Fully aware of the importance of the 12^th Politburo’s Resolution 33-NQ/TW on the National Border Protection Strategy, the Party Committee and Command of the Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG) have determined to seriously grasp and effective execute this Resolution so as to make contributions to improving its synergy, capability in law enforcement at sea, combat strength and task performance.

Over the past years, the VCG has grasped and effectively implemented the Party’s guidelines and the State’s law and policy, particularly resolutions and directives by the Central Military Commission (CMC) and Defence Minister under its function, task, and authority. Doing so has contributed to maintaining stability and building the environment of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development at sea on the basis of respect for coastal countries’ sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction, and international law. In the task implementation, a part from the advantages, the VCG has been confronted with many difficulties. Most notably, disputes over sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction, and benefits at sea between relevant countries have always been complex, sensitive, and unpredictable with many factors threatening safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea.

The training work at sea

To more effectively perform the assigned task, the VCG’s Party Committee and Command have determined to seriously grasp and execute the National Border Protection Strategy, study, develop, and introduce the action plans/program for the Strategy to every organization, cadre, and soldier, particularly key cadres at all levels, with a focus on the following.

First, stepping up the work of education and propagation. This work is a basic, central requirement for implementing the Strategy and aimed at achieving a consensus on awareness and action of the VCG’s staff members and coastal locals, particularly fishers and crew members who frequently work at sea. While actively continuing to give advice to the Party, State, CMC, and Defence Minister, party committees and commands of the VCG’s offices and units have cooperated with local party committees and authorities, and the Border Guard, Navy, Fisheries Resources Surveillance, Military, and coastal militia and self-defence forces in executing the Strategy synchronously, drastically, comprehensively; actively renewed the method and form of propagation and education properly, practically, effectively in accordance with the situation. Focus of this work has been placed on rendering objects fully aware of the position and role of the Strategy, particularly the targets, viewpoints, principles, mottos, tasks, and measures set by the Party for defending the national border. The work of propagation and education has been carried out frequently, continuously. Due attention has been paid to closely combining regular meetings for propagation and education with organization of propagation and education based on topics and groups of troops. At the same time, significance has been attached to promoting the strength of forces, organizations, units’ cultural institutions, and Central and local press agencies; aligning the introduction of the Strategy with the “4-good, 4-no, 4-fight” movement; building pure, strong party organizations and comprehensively strong units. The VCG’s offices and units have strictly maintained the regulations on political education, employed visual education, and carried out the work of education via activities, commendation, contests, forums, dialogues, and movies about Vietnam’s seas and islands. At the same time, they have effectively executed the model entitled “coast guards accompany fishers at sea”, the knowledge contest entitled “students’ love for the Homeland’s seas and islands”, and the work of coast guard diplomacy. Moreover, they have coordinated and provided defence-security education for objects, particularly key cadres. As a result, the work of propagation and education have rendered all cadres, soldiers, and people fully aware that managing, building and defending national border at sea is a routine, central task under the Party’s leadership and all-level authorities’ management, and that the VCG plays a core role in protecting the national sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction, security, safety, and order in our waters.

Second, making the VCG’s Party Organization strong politically, ideologically, organizationally, and morally. It is a matter of principle in the Strategy that the national border construction and protection must be placed under the Party’s direct leadership. Thus, this is a basic, key matter and a decisive factor in the effectiveness of the VCG’s implementation of the Strategy. Party committees, commissars, and commands at all levels within the VCG should grasp the function, task and authority of offices, units, and individuals as well as the Strategy’s objectives, viewpoints, principles, mottos, tasks, and measures; raise the efficiency and effectiveness of the party and political work, with a focus on improving the capabilities in leadership and direction over the implementation of the Strategy and overcoming weaknesses. At the same time, they should combine the execution of the Strategy with that of the Resolution of the 12^th Party Central Committee’s 4^th Plenum on the Party building and rectification, the 12^th Politburo’s Directive 05-CT/TW, and the Campaign entitled “promote tradition, devote talent, deserve to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers” with specific targets and criteria relevant to each cadre and soldier’s task. Notably, party committee members and key cadres at all levels should actively study and grasp the Strategy’s contents and the regulations of the Party, Military and units; renew their working style flexibly, scientifically, and effectively; heighten their responsibility; match their words with their action; proactively set up role models; always stay close to their units; strengthen a sense of unity; and promote democracy and collective intellect.

Maintaining the order for “Technical Day”

Third, continuing to build a strong VCG comprehensively. The forces in charge of protecting the border include all people and the people’s armed forces; therefore, the competent forces directly in charge of this task must be made “revolutionary, regular, seasoned, gradually modern”, some of which must move forward to modernity. That viewpoint has been also mentioned in the Strategy. Under the Strategy, the VCG’s Party Committee issued the Resolution 120-NQ/ĐU on “building a revolutionary, regular, seasoned, gradually modern VCG to meet the task requirements in the new situation” with specific guidelines, targets, and measures for making the forces “compact, strong, and highly professional”. To make it effective, party committees and commands at all levels should grasp and strictly execute the Defence Minister’s Decision 1357/QĐ-BQP on “the organization of the VCG”, with emphasis placed on making the VCG really “compact” in terms of structure and equipment, and capable of the task in both long and short terms in all situations. At the same time, they should actively give advice to competent offices on investment in building vessels and providing hi-tech technical equipment to meet the task requirements and ensure the regulations on management and repair in both long and short terms. In addition, the VCG’s Party Committee and Command should continue directing offices and units to apply technology and experiences to managing and operating the technical work; to make plans on building technical support centres in the Coast Guard Zones, with priority given to the work of technical support and mobilization in the complex situations; to closely cooperate with localities in building technical forces and centres.

Fourth, frequently raising the quality of personnel training. This is a matter of importance to directly making the VCG really “compact, strong, highly professional”, and capable of effectively implementing the Strategy according to its function and assigned task. Thus, party committees and commands must always grasp and follow the motto of “basics, practicality, and thorough grasp”; renew the training method, contents, and programs; set store by practice and the improved quality of exercises, contests, examination, and re-examination; and closely combine combat training with standard order building, discipline management, and physical training. The work of training management must be always “focalized, uniformed, and synchronous”, with great value attached to resolutely fighting and removing the “achievement disease”, consolidating training cadres and offices both qualitatively and quantitatively, and making them capable of counselling, directing, managing, and operating the training work effectively. Moreover, offices and units should focus on training a contingent of high-calibre officers and professional servicemen, with priority given to cadres and employees in the technical, professional, legal fields. By 2020, over 98% of the VCG’s cadres must be Bachelor holders; 100% of its military, political, technical, legal officers must be Bachelor holders; over 80% of its cadres must have a good command of information technology to meet the task requirements; over 75% of its technical staff members must have a good command of foreign languages to meet the task requirements.

Synchronously and effectively implementing the above-mentioned fundamental measures is a must for the VCG to grasp and execute the National Border Protection Strategy. Doing so will contribute to the VCG’s fulfilment of its function and tasks of law enforcement and firm defence of the national sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction, security, safety, and order at sea.

Lt. Gen. Nguyen Van Son, Commander of the VCG