Fully aware of the importance of the diplomatic work, the Party Committee and Command of Binh Phuoc Provincial Border Guard have been synchronously, drastically adopting solutions to improve the quality and effectiveness of this important work as the basis for creating the synergy to manage national border sovereignty and security and protect the Homeland from afar.

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the PBG of Binh Phuoc and the Provincial Security Department of Kratie (Cambodia)

The Provincial Border Guard (PBG) of Binh Phuoc is assigned to manage and safeguard the national border section of over 260 kilometres in three districts of Loc Ninh, Bu Dop and Bu Gia Map, adjacent to 7 communes and 4 districts under 3 Cambodian provinces (Tbong khmum, Kratie, and Mondulkiri). To fulfil the assigned task, over the years, the PBG’s Party Committee and Command have focused their leadership and direction on performing the border defence work comprehensively, with priority given to raising the quality and effectiveness of external affairs. The PBG has proactively given advice to local party committees and authorities, promoted its core role in carrying out the border defence diplomacy work, closely combined border defence diplomacy with our Party and State’s diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy, and mobilised the synergy by sectors, localities, and forces. As a result, the PBG’s border defence diplomacy work has been conducted practically and effectively. The PBG has been a model of border defence diplomacy in the Southern border and greatly contributed to cementing mutual confidence and understanding between Vietnam and Cambodia. At the same time, the PBG’s diplomatic work has helped deepen friendship and unity between authorities and locals from the two sides and make the all-people border defence and the posture of all-people border defence increasingly strong as the basis for the PBG to prevent and combat crime, deal with complex, sensitive issues in the border areas, and accelerate border land demarcation between Vietnam and Cambodia.

National border management and protection in the new situation have imposed demanding requirements on the PBG. In addition to advantages, the PBG has been confronted with a lot of difficulties due to a large border area and a lack of staff members and equipment. Locals from the two sides have faced difficulties in their life. Political security and social order and safety have been threatened by hostile forces’ sabotage scheme, crimes of all types, trade frauds, and illegal immigration, particularly since the outbreak of COVID-19. Against that backdrop, the PBG has determined to enhance the diplomatic work and create a firm posture of border defence to make contributions to safeguarding national border sovereignty and security.

First of all, the PBG has well carried out the work of propagation and education to render cadres, soldiers, and locals fully aware of the importance of border defence and people-to-people diplomacy in the context of our country’s deeper and wider integration into the world. Moreover, offices and units have educated their troops to grasp the guidelines on diplomacy, defence diplomacy, and border defence diplomacy by the Party, the State, the Military, and the Border Guard Force Command as well as legal documents on border and the defence of border sovereignty and security. At the same time, emphasis has been placed on grasping and effectively implementing the province’s plans, projects and programmes on border defence diplomacy and external affairs, especially the Plan for organising the 1^st Vietnam-Cambodia Border Defence Friendship Exchange Programme in Binh Phuoc province. Border guard offices, stations and posts have encouraged their core role in rendering the people fully aware of border defence and people-to-people diplomacy. They have also actively taken part in exchange and twinning programmes, consolidated friendship and unity with the Cambodian people, observed border regulations, proactively detected and fought against crime, and cooperated with other forces in patrolling border lines and markers, thereby avoiding encroachment and dispute in the border areas.

In the process, the PBG has flexibly, synchronously adopted methods of propagation and education for all groups of troops, particularly for cadres and soldiers at border guard stations, posts and gates as they directly perform the task and carry out the diplomatic work in the border areas on a daily, hourly basis. The PBG has directed its affiliates to closely combine the diplomatic work with external information service in order to disseminate the image, history, and culture of the Vietnamese people and provide information about our Party’s foreign line and our State’s national defence and border policies and laws for Cambodian forces. Due attention has been paid to proactively preventing and combating the signs of ideological deviation and oversimplification in the diplomatic work, and strictly maintaining our diplomatic principles and regulations.

Second, give sound advice on the diplomatic work and issues relating to national border sovereignty and security management and security. As it has both counselled and directly carried out the diplomatic work, the PBG has grasped resolutions, directives and documents on military and border defence diplomacy by the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence, and the Border Guard Force Command. Grounded on those documents, it has advised the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee on building and promulgating documents on our Party and State’s diplomacy, border defence diplomacy, and people-to-people diplomacy at all levels. It has cooperated with provincial offices and sectors in well implementing the Project on “enhancing Vietnam-Lao and Vietnam-Cambodia defence cooperation towards 2020” by the Ministry of National Defence, the Plan on preventing and controlling illegal border crossing, and the Plan on protecting border gates and areas in accordance with the characteristics of each region. Furthermore, the PBG has consolidated the force in charge of the diplomatic work, improved professional competence, diplomatic skills, and foreign language knowledge of cadres and soldiers, with emphasis placed on the forces in charge of the diplomatic work and joint patrols, while effectively exploiting and using the system of facilities, particularly the Vietnam-Cambodia Border Friendship Military-Civilian Health Station to provide medical examination and treatment for cadres, soldiers, and locals from the two sides, thereby making contributions to cementing friendship and unity between authorities, armed forces, and peoples from the two countries.

Third, foster practical, effective cooperative relations with Cambodian forces in charge of border management and protection. The PBG has directed its offices, stations and posts to proactively develop diplomatic plans with uniformed viewpoints and principles as well as proper measures. Consideration has been given to realising the Memorandum of Understanding between the Border Guard Force Command under the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence and the Cambodian General Department of National Security (the Ministry of Home Affairs) and the Royal Cambodian Army Command (Royal Cambodia Gendarmerie), both adopting measures to realise the signed agreements and signing new agreements, memoranda of understanding, and regulations under the guidelines on military international integration and diplomacy set by the Party, the Military, the Military Region 7 and the province. In the process, the PBG has attached significance to encouraging comprehensive defence-security cooperation with Military Sub-Regions, Security Departments, and Gendarmerie of the three Cambodian provinces. Focuses of cooperation have been placed on preventing and combating crime, exchanging information at both command and station levels, and opportunely, effectively settling issues relating to national border sovereignty and security management and protection.

Furthermore, offices and units have renewed immigration control and created a favourable condition for locals from the two sides to visit and do business with one another, but ensured security to prevent violations of law. They have considered the building of stable, safe border areas as the prime goal of diplomatic ties between the two sides. Besides, due attention has been paid to maintaining regular and irregular dialogues and joint patrols, exchanging and providing information, organising visits, and sending congratulations to each other on national holidays. Doing so has helped foster the friendship relations between the two sides and build a border of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development.

Fourth, maintain close cooperation with other forces and mobilise resources for border defence and people-to-people diplomacy. To bring into play the synergy, the PBG has closely collaborated with the Provincial  Fatherland Front Committee, the Provincial Red Cross, the Provincial Departments of External Affairs, Health, and Finance, the Provincial Military Command, the Provincial Public Security, and local party committees and authorities in border defence and people-to-people diplomacy. The PBG has used funds allocated by higher echelons and mobilised resources from the province and localities to construct friendship facilities and provide medical examination and treatment for Cambodian locals. Last but not least, it has encouraged cultural, artistic, and sports exchange programmes, consolidated a close-knit bond between authorities and peoples from the two sides, and made the province’s border areas increasingly strong for the sake of “good neighbours, traditional friendship, comprehensive, sustainable and long-term cooperation” between Vietnam and Cambodia.

Sr. Col. BUI MINH SOAI, Commander of the PBG