The year 2023 was an important milestone in the implementation of the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress and the Resolution of the 11th Military Party Congress. The entire military undertook its missions in the context of the country’s basically stable socio-economic condition, continued growth momentum, positive results of building and rectification of the Party and political system as well as the fight against corruption, enhanced defence and security, effective, intensive, extensive, substantive diplomacy, and increased position and prestige. Nevertheless, apart from advantages and opportunities, our country continued to face difficulties and challenges. Hostile forces fully exploited complex, sensitive issues and our limitations and shortcomings to step up “peaceful evolution” and incite “self-evolution” and “self-transformation within the Party with a view to doing damage to the Party, State, and military. The climate and weather witnessed unusual changes. Heavy rain, flood, mudslide, and bushfire caused serious losses in some localities. The military’s organisational adjustment set out increasingly high requirements for ideology, organisation, cadre, and policy work. It is within this context that the Central Military Commission (CMC) and Ministry of National Defence (MND) led the entire military to promote solidarity, unity, and creativity, overcome difficulties, and accomplish all goals and missions set forth for the year 2023.

In 2024, the world and region are likely to further witness complex, unforeseeable developments. Strategic competition among great powers becomes increasingly fierce. The global context continues to evolve in a multipolar, multicentred, multilayered direction, which has an intensive, extensive, comprehensive influence on the world, regions, international relations, and political, economic, social stability of many countries. There are many significant events occurring in our country in 2024, including the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory, 80th founding anniversary of Viet Nam People’s Army (VPA), and 35th anniversary of All People’s Defence Day. Hostile forces and reactionaries continue to intensify acts of sabotage against the Party, State, and military; promote formation of “civil society”; and undermine the great national unity bloc. Nontraditional security challenges tend to be on the rise in both scale and complexity. The VPA continues to carry out organisational adjustment, which sets out new requirements for ideology, organisation, and policy. Support for some types of modern weapons and equipment remain difficult.

It is within this context that the entire military needs to deeply grasp the Resolution of the CMC; strengthen solidarity and unity; promote sense of responsibility, proactiveness, and creativity in order to implement solutions drastically and synchronously; create major breakthroughs; and strive for accomplishing all military, defence missions successfully in 2024, especially some key missions as follows.

First, it is necessary to perceive situations and successfully perform the function as a strategic advisory agency of the Party and State in military, national defence, and firm protection of the Fatherland in any situations. The entire military takes initiative in grasping, assessing, and predicting situations to timely advise the Party and State to work out sound guidelines and stratagems to meet both long- and short-term requirements and missions. It must respond effectively to situations without being passive and surprised, which aims to firmly safeguard independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of the Fatherland; prepare plans, forces, and equipment to deal with nontraditional security challenges successfully. The military is to effectively realise resolutions, strategies, and projects on military and national defence, most notably the Resolution of the 8th Plenum of the Party Central Committee (13th tenure) on the Strategy to Safeguard the Fatherland in the new situation, resolutions and conclusions of the Party Central Committee (PCC), Politburo, and Government on missions in 2024; draft bills and legal documents concerning military and national defence, ensuring rate of progress and quality. The entire military will conduct review of 10 years’ implementation of the Resolution No. 689-NQ/QUTW, dated 10 October 2014, of the CMC on “Preventing, responding to, and addressing consequences of natural disasters and catastrophes as well as executing search and rescue through 2020 and beyond.” These are extremely important tasks that relate directly to stability and development of the country and require serious, close implementation with high responsibility.

General Phan Van Giang chairs the meeting of the CMC's standing committee in 2013

Second, the entire military continues to effectively bring into play the leading role in building the all-people national defence and all-people defence posture in connection with establishing the increasingly robust posture of the people’s security and “people’s heart and mind posture.” Departments and units in the entire military need to cooperate closely with commissions, ministries, and branches at the central level and localities to carry out strategies, resolutions, and conclusions of the Party and the legal system concerning military and national defence in a synchronous, effective manner; focus on improving regulations, policies, and law aimed at bolstering up defence potential; actively mobilise resources to create overall power and strengthen the all-people national defence and all-people defence posture in association with the posture of people’s security, notably the building of robust military region defence posture and defence zone at all levels. The policy on combining national defence, security, and socio-economic sector must be further carried out effectively in line with resolutions and conclusions of the Politburo on socio-economic development in connection with strengthening national defence and security in strategic regions and areas. The above-mentioned solutions provide a solid ground for investing resources in establishing material basis, vehicles, and equipment of the national defence, especially the system of combat structures and civil defence. Priorities are given to defensive structures along the borders, at sea, on islands, and in strategic areas. Additionally, there is a need to do overall planning of defence posture in association with socio-economic development in each region, area, and the country as a whole; review and improve operational plans in accordance with the process of adjusting military organisation, characteristics of localities, and new staffing tables of every department and unit.

