The construction of defence potentials in general, and procincial (municipal) defence zone potentials in particular, is an important aspect that runs through the task of building and safeguarding the Fatherland. For Vinh Phuc Province, located at the northern gateway of the capital city of Hanoi, the construction of these potentials holds significant importance. This requires the local Party Committee, government, armed forces, and people to continue to concentrate all resources on building strong defence zone potentials, serving as a foundation to make Vinh Phuc “one of the wealthiest and most prosperous provinces in the northern region of our country,” as instructed by President Ho Chi Minh.

Vinh Phuc Province, located in the northern region of Vietnam, is of great importance both economically and in terms of national defence and security, particularly for Military Region 2 and the entire country. The Province has a rich history and culture. Despite undergoing multiple administrative boundary changes over time, Vinh Phuc Provincial Party Committee, government, armed forces, and people have always upheld revolutionary traditions and utilised all potential and strengths, especially internal resources, to build it a prosperous province. In recent years, alongside the focus on socio-economic development, the Provincial Party Committee, People’s Council, and People’s Committee have consistently prioritised appropriate budget allocation for defence and security. This includes the construction of defence zone potentials, which has been identified as a crucial and continuous task with significant outcomes in various aspects.

Leaders of the province and the provincial military command at the provincial defence exercise of 2021

Thanks to the right direction, innovative thinking, and collective efforts from all levels, sectors, and the entire population, Vinh Phuc Province achieved a remarkable economic growth rate of 9.54% in 2022. The total provincial budget revenue exceeded 40 trillion VND, the highest ever recorded, surpassing the target set by the Provincial Party Committee for the 2020-2025 term. The average income reached nearly 130 million VND per person per year, placing Vinh Phuc among the top 10 localities with the highest per capita GRDP in the country. This achievement provides an important foundation for realising the goal of strengthening national defence and security through the development of socio-economic sectors. Accordingly, the Province has invested hundreds of billions of VND in the construction of defence infrastructure and the procurement of equipment for the local armed forces. This includes combat bases, anti-aircraft defence systems, tunnels, mobile roads, training and exercises, and equipment for both regular and self-defence forces. As a result, the overall defence capabilities of the defence zone have been enhanced. The people’s national defence, especially the “people’s heart-and-mind defence”, has been gradually consolidated. The overall quality, combat readiness levels and ability of the local armed forces have been improved.

Alongside the achieved results, there are limitations in the awareness and attention of some Party committees and local authorities towards this task. The construction and utilisation of military and defence knowledge and capabilities for reserve forces, self-defence forces, and the general population have not yet fully met the requirements.

To further strengthen and effectively develop the defence zone, the Military Command actively provides recommendations to the Provincial Party Committee, People’s Council, and People’s Committee for the concentrated construction of defence zone potentials. The focus is primarily on building political and ideological strengths and fortifying the “people’s heart-and-mind posture”. As the demands for building and safeguarding the Fatherland increase, the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee prioritise the leadership and guidance of all agencies, units, and localities in thoroughly implementing Party and State resolutions regarding defence zone construction, particularly Conclusion No.64-KL/TW, dated October 30^th, 2019, of the Politburo (the 12^th Tenure) on emphasising the implementation of Resolution No.28-NQ/TW, dated September 22^nd, 2008, of the Politburo (the 10^th Tenure) on “Continuing to build centrally governed provinces and cities into solid defence zones in the new context”. Based on these guidelines, specific plans and action programs close to the local situations are developed to handle incidents and prevent the emergence of hotspots or escalation of beyond-level complaints. Recent incidents in Cu Kuin District, Dak Lak Province, have demonstrated the need for even inland provinces, not just those with borders, to focus on effectively grasping, forecasting, and accurately assessing situations, as well as resolving prominent issues at the grassroots level to prevent terrorist elements from taking advantage of opportunities to conduct sabotage Therefore, in the coming time, in addition to the continued strengthening of education and training on national defence and security for various target groups, particularly key cadres at all levels, religious leaders, and individuals with influence within the community, as well as students and citizens in general, Vinh Phuc will concentrate on enhancing the effectiveness of grassroots political systems. This includes ensuring that cadres at all levels are truly close to the people, understand their needs, and take care of their material and spiritual lives, while effectively addressing their aspirations. Additionally, efforts will be made to build a clean and strong administrative apparatus that instills strong trust in the Party committees and local authorities, especially at the grassroots level. These measures aim to bring about significant changes in the awareness, consciousness, and sense of responsibility of all levels, sectors, localities, and the entire population towards the task of safeguarding the Fatherland in the new context.

