III. Requirements for development in the new context
Throughout thousands of years of building and defending the nation, the Vietnamese people have fought numerous wars against powerful invaders with superior economic and military capabilities to safeguard our independence and freedom. In this process, Vietnam’s military art took shape and has since developed both in theoretical practical terms. It is characterised by the art of people's war which reached its zenith during the resistance war against U.S. imperialists for national salvation under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, with President Ho Chi Minh at the helm.
However, we must not rest on our laurels. Instead, it is important to continue researching and bringing Vietnam's military art to new heights as its evolution is an ongoing process. Only by doing so can we stay responsive to quickly evolving, unpredictable contingencies and meet more demanding requirements for national defence in both the present and the future.
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| Su-27 fighters of Regiment 925, Division 372, Air Defence - Air Force Service (photo: qdnd.vn) |
Our Party has stated that while a large-scale war against our country is unlikely in the near term, it cannot be ruled out in the long term. Obviously, it is what we never seek as it would be a catastrophe for our nation. Therefore, our Party has emphasised the importance of “adopting strategies to prevent the risk of war and conflict early and from afar”. Overall, maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for national development acts as the best approach, the ultimate goal, and the highest aspiration that our people have long strived for since achieving national independence and reunification. However, in the current complex context, even the best solution cannot be seen as the only one. It must be combined synchronously with other solutions to ensure prudence and certainty, both to deter and prevent war and conflict, and to stand ready to decisively defeat any invasion attempts, regardless of their scale or form, by hostile forces. To achieve this, even in peacetime, we must best take advantage of the time available to consolidate and strengthen the country’s comprehensive capabilities, especially national defence and security ones, which demonstrates the need to “continue researching and developing theories on national defence, military art, and the art of protecting national security” in line with the Party’s direction.
To effectively research and develop military art theory, it is essential to keep a close watch on recent global conflicts, particularly those between Russia and Ukraine, and Israel and Hamas. Analysing these conflicts can provide valuable insights into new developments in weaponry, equipment, and combat methods. This serves as a foundation for our research and development of military art theory. Our military theories must be closely linked to practical realities; otherwise, they risk becoming irrelevant or leading to unforeseen consequences. Therefore, this issue must be given utmost importance throughout the research and development of military art theory. Concurrently, a creative and flexible research mindset must be cultivated, avoiding rigid and dogmatic approaches that hinder the advancement of military art.
There are now various forms of warfare, such as cyber warfare, information warfare, electronic warfare, coalition warfare, and proxy warfare. In other words, we are witnessing complex warfare characterised by diverse methods of military engagement, which places significant pressure on the defending party, making it difficult to respond effectively. Therefore, when researching and developing military art, it is important to stay close to these new developments. Each type of warfare must be analysed in detail regarding its characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses to formulate timely and effective responses. The concepts of space and time are fundamental to military art and must be interpreted in light of current conditions. In the past, attacking forces often aimed for rapid and decisive victories due to logistic difficulties, weaponry constraints, and public opinion pressure, leading to wars that were short in duration and limited in scope. However, this perspective seems to have changed, as evidenced by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Initially, military experts collectively predicted that this conflict would not last long. In reality, however, the opposite has proven true. Despite difficulties and losses faced by the two sides, the war has now entered its third year without end in sight.
The concepts of time and space in warfare are crucial elements of military art that guide the conduct of war. Accurate assessments regarding the duration and the scope of a war directly influence the preparation and execution of military operations, directly determining the outcome. Therefore, these should never be underestimated. It is essential to monitor real-world developments, conduct in-depth analyses and accurately assess the capabilities of warring parties, which enables comprehensive preparation, including the military art, to avoid any potential errors.
Practical experience has shown the strong link between the development of military art and the advancement of armed forces, which is particularly evident in areas such as organisational structure, weaponry, and equipment, etc. Currently, our Army is being developed towards being “elite, compact, and strong” as evidenced by organisational structure adjustments. This serves as a foundation for building a “revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern” Army by 2030, as defined by the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress. Achieving this goal aims to meet the requirements of national defence and also reflects the legitimate aspiration of our entire Party, people, and Army. The challenge for Vietnam's military art today is how to stay aligned with its objectives and requirements, as well as realities to conduct corresponding research and development at a higher level.
The research and development of military art must adhere to the Resolution of the 13th Party Central Committee’s 8th Plenum on the Strategy for Fatherland protection in the new situation, as well as other specialised strategies, such as the National Defence Strategy, the Military Strategy, the National Security Strategy, and the Strategy for Protecting the Fatherland in Cyberspace. This Resolution clearly outlines fundamental viewpoints, tasks, and comprehensive solutions for Fatherland protection in terms of economics, national defence, security, foreign affairs, and so forth. It provides a critical theoretical foundation to ensure the proper development of our military art.
Another crucial aspect to consider is how the methods of combat in a people’s war for national defence will evolve to achieve victory. During the resistance against U.S imperialists, our military strategy continuously developed and reached its peak in the final stages of the war. However, our combat methods were mainly at the level of combined arms operations, with limited involvement of the air force and navy. In the event of unprovoked military aggression, the people’s war for national defence will evolve to a much higher level, with large-scale combined arms operations. Consequently, the employment of forces, weaponry, equipment, and so on will undergo substantial changes to our advantage. Given Vietnam’s unique geographical features - a long, narrow shape with a wide sea area - the country is vulnerable to strategic divisions. Organising a defensive campaign in such a complex environment presents considerable challenges. Therefore, it is imperative to develop comprehensive military plans at all levels, particularly at the strategic level. These plans must address a range of contingencies, including the selection of appropriate forces, weapons, and equipment. These are crucial issues that military art must focus on to ensure proactive and effective defence operations.
Regardless of how military art evolves, we must consistently adhere to the Party’s guiding principle: conducting the people’s war for national defence at a very high level. This is made possible by the enhanced organisation of the armed forces and the advancement of modern weaponry and technical equipment, with the participation of the entire population and the core role played by the three-type armed forces (regular troops, local forces, and militia). Combat methods must focus on combining large-scale interoperability operations of main force corps, services, and arms with local people’s warfare. Local armed forces must play a pivotal role within an all-out people's war framework, anchored by robust and interconnected provincial-level defensive posture. All of these preparations must be made as early as peacetime, and be subject to adaption in wartime. Plans, scenarios, and solutions have already been clearly stated in specialised strategies, especially in Vietnam’s Military Strategy in the new era. Therefore, the research and development of military art must be based on these foundational documents to meet the requirements effectively.
The ultimate goal of developing military art is to effectively address military issues in actual combat, focusing on forces, “tactics, plans, positions, timing” posture, time, and space in warfare. We believe that with our rich traditions, extensive experience, and distinctive military art forged through the wars against French colonialists and U.S. imperialists, combined with creative, objective, and scientific thinking, Vietnam’s military art will develop in the right direction and reach new heights, making worthy contributions to the cause of protecting the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the new situation. (The end)
MANH HA - QUANG HOP - CAO CUONG