Defence work in ministries, branches, and localities must be done closely. Attention is paid to increased quality of defence, security education. It is also vital to proactively strengthen and enhance operational effectiveness of commune-level military party cells; improve the operational quality of the Reserve and Militia and Self-Defence Force, especially the standing militia and its combat posts participating in safeguarding sovereignty over borders, waters, and islands.

On the basis of specific situations in deployment areas, departments and units work closely with the Public Security and forces concerned to be ready to deal with defence, security contingencies in order to firmly maintain political security, social order, and safety in each area and nationwide; actively take part in building the political system at the grassroots level; carry out mass mobilisation and help people to eradicate hunger and alleviate poverty; bring into play the leading role in preventing, responding to, and overcoming the aftermath of natural disasters, environmental catastrophes, epidemics, pandemics, and search and rescue, contributing to building increasingly strong people’s heart and mind posture.

Third, there is a need to adopt synchronous measures to enhance comprehensive quality and combat power of the VPA. This is the most fundamental solution to ensure that the VPA is always the absolutely faithful, trustworthy political force and combat force of the Party, State, and people in any conditions. More importantly, it is necessary to continue to firmly uphold and strengthen the Party’s absolute, direct leadership and the State’s centralised, unified management of the VPA and the cause of national defence; concentrate on building a politically strong military, which provides the foundation for enhancing comprehensive quality and combat power.

The entire military continues to step up implementation of three breakthroughs in the spirit of the Resolution of the 11th Military Party Congress and the theme of the year 2024, namely “the year to basically complete adjustment of force organisation in an adept, compact, strong direction”; concentrates on increasing training quality, ensuring closeness and in line with mottos, perspectives, principles, and combinations; intensifies night-time training, training according to high-end scenarios, training in using and mastering weapons and equipment, especially the new, modern ones, in connection with applying information technology and simulation technology. Exercises, drills, and competitions are to be carried out in a safe, effective, close-to-combat manner. Projects on education and training are further implemented under the motto: “Training quality at schools is combat readiness of units.” The entire military adopts drastic, synchronous solutions to the building of comprehensively strong, exemplary, representative units in association with building pure, robust, representative party committees and party organisations; strictly maintains good order, discipline, and safety of departments and units, striving for violation of normal discipline being kept at below 0.2% while minimising serious violation; continues to promote military administrative reform, formation of the electronic Government, and digital transformation in departments and units.

Moreover, the entire military needs to carry out programmes, projects, and plans on logistics, technology, and defence industry effectively; provide sufficient logistics for missions; proactively overcome difficulties to provide good, synchronous technical support; step up research and application of science and technology in military technology; continue to realise the Action Programme on executing the Resolution of the Politburo on accelerating development of defence industry and special policies on leveraging resources for defence industry; focus on manufacturing weapons and technical equipment, especially the “Make in Viet Nam” strategic weapons.

Fourth, it is vital to further broaden and promote international integration and defence diplomacy aimed to create the position and strength for safeguarding the Fatherland from afar. On the basis of seriously grasping Resolution No. 34-NQ/TW, dated 9 January 2023, of the Politburo on some major orientations towards operationalising the diplomatic guideline of the 13th Party Congress, Conclusion No. 53-KL/TW, dated 28 April 2023 of the Politburo, and the CMC’s solutions to leadership of international integration and defence diplomacy through 2030 and beyond, departments and units actively and proactively adopt many measures to further enhance quality and effectiveness of undertaking this pivotal task and regard this as a strategic direction and stratagem to protect the Fatherland from afar by peaceful means. Accordingly, the entire military needs to enhance strategic research, prediction, and advice on defence diplomacy, which paves the way for promoting bilateral, multilateral defence cooperation in a substantive, effective manner with focuses. It is necessary to proactively strengthen defence cooperation with neighbouring countries, great powers, strategic partners, ASEAN Member States, and traditional friends on the basis of being steadfast in the “four-no” defence policy, creating a strategic balance in the relation with partners, serving strategic objectives, putting national interests first, and complying with the Charter of the United Nations and international law. In the implementation process, there is a need to be sensible and timely detect, prevent, and push back the risks of confrontation, conflict, and war; make full use of external resources to strengthen defence capability while promoting and diversifying partners for cooperation in military technology and trade; actively take part in UN peacekeeping operations, humanitarian assistance, search and rescue, and resolution of the aftermath of wars; host the second Viet Nam International Defence Exhibition successfully.