Furthermore, the Provincial Military Command will direct agencies and units to actively coordinate with departments, committees, sectors, organisations, and localities in organising activities related to mass mobilisation work; actively participate in the “The Army jointly builds new rural areas” movement and the “Typical cultural village” project, assisting the people in building rural transportation systems, schools, and cultural houses, repairing and upgrading medical stations, and promoting economic development and poverty reduction; and fulfil the duty of gratitude reciprocity, thereby strengthening the “people’s heart-and-mind posture” in the defence zone.

Leader of the Provincial Military Command encourages new recruits

In addition to building political and ideological strengths, the Province will emphasise enhancing economic, scientific, and technological capabilities to provide material resources for the defence zone. Building upon the impressive achievements, the Province identifies the need to continue implementing comprehensive measures to maintain a high growth rate for socioeconomic indicators, focusing on effectively implementing resolutions and conclusions of the Central and the Province, addressing difficulties, and removing bottlenecks in all sectors and fields. At the same time, the Province will prepare to create the most favourable conditions to attract strategic investors, high-tech industries, and strong application of information technology, thereby providing the most favourable investment environment for production and business activities; accelerate the completion of infrastructure in industrial parks and clusters; emphasise the implementation of projects with high versatility that serve socioeconomic development while ensuring national defence and security when necessary; and encourage rapid labour restructuring, job creation, income generation, poverty reduction, and maintaining political security, order, and social safety at the grassroots level.

To establish a foundation for the resources of the defence zone, the Province will strengthen breakthroughs in developing economic and social infrastructure and promoting green urban development in Vinh Yen City and the districts of Lap Thach, Tam Dao, Vinh Tuong, and Yen Lac; actively mobilise and efficiently utilise investment resources to develop transportation, information, communication, irrigation systems, etc., to serve civilian activities in peacetime and be readily available for defence purposes. The Provincial Military Command continues to play a central role in coordinating, appraising, and closely monitoring planning, plans, and socioeconomic development projects, especially in key areas; promote research and application of advanced science and technology in production and enterprise management; and accelerate the implementation of the Smart City project, linked with e-government, to boost socioeconomic development and enhance material, scientific, and technological capabilities in the defence zone.

With the understanding that building military capabilities and the military posture is the core content of the defence zone, the Province will focuses on enhancing the construction of military capabilities, particularly the military posture and strong local armed forces. Based on approved plans, it will concentrate on investing in the construction of defence and military facilities, including command systems at all levels, combat bases, key defence areas, campaign strongholds, anti-aircraft defence systems, tunnel systems, mobile roads, rear bases, logistics and technical bases, natural disaster warning stations, combat villages and communes, etc. It will also advise the Province on reviewing, adjusting, and upgrading National Highway 2, peripheral roads, urban roads, forest planting projects in training areas, and irrigation canal systems that serve socioeconomic development in peacetime and defence and security needs during emergencies. Besides, it will constantly strengthen and improve the effectiveness of the Defence Zone Construction Steering Committee and the Supply Council to tightly manage the reserves of logistics and technical supplies, ensure combat readiness according to orders and mobilisation plans, and mobilise human and material resources from various sectors to meet defence requirements during the initial stages of war.

Furthermore, the Province will pay attention to the leadership and guidance in building local armed forces, including the regular forces, reserve forces, and self-defence forces, with appropriate quantity, structure, comprehensive quality, and high combat strength; primarily focus on completing the organisation and structure of the regular forces in a “compact, strong, and efficient” manner; and place importance on enhancing the quality of political and ideological education, ensuring readiness to accept and fulfil all assigned tasks. Units will effectively conduct training to ensure that the soldiers can proficiently use weapons and equipment in the establishment, possess technical and tactical expertise at both individual and platoon levels, and have the ability to cooperatively engage with standing forces in the area. During training, they will pay close attention to integrating training with discipline building, establishing regularity, and promoting the “three breakthroughs” to achieve steadfast discipline, improve training quality, and closely manage weapons and technical equipment; establish, adjust, complete the combat readiness documents, coordination and cooperation plans between the Military and the Public Security according to Decree No.03/2019/NĐ-CP, dated September 5^th, 2019, of the Government, and conduct rigorous training and exercises in compliance with regulations; continue to improve the organisation and management of the defence zone activities by leaders and commanders at all levels, enhancing coordination among agencies, departments, units, and localities; and maintain strict command, control, and combat readiness systems, establish guarding positions, and proactively grasp the situation from the grassroots level, avoiding passivity and surprise and contributing to maintaining political security, order, and social safety in the area.

Senior Colonel NGUYEN VAN XUAN, Standing member of the Provincial Party Committee, Commander of the Provincial Military Command