiritual life under the Circular 104/2014/TT-BQP by the Ministry of National Defence.

The Zone has well implemented policies for the Army and Army Rear so that its cadres and soldiers would keep their mind on their work. The Zone Party Committee and all-level party committees have carried out the work of rank promotion, salary rise, cadres’ appointment, recommendation, and discipline in a democratic, equal, public manner. Meanwhile, policies for troops and their families have been ensured in accordance with the Zone’s practical conditions. The Zone’s Party Committee and Command have directed functional offices to closely cooperate with local authorities and social organisations in helping military families with housing and employment. Due attention has been paid to visiting and assisting military families in difficulty or affected by natural disasters as well as staff members and their relatives with life-threatening diseases. Doing so has encouraged cadres and soldiers to maintain their attachment to the Zone and keep their mind on their work.

The Zone has also built up its cadres and soldiers’ political zeal via practical activities, particularly their performance of tasks at sea. This measure is of utmost importance to improving cadres and soldiers’ combat will - the clearest sign of their political zeal. To that end, units have regularly introduced tasks to troops, well carried out the ideological work, and strictly maintained the order for training and combat readiness. At the same time, they have enhanced measures for synchronously, practically maintaining their personnel and means on duty and improving their combat capacity according to combat projects. Consideration has been given to performing the task of duty, patrol and reconnaissance to grasp situations at sea and in the air, give sound advice to higher echelons, avoid passivity, and opportunely, effectively settle threats. In the process, in spite of complex, intense, and dangerous situations, many units and soldiers have maintained resoluteness, flexibility, and creativity and readily sacrificed themselves for protecting the Homeland’s sacred sea and island sovereignty. Besides, many cadres and soldiers have put their family business aside to undertake their task. Some have always volunteered to sail to the sea even though they had just fulfilled their task. Those typical examples have served as a source of inspiration for troops within the Zone and made contributions to building their political zeal and combat determination.

In the upcoming time, the Naval Zone 4 will keep effectively improving its cadres and soldiers’ political zeal and combat will as the basis for increasing its synergy and combat strength and making its troops capable of undertaking and successfully fulfilling the task of safeguarding the national sea and island sovereignty to deserve the confidence and affection of our Party, State, and people.

Rear Admiral NGO VAN THUAN, Commissar of the Naval Zone 4