Fifth, special importance is attached to the building of a pure, strong, representative Military Party Committee. The entire military continues to adopt drastic, synchronous solutions to the building of a strong Military Party Committee in terms of politics, ideology, morality, organisation, and cadre. First and foremost, party committees and commanders at all echelons are to coordinate good understanding and serious, effective implementation of resolutions, directives, and conclusions on party building to meet requirements of military, defence missions and protection of the Fatherland in the new situation. They also need to further step up studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and style in connection with realising Resolution No. 847-NQ/QUTW, dated 28 December 2022, of the CMC on “promoting fine dignity of Uncle Ho’s Soldiers and resolving to combat individualism in the new situation”; accelerate the struggle against false, hostile perspectives in order to keep the Party’s ideological battle positions firmly in the VPA and effectively prevent and combat signs of degradation in terms of political ideology, morality, lifestyle, “self-evolution,” and “self-transformation” within the Party.

The entire military continues to strengthen party committees and party organisations in connection with adjusting force organisation and enhancing leadership and combat capacity of party committees and party organisations, especially those at the grassroots level and newly established units; strictly comply with party committees’ regulations on the operation and leadership of crucial aspects; develop and carry out the Project on the “policy on attracting and appointing talented people to important posts in the VPA through 2030 and vision 2050.” Attention should be paid to training and update on new knowledge and enhancement of cadres’ and party members’ political theory. More importantly, there is a need to develop a corps of cadres who dare to think, dare to say, dare to do, dare to take responsibility, dare to reform, dare to confront difficulties and challenges, and dare to act in the best interests of all people, meeting requirements and missions of building and safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation. The review, planning, and promotion of command and management cadres must be aligned with preparation of candidates for party committees in the 2025-2030 term. The entire military is to complete summation of the Law on Viet Nam People’s Army Officers and make recommendations that are synchronous, feasible, and suitable to reality. Special important is attached to enhanced effectiveness of inspection, supervision, and enforcement of party discipline; strict punishment of cadres and party members who are deteriorated in terms of political ideology, morality, and lifestyle and violate regulations of the Party, law of the State, and military discipline.

The entire military continues to effectively implement projects, programmes and plans on politics, ideology, culture, arts and letters, press, and propagation aimed to raise cadres’, party members’, and the masses’ awareness, responsibility, and determination. Regulations and statutes on protection of internal politics must be operationalised seriously to proactively prevent infiltration, illegal contact, and acts of sabotage inside the party. There is a need to promote the effectiveness of mass mobilisation, good implementation of the regulation on grassroots democracy, active involvement in national target programmes as well as movements and campaigns launched by the Government and localities; successfully carry out policies on the military and military families as well as gratitude activities; pay attention to building of strong mass organisations and military personnel councils. The entire military needs to engage in activities aimed to celebrate 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory, 80th founding anniversary of Viet Nam People’s Army (VPA), and 35th anniversary of All People’s Defence Day, and significant events of the country in 2025; successfully organise congresses of the determination-to-win emulation at all echelons in the 2019-2024 period and the 11th Whole-of-Military Congress of the Determination-to-Win Emulation.

The year 2024 is key to accomplishment of the goals and missions set forth in the Resolution of the 13th Party Congress and the Resolution of the 11th Military Party Congress. The entire military manages to basically complete adjustment of force organisation in an adept, compact, strong direction, which helps to generate new strength and successfully implement all assigned tasks with higher outcomes as compared to the year 2023.

General, Doctor PHAN VAN GIANG,

Member of the Politburo, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Minister of National Defence