Over the course of 80 years of building, fighting and maturing (7 September 1945 - 7 September 2025), the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army has consistently demonstrated resolve, intellect and strategic acumen, fulfilling its duties with distinction and making vital contributions to the nation’s greatest victories. Today, in the face of increasingly complex global and regional developments and the heightened demands of safeguarding the Fatherland in a new era, the General Staff must continue to raise the level of its strategic advisory role in military and defence affairs, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Party, the people and the armed forces in resolutely protecting the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Fatherland.
In response to the objective requirements and urgent demands of the revolution, on 7 September 1945 President Ho Chi Minh directed the establishment of the General Staff. He emphasised: “The General Staff is the secret military organ of the Organisation, an important body of the Army, with the duties of training and organising the troops effectively; gaining a clear grasp of both enemy and ourselves; devising shrewd strategies; and ensuring smooth, secret, rapid, timely and accurate command, so as to defeat all enemies and safeguard the revolution.”
Faithful to that guidance, and firmly grasping its assigned functions and tasks, the General Staff has, for eight decades, under the leadership of the Party - directly the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence - worked tirelessly to advance, consistently displaying exceptional resolve, ingenuity and strategic artistry. With decisiveness, flexibility and initiative in organisation, direction and command, it has excelled in every mission entrusted to it. The General Staff has affirmed its position as the core strategic advisory body on military and defence matters, directly commanding the People’s Army and the militia forces, which have served as the backbone of the nation in achieving resounding feats of arms. From the triumphs of the resistance wars against French colonialism and American imperialism, to the defence of the southwestern and northern borders and the fulfilment of lofty international duties, the General Staff has played a decisive role. Its contributions have been fundamental to the growth, strength and glorious victories of both the Army and the Vietnamese nation.
In recent years, against a backdrop of increasingly complex global and regional developments, the General Staff has excelled in research, situational awareness and accurate forecasting. It has provided timely counsel to the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence, enabling the Party and the State to shape strategic lines on military and defence policy. Through sound recommendations, it has helped craft appropriate responses, effectively managing sensitive and complex issues of national defence and security. Key decisions have advanced the building of an Army that is “compact, elite and strong” on its path towards modernisation. The General Staff has also played a central role in fostering an all-people national defence - all-people national defence posture integrated with the people’s security posture - building an increasingly solid “people’s heart-and-mind posture”. In close coordination with other forces, it has overseen the implementation of Party directives and Government decisions, advised on drafting, revising and refining legislation on military and defence affairs, and ensured that such frameworks are rigorously and consistently applied. This has mobilised the combined strength of the entire political system and the population to modernise the Army, consolidate national defence and safeguard the Fatherland. At the same time, the General Staff has directed the entire Army in training, combat readiness, and proactive measures to prevent and respond effectively to non-traditional security challenges. It has upheld the threefold function of the People’s Army - as a combat force, a working force and a production force - while firmly defending the nation’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, borders, seas and islands. Thanks to its vigilance, the country has avoided strategic surprise, preserving a peaceful and stable environment for national construction and development.
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| General Nguyen Tan Cuong meets and encourages troops participating in the national parade |
Today, global affairs remain fraught with complexity. While peace, cooperation and development continue to be prevailing trends, they are increasingly tested by major challenges. The international order is shifting towards a multipolar, multi-centred, multi-layered configuration. Local wars, armed conflicts, territorial and maritime disputes, and non-traditional security threats are becoming more acute. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is stepping up cooperation and integration in pursuit of its Vision 2045 and striving to maintain its central role in the regional architecture. Yet, it faces mounting internal and external challenges. Meanwhile, the Fourth Industrial Revolution - particularly advances in artificial intelligence - is reshaping all aspects of social life, including the military and defence spheres. It is giving rise to new domains of strategic competition and new forms of warfare. Future conflicts are likely to be increasingly asymmetric and irregular, with the use of high-technology weaponry becoming commonplace.
After forty years of Đổi mới (Renewal), Vietnam has achieved historic and wide-ranging progress, strengthening its potential, global standing and international reputation. Nevertheless, the country continues to face serious difficulties and challenges. Hostile and reactionary forces, together with political opportunists, persist in pursuing strategies of “peaceful evolution”, attempting to foster “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” within the system, and to “depoliticise” the Army. Their schemes are ever more sophisticated, aggressive and overt.
This context sets forth demanding new requirements for building the Army, consolidating national defence and safeguarding the Fatherland. It calls for strategic military and defence advisory work to be renewed with greater proactivity, sensitivity and effectiveness. To discharge this vital responsibility, the General Staff must concentrate on several core tasks.
