Following Uncle Ho’s instructions: “In the past, we only had night and forest, today we have the day, sky, and sea; Our coastline is long and beautiful; We must safeguard it”, over the years, Naval Region 1’s Party Committee and Command have focused their leadership and direction on taking various synchronised measures to enhance the Region’s overall quality and combat strength, serving as the core  force in closely managing and firmly protecting national sovereignty over northern seas and islands.

Amphibious warfare training by Naval Region 1

Being founded on 26 October 1975, Naval Region 1, whose forerunner was Coastal Region 1, is tasked with training and combat readiness, playing a core role in managing and protecting national sovereignty over a large sea stretching from Quang Ninh to Ha Tinh provinces, including Gulf of Tonkin and many outpost islands of strategic importance. Grasping Uncle Ho’s teachings, in the past 50 years of building, fighting, and growing, generations of cadres and soldiers of the Region have always maintained unity and devoted their efforts to surmount all difficulties, successfully fulfil their assigned tasks, win numerous brilliant feats of arms, bolster the glorious tradition of “unity, discipline, overcoming hardships, mastering the sea, being determined to fight and to win”. With its recorded achievements, the Region has been given many noble rewards by our Party and State.

Complex, unpredictable situational developments in the East Sea impose ever higher demands on the task of protecting national sovereignty over seas and islands. Following Uncle Ho’s instructions on improving the Military’s capabilities and especially stepping up political education to enable our Military to possess a firm political stance - the stance of a People’s Army led by the working class to make it more determined to fight and to win, the Region’s Party Committee and Commands as well as party committees and commands of offices and units have always focused their leadership and direction on well performing political and ideological education, building great resolve and political steadfastness among their cadres and soldiers, strictly executing directives and guidance on political and ideological education, particularly Directive 2423-CT/QUTW, dated 9 November 2023, by the Central Military Commission Standing Board on “renewing and improving political education in the new period”. A part from completing all political education programs for troops, the Region has equipped its cadres and soldiers with the fundamentals of Marxism - Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, the Party’s lines, and the State’s laws and policies on military, defence, and Fatherland protection tasks, especially on the protection of national sovereignty over seas and islands and Vietnam’s consistent lines for settlement of all disputes in the East Sea. Besides, great value has been attached to raising troops’ awareness of missions of the Navy, the Region, and each office and unit, preserving and fostering patriotism and national pride among all cadres and soldiers.

The Region’s Brigade 147 collaborates with Air Force Regiment 916 in training

There is a fact that many units of the Region are stationed in dispersed locations and operating independently in high mountains and on remote islands; many vessels are undertaking long-term missions at sea under harsh and dangerous conditions. Therefore, the Region has actively renewed forms and methods of education in a practical, effective manner to be relevant to each group of troops and each type of units. Emphasis has been placed on visual and tasks-based education in line with breakthroughs and models, such as “unit with 3 exemplary things”, “3 patterns, 4 resolutions”, “cadres with decent political education and ideological orientation”. It has closely combined political education with law dissemination, adhering to procedures for managing troop ideology, opportunely, effectively handing emerging issues. It has strictly maintained Political and Cultural Day at grass-roots level and Legal Study Day, increasing democratic dialogues, bringing into play cultural institutions, creating an open, diverse environment. It has effectively promoted the role of its specialised force in thwarting hostile forces’ “peaceful evolution” strategy and preventing manifestations of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” from within, thereby avoiding passivity and surprise. As a result, its cadres and soldiers have consistently demonstrated their political will and absolute loyalty to the Party, State, and people, firmly grasping their functions and assigned tasks, remaining steadfast in their goal and ideal, staying vigilant, mastering strategic principles and policies to successfully handle situations at sea.

