The Provincial Border Guard (PBG) of Tay Ninh is assigned to manage and safeguard 240 kilometres of national border adjacent to three Cambodian provinces of Svay Rieng, Prey Veng, and Tbong Khmum. Along the border, there are 2 international border gates, 2 main border gates, and 12 extra border gates. In the border areas, the terrain is rather flat and there are National Highways 22A and 22B (the Trans-Asia Road) acting as the gateway for transport and trade connections between Mekong sub-region countries. Such geographical conditions have facilitated the province’s integration and comprehensive development, but posed threats to its border defence work. More seriously, the Protocol on land border demarcation and marker planting and the Agreement on Border Regulations between Vietnam and Cambodia would be likely to be violated. Meanwhile, narcotic trafficking, smuggling, trade frauds, and illegal immigration have negatively impacted on political security and social order and safety in the border area.

Cadres and soldiers of the border guard post of the Moc Bai international border gate in the fight against COVID-19

Against that backdrop, the PBG’s Party Committee and Command have grasped their function and task and the particularities of the border area, while focusing their leadership and direction on synchronously, comprehensively adopting measures for carrying out the border defence work, maintaining a high level of combat readiness, assessing and anticipating the situations both inside and outside the border, and submitting proposals for defending the national border sovereignty and security, and building a border of peace, friendship, cooperation and development to the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee as well as the Border Guard Force’s Party Committee and High Command.

To achieve that goal, first of all, the PBG has advised the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee to develop the Action Programme for the 12^th Politburo’s Resolution 16-NQ/TW, dated October 10^th, 2017 on “socio-economic development associated with defence-security consolidation and diplomacy within land border communes,” the 12^th Politburo’s Resolution 33-NQ/TW, dated September 28^th, 2018 on the Strategy for national border protection as well as other documents on border management, border defence diplomacy, and people-to-people diplomacy in the new situation. At the same time, the PBG has closely cooperated with local party committees and authorities, particularly within border districts in disseminating and introducing resolutions and directives by the Party and the State on building and defending national border. Emphasis has been placed on the Project on “legal dissemination and education for cadres and citizens in border areas in the period of 2017-2021,” the National Border Law, and agreements and regulations on border demarcation, border marker planting, and border gate management between Vietnam and Cambodia. Doing so has helped raise party committees, authorities, and citizens’ awareness and responsibility for national border protection.

To provide a solid foundation for protecting national border sovereignty and security, the PBG has attached great value to assisting local party committees and authorities in building political bases, boosting socio-economic development, improving the people’s mental and material life, making the all-people border defence, the all-people national defence, and the people’s security increasingly strong, and promoting the synergy of the entire political system and people to conduct the border defence work. Under the Decision 1068-QĐ/TU, dated September 26^th, 2016 by the Provincial Party Committee Standing Board on dispatching party members of border guard posts to attend party meetings at border communes and the Regulations on coordination between the PBG’s Party Committee and 5 border districts’ party committees, the PBG has selected 15 cadres of its border guard posts and advised localities to initiate those cadres into border communes’ party committees, while deploying 79 party members to take part in party meetings at border hamlets and assigning 286 cadres to help 1,282 households in the border area. Doing so has contributed to enhancing party committees’ leadership and authorities’ management in border localities.

Implementing the Action Plan 3961/KH-BTL, dated October 30^th, 2015 by the Border Guard Force High Command and the Action Programme 361/KH-UBND, dated February 17^th, 2016 by the Provincial People’s Committee for the Prime Minister’s Directive 01/CT-TTg, dated January 9^th, 2015 on organising the movement of “all people participating in protecting the national border sovereignty and security in the new situation,” the PBG has advised the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee on arranging and adjusting residential zones, militia posts, and border guard posts and stations  in the border areas. At the same time, it has actively taken part in helping the people with hunger eradication and poverty reduction, building cultural villages and hamlets, facilitating socio-economic development and building a firm all-people border defence posture. Since 2015, the province has constructed 6 residential zones within Chang Riec commune (Tan Bien district) with 300 households, the youth’s village within Ninh Dien commune (Chau Thanh district) as well as militia posts along the border. Offices and units of the PBG have proactively assisted local party committees and authorities in raising the quality of the “All-People Border Defence Day” and the movement entitled “all people take part in protecting national border sovereignty and security in the new situation,” maintaining the operation of groups of households in the management and defence of border line and markers. Up to now, 1,282 households have agreed to participate in managing 170 kilometres of border, while 386 other households have been committed to taking part in protecting border markers. 982 groups of households including 28,300 members have joined the PBG in patrolling villages and hamlets. In addition, the PBG has well implemented movements and campaigns, such as “assisting women in the border areas,” “the border guard force joins hands for the poor - no one will be left behind,” “homes for the poor in the border areas,” “the border guard force joins hands in building new-style countryside,” “helping children with schooling,” and “border guard posts’ adopted children,” thereby making contributions to cementing the close-knit bond between the border guard force and the people and building a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds” in the border areas.

The PBG’s Party Committee and Command have focused their leadership and direction on improving the quality of combat readiness and crime prevention and control. Complying with higher echelons’ resolutions and orders, the PBG’s Command has frequently reviewed, adjusted, and completed combat projects for defending offices, posts and stations as well as plans for natural disaster and fire prevention and control and search and rescue. It has also cooperated with the provinces of Binh Phuoc and Dak Nong in protecting the border, while strictly maintaining combat readiness and organising exercises to enhance the synergy and combat strength. Besides, it has worked with other forces and sectors to adopt measures synchronously for grasping and anticipating the situation, and preventing and fighting against crimes of all types and social evils, especially smuggling and trade frauds. In 2020, in spite of the complex developments of COVID-19, the PBG has grasped and seriously executed directives by the Government, the Ministry of National Defence, and the Border Guard Force High Command on protecting national border sovereignty and security, preventing and combating the pandemic simultaneously. The PBG has collaborated with the province’s Public Security Department, Military Command, Health Department, and Forest Bureau in organising 123 checkpoints and 34 mobile teams to closely manage the border, control border gates, and prevent illegal immigration. Due attention has been paid to receiving and classifying nearly 5,000 citizens in quarantine zones, thus greatly contributing to preventing the epidemic from spreading and maintaining political security and social order and safety. Furthermore, the PBG has placed emphasis on carrying out the work of border defence and people-to-people diplomacy and twinning programmes between the two sides of the border with a view to protecting the Homeland from afar.

Thanks to active, synchronous measures, the PBG has successfully fulfilled its assigned task. It has been given the Third-Class Feat-of-Arms Order and the Certificate of Merit for its outstanding achievements in narcotic and COVID-19 prevention and combat by the State President and the Provincial People’s Committee respectively. 

Bringing into play the recorded good results, in the foreseeable future, the PBG of Tay Ninh will continue grasping and realising the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies on safeguarding the national border sovereignty and security, making border guard offices, posts and stations comprehensively strong, heightening a sense of revolutionary vigilance, and playing a core role in working with other relevant forces to firmly protect the national border sovereignty and security and build a border of peace, friendship, cooperation and development between Vietnam and Cambodia.

Sr. Col. LE HONG VUONG, Commander of the PBG