Firstly, it is essential to uphold and strengthen the leadership of the Party and the Central Military Commission in all matters of strategic military and defence advice. This is a matter of principle and continuity, ensuring that the General Staff consistently excels in its duties and further elevates the quality of its strategic military and national defence counsel in line with the demands of safeguarding the Fatherland in the new era. To this end, Party committees and commanders across the General Staff must regularly and thoroughly study and internalise the Party’s line and viewpoints, as well as the State’s policies and laws on military and defence tasks and Fatherland protection, together with issues of economy, culture, society and foreign affairs. The focus must include the Resolution of the 8th Plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee on the Strategy for safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation, the National Defence Strategy, the Military Strategy of Vietnam and other sectoral strategies. On that foundation, the General Staff must actively renew its thinking, sharpen its understanding of the requirements of defending the Fatherland in the present context, and direct its leadership towards comprehensive, close monitoring, research and forecasting of military and defence issues, as well as assessing the adversaries and partners of the Vietnamese revolution. Timely advice must be given to the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence so that the Party and the State can shape sound strategic policies, enabling the proactive prevention, containment and repulsion of risks that might otherwise lead to armed conflict or invasion. The overarching aim is to defend the Fatherland with determination, ensuring that the country is never caught off guard strategically.
At the same time, efforts must be focused on strengthening the Party Committee of the General Staff - the Ministry of National Defence’s governing organ - as well as Party committees and cells within its agencies and units. These bodies must demonstrate comprehensive leadership, high combativeness and resilience in politics, ideology, ethics, organisation and personnel. They must strictly adhere to the principle of democratic centralism, foster a culture of self-criticism and mutual criticism, and preserve strong internal unity. Party committees and organisations at all levels should continue to innovate their methods of leadership, with Party secretaries and unit commanders setting a personal example in responsibility and conduct. Particular attention must be paid to improving Party-building, rectification and cadre development, with emphasis on training and discipline for cadres and Party members. The General Staff must be built into a model institution: compact, efficient, strong, coherent and specialised. The cornerstone of this is the development of high-quality human resources, especially operational- and strategic-level cadres with firm political will, unwavering loyalty to the Fatherland, the Party, the State and the people; cadres endowed with sharp intellect, strategic vision and the agility to assess, forecast and recommend solutions; and with the command skills and executive ability to fulfil the mission of a strategic advisory and command organ.
Secondly, the General Staff must remain proactive, astute and adaptable in strengthening its advisory capacity and in raising the quality of its counsel on military and national defence policies and Fatherland protection. In line with Conclusion No.623-KL/QUTW, issued on 3 October 2021 by the Central Military Commission on improving the quality of strategic forecasting and defence advisory work through 2025 and beyond, the General Staff must direct its agencies and units to coordinate closely with the Ministry of National Defence’s functional bodies. By grasping developments in a timely manner, conducting in-depth analysis and making accurate assessments of the strategic intentions and trends of major powers and other relevant countries, it can ensure that the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence are able to provide the Party and the State with sound, strategic recommendations - equipping the nation to respond effectively to defence and security challenges both immediate and long-term.
In the present context, the General Staff must also continue to work with ministries, sectors and localities to refine institutions, policies and legislation on military and defence matters. The priority is to remove obstacles and inconsistencies, creating a solid legal framework for the effective implementation of programmes, projects and schemes to develop the Army and modernise their equipment, thereby advancing the construction of an all-people national defence posture - particularly in strategic areas such as maritime zones and borderlands. At a time when the political system is undergoing organisational streamlining, the General Staff is tasked with researching and proposing to the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence, for reporting to the Party and the State, new and feasible solutions to strengthen the all-people national defence and the integrated posture of all-people national defence with people’s security. The emphasis lies in reinforcing the potential of the defence establishment in line with the Party’s renewed thinking on safeguarding the Fatherland; consolidating robust defence zones at military region and local levels under the new administrative units; and developing strategies and policies to deepen the integration of the economy with defence, and defence with the economy. This requires meticulous coordination of national defence planning with economic, cultural and social development - especially in areas of strategic importance. At the same time, the General Staff must continue to advise on the development of the People’s Army, particularly building a People’s Army of high overall quality and strong combat power.