Grasping Uncle Ho’s teachings: “We must find combat methods appropriate to our people’s conditions, our country’s coastal terrain, and our weapons and equipment”, the Region’s Party Committee and Command have focused on realising breakthroughs in training and combat readiness as well as in management and protection of national sovereignty over the assigned seas and islands. Offices and units have thoroughly grasped and strictly implemented directives and resolutions on combat training, particularly Resolution 602-NQ/ĐU, dated 28 January 2023, by the Region Party Committee on improving the quality of training in the period of 2023 - 2030 and beyond, focusing on careful preparation, reviewing and properly adjusting their personnel, conducting all training programmes as planned. They have adhered to the motto of “basics, practicality, solidity”, flexibly, creatively applying viewpoints, principles, and connections to achieve a breakthrough in “mastering weapons and technical equipment and raising the quality of cadre training”. They have attached great importance to conducting comprehensive, specialised training closely tied to combat realities, intensified the training of detachment-level, ship, and branch officers, and focused on helping troops master new, modern weapons and technical equipment, especially under night-time and complex weather conditions. They have employed science and technology to improve training management, command, and operation and testing, combined training with political education and regularity building, maintained discipline, and ensured absolute safety in the training process. As a result, their forces taking part in higher-level contests have won top prizes; their exercises with missile, artillery, and torpedo firing have been carried out excellently and with absolute safety. Those achievements have contributed to cementing troops’ faith in the Navy’s weapons, equipment, combat methods, combat strength, and victory.

The Region’s Brigade 170 assists locals in responding to Storm Yagi in 2024

Upholding Uncle Ho’s teachings: “we must always maintain vigilance and combat readiness to crush all enemy plots”, the Region has focused its breakthrough efforts on “enhancing combat readiness, improving the effectiveness of maritime management, and raising the quality of field exercises and operational documents”. Its offices and units have proactively designed, supplemented, and perfected operational documents, practising and mastering combat readiness projects, strictly maintaining their combat-ready forces and means. They have regularly collaborated with other forces of the Navy in the same areas to opportunely grasp the situation at sea, early detect and correctly forecast new movements of foreign vessels, particularly oil rigs, survey ships, military vessels, law enforcement ships, and fishing boats, thus successfully handling situations and avoiding passivity and surprise. In the first half of 2025, the Region detected and drove away nearly 1,200 foreign fishing boats violating Vietnam’s waters, closely monitoring foreign coast guard and survey ships and oil rigs operating in the Gulf of Tonkin, conducting propagation work to prevent Vietnamese fishing boats from operating in foreign waters. Besides, it actively collaborated with other forces to assist the people in natural disaster prevention and control, conducting search and rescue operations at sea, providing solid support for fishermen to reach out to the sea.

Raising the quality of regularity building and discipline management has been a key focus of the Region in realising Uncle Ho’s teachings: “An army without discipline is certain to lose in battle”. Offices and units of the Region have focused their breakthrough efforts on “stepping up regularity building, managing troops, ensuring safety, heightening all-level commanders’ sense of responsibility, and minimising serious violations of law and discipline”. They have enhanced the quality of regularity building towards uniformity and synchronisation in organisational structure, weapons, equipment, uniform, command and control system, and troop management regulations, across all areas, such as staff work, political work, logistics and technical support work, as well as in all missions, including training, combat readiness, exercises, daily life, study, and work.

Furthermore, the Region has continued to effectively implement models, such as “3 complete clearances, 4 exemplary actions” and “taking every violation as a topic for ideological discussion and experience sharing”. Due attention has been paid to promoting the pioneering, exemplary role of all-level party committees and commands and fostering proactivity and self-awareness among cadres and soldiers. The Region has closely coordinated with local authorities and families to manage its troop’s social relations, thus achieving a positive change in regularity building and discipline management. Between 2015 and 2024, it always acted as a leading unit in the Determined to Win Emulation Movement; it also obtained the Emulation Flag from the Ministry of National Defence and the Navy.

On the occasion of its 50^th Founding Anniversary, the Region is honoured with the First-Class Fatherland Protection Order from President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. This is a source of great pride and strong motivation for all cadres and soldiers of Naval Region 1 to uphold their tradition, continue studying and following Uncle Ho’s teachings, and firmly protect the Fatherland’s northern seas and islands in the new situation.

Rear Admiral TRAN XUAN VAN

Political Commissar of the Region