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| Sr. Lt. Gen. Huynh Chien Thang checks forces participating in the CKB24 exercise in 2024 |
Building on the progress achieved in restructuring the armed forces and shaping a “compact, elite and strong” Army, the General Staff continues to oversee research and provide advice on refining and issuing circulars, decisions and regulations. These define the functions, duties, working relationships, and mechanisms of coordination, management, command and control following the reorganisation of core units and local military bodies. Mid-term reviews are being conducted on the implementation of Politburo Resolution No.05-NQ/TW and Central Military Commission Resolution No.230-NQ/QUTW on the organisation of the Vietnam People’s Army for the 2021-2030 period and beyond, forming the basis for planning the next phase (2026-2030). At the same time, efforts are focused on finalising wartime organisational structures, reviewing and updating operational documents, and adjusting strategic deployments to meet the demands of national defence in new circumstances. Strategic proposals include medium- and long-term projects prioritising investment in production, the procurement of modern weaponry and equipment, and the development of a robust defence industry - creating a solid foundation for the building of a modern Army. The General Staff also advises on reviewing and improving the organisation and operational quality of the militia, self-defence and reserve forces, while effectively implementing industrial mobilisation tasks.
Thirdly, greater emphasis must be placed on drawing lessons from practice and advancing theory on strategic and operational art, as well as on the military science of people’s war under modern conditions. The mission of defending the Fatherland under Party leadership presents both opportunities and favourable conditions, yet also grave and complex challenges. Accordingly, all military bodies and units - above all the strategic research and advisory agencies - must intensify their reviews of practice, synthesising lessons from the wars of liberation and homeland defence, while studying recent conflicts worldwide. The aim is to develop and refine Vietnam’s theories of strategic and operational art, military science and the doctrine of people’s war in the age of high-technology warfare, ensuring readiness to prevail against aggression in any form or scale.
In this process, strategic advisory organs must firmly grasp Ho Chi Minh’s military thought, the Party’s lines on defence and people’s war, and its guidelines for safeguarding the Fatherland. Research should focus on developing both theory and practice relating to the organisation of leadership, command and conduct of people’s war in modern conditions, across three levels: military strategy, operational art and tactics. Priority must be given to studying new forms and methods of warfare, novel domains of conflict (high-technology warfare, cyber operations, asymmetric conflict, etc.), and to defining principles and measures for organising, employing and coordinating forces. This includes joint operations between mobile main-force units and local armed forces, as well as inter-service coordination in defending the homeland and responding to non-traditional security threats. Amidst today’s rapidly shifting and complex global and regional landscape, where adversaries and partners are often intertwined, strategic advisory agencies must not only advance operational theory but also focus on devising appropriate modes of defence engagement. These must reflect the Party’s line of simultaneously cooperating and struggling, while skilfully avoiding confrontation, conflict, isolation or dependence.
Finally, the General Staff must take the initiative in advising and effectively implementing international integration and defence diplomacy, thereby strengthening the global standing and reputation of both the country and its Army. In line with the Party’s Strategy on International Integration and Defence Diplomacy, the General Staff must keep a firm grasp of developments to assist the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence in applying a comprehensive set of measures. These must advance international integration and defence diplomacy under the guiding principles of being “active, proactive, prudent, flexible and effective”, together with the “four no’s” policy of national defence. Timely advice must be provided to the Party and the State to ensure effective handling of relations with partners and adversaries alike, combining cooperation with struggle, and safeguarding the Fatherland early and from afar through peaceful means.
At the same time, the General Staff must continue to elevate cooperation and integration, bilaterally and multilaterally: shifting from passive reception to active contribution, from learning to leadership, from broad-based to deep, substantive integration. This approach will foster mutual understanding, trust and collaboration in resolving emerging issues, preventing conflict, and advancing the overarching strategic goal of safeguarding national interests while promoting regional and global peace and stability. The General Staff must also proactively advise on the deployment of forces to United Nations peacekeeping missions, humanitarian relief, disaster rescue and war legacy remediation. It should recommend to the Ministry of National Defence measures for effectively organising defence friendship exchanges along the borders with neighbouring countries, as well as participation in international military competitions and exercises. These activities not only reinforce solidarity and international support but also enhance the reputation of Vietnam and the Army, projecting abroad the cultural values of the nation, its defence policy, and the noble qualities of the “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”.
For eighty years, the journey of building, fighting and maturing of the General Staff has been inseparable from the glorious victories of the heroic Vietnam People’s Army. In today’s new context, the General Staff is called upon to innovate relentlessly, to further elevate the quality of its strategic advisory work, and to meet the ever-higher demands of building the Army, strengthening national defence and safeguarding the Fatherland - always worthy of being “the confidential military organ of the Organisation”: the outstanding strategic advisory body for military and defence affairs in defence of the Fatherland.
General NGUYEN TAN CUONG, Member of the Party Central Committee, Standing Member of the Central Military Commission, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, Deputy Minister of National Defence