Defence work at ministries and central sectors plays a role of paramount importance, directly contributing to raising defence potential and strength and protecting the Fatherland. Currently, in response to the increasingly high requirements of Fatherland construction and protection in the new era, ministries and central sectors should further improve the quality of this important work.

Lt. Gen. Nguyen Quang Ngoc gives certificates of merit to collectives with outstanding achievements in defence work at ministries and central sectors in 2024

Over the years, grasping the Party’s lines and the State’s laws and policies on defence tasks and Fatherland protection in the new situation, ministries and central sectors have proactively, comprehensively, synchronously carried out defence work and achieved significant results to contribute to strengthening all-people national defence and posture of all-people national defence associated with posture of people’s security. They have grasped and seriously executed the Party’s resolutions and the State’s laws on defence tasks, particularly the Resolution of the 13^th Party Central Committee on the Strategy for Fatherland Protection in the New Situation, the Politburo’s Resolution 28-NQ/TW on continuing to build provinces and centrally-run cities into strong defensive zones, and Decree 168/2018/NĐ-CP on defence work at ministries, central sectors, and localities.

Ministries and central sectors have paid due regard to leading, directing, grasping, and performing defence tasks effectively. Legal normative documents, regulations, plans, and programs for defence work have been sufficiently designed in accordance with the functions, tasks, and particularities of each ministry and sector. Great value has been attached to organising forces and building defence potential, especially political - spiritual potential, economic potential, and scientific - technological potential. Defence and security education has been provided for target individuals at all levels in a serious, synchronised manner; coordination has been maintained to organise defence and security education courses for cadres, party members, and public servants, particularly for leaders and managers at all levels, with significant results and positive changes in their awareness and responsibility towards the performance of defence tasks.

Ministries and central sectors have proactively reviewed and consolidated their Military Commands, raising the quality of giving advice on defence work, organising a strong self-defence force with proper structure and good task performance in every situation, reviewing, adjusting, and perfecting plans and projects to respond to defence - security situations. Coordination with the Ministry of National Defence (MND) and localities has been closely, effectively maintained and directed towards defence - security fields, defence diplomacy, border, sea, and island protection, cyber security, civil defence exercises, natural disaster response, search and rescue, and order and safety assurance. Due regard has been paid to researching and designing mechanisms, policies, and laws on national defence. Many socio-economic development programs and projects within strategic, border, sea, island areas have been co-appraised closely and submitted to competent authorities for approval and release. Consideration has been given to perfecting the system of legal documents on national defence and raising the quality and effectiveness of defence tasks, thereby contributing to ensuring political stability and firmly protecting national independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, and benefits.

In addition to those good results, defence work within ministries and central sectors still has several weaknesses. Legal normative documents on defence work have not been grasped and executed effectively, comprehensively by some ministries and central sectors; the system of documents, regulations, and plans for defence work has yet to be reviewed, supplemented, and completed in a synchronised, uniform way; the quality of defence and security education for cadres from the 3^rd and 4^th groups remains low; staff work by Military Commands is still poor; the work of inspection of defence tasks has yet to be regular and comprehensive.

In the upcoming years, there will be complex, unpredictable changes throughout the world and in the region. Domestically, hostile forces will continue stepping up their “peaceful evolution” strategy, promoting “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”, and undermining national great unity. To improve the quality of defence work, ministries and central sectors should synchronously adopt several main measures as follows.

First, enhancing leadership and direction by party committees and leaders of ministries and central sectors over defence work.

This measure acts as the deciding factor in the improved quality of defence work. To that end, ministries and central sectors should continue grasping the Party’s views and lines on national defence, particularly the Resolution of the 13^th Party Central Committee’s 8^th Plenum on the Strategy for Fatherland Protection in the New Situation, Resolution 28-NQ/TW on building defensive zones, Decree 168/2018/NĐ-CP on defence work at ministries, central sectors, and localities, as well as resolutions, directives, and conclusion by the Central Military Commission and the MND on defence tasks in the current situation. Grounded on those documents, they should issue specialised resolutions, programs, and plans for defence work in accordance with their functions, tasks, and practical conditions. They should clearly identify roles and responsibilities of their affiliates, key cadres, and staff members in performing defence tasks. The quality and effectiveness of defence work should be seen as an important criterion for evaluating the task performance of offices and units within ministries and central sectors. Besides, due attention should be paid to leading, directing, inspecting, and supervising the performance of defence work, carrying out preliminary and final reviews to draw lessons and overcome weaknesses in defence work, developing creative models and approaches to contribute to raising the quality and effectiveness of defence work within ministries and central sectors and building strong all-people national defence.

Second, inspecting, reviewing, supplementing, and completing documents, regulations, and plans for defence work.

It is necessary to proactively review, supplement, design, and submit legal normative, directing, and guiding documents on military - defence work to competent authorities for synchronised, uniform promulgation in accordance with the reorganisation of the political system’s apparatus and the building of a two-tier local government model. Emphasis should be placed on inspecting, reviewing, supplementing, and completing plans for defence mobilisation, civil defence, defence consolidation, and transforming operations of ministries and central sectors from peacetime into wartime, projects for protecting crucial targets, offices, and units, projects for mobilising forces and means in the event, and plans for coordination in defence work in accordance with socio-economic development plans of ministries, central sectors, and localities within the national master plan for national defence. Due regard should be paid to regularly organising exercises to inspect and evaluate the performance of defence work, draw lessons, and adjust projects for protecting key targets, communications systems, database systems, and technical infrastructures for defence work in the new situation.

Third, raising the quality of defence and security education for cadres, public servants, and employees.

Defence and security education plays an important role in building political - spiritual potential of all-people national defence, aimed at raising awareness and a sense of responsibility towards Fatherland construction and protection among cadres, public servants, and employees. Therefore, ministries and central sectors should continue adhering to the Law on Defence and Security Education, the 10^th Politburo’s Directive 12-CT/TW, dated 3 May 2007, on enhancing the Party’s leadership over defence and security education in the new situation, as well as plans by the Central Defence and Security Education Council. Military Commands of ministries and central sectors should promote their role and responsibility in defence and security education. Ministries and central sectors should further improve the quality of defence and security education for target individuals, proactively review and make plans for defence and security education under Decree 13/2014/NĐ-CP, dated 25 February 2014, by the Government, and guiding documents by the Central Defence and Security Education Council. They should consider the results of defence and security education as a criterion for annual personnel evaluation and commendation within offices and units as well as for personnel planning and appointment of leaders and managers at all levels.

Additionally, it is important to review content and methods of defence education, with a focus on the Party’s viewpoints and lines and the State’s laws on defence and security as well as tasks of ministries and central sectors in the new situation. Consideration should be given to holding workshops and conferences on law propagation and dissemination relating to defence work in tandem with “peaceful evolution” prevention and combat. Ministries and central sectors should promote the role of internal broadcasts, web portals, and specialised columns on defence and security in raising their staff members’ vigilance, awareness, and responsibility in the cause of Fatherland construction and protection.

Fourth, regularly improving the operational quality of Military Commands of ministries and central sectors, building a strong self-defence force.

Military Commands of ministries and central sectors act as the core force in assisting leaders of ministries and central sectors in performing defence tasks and building all-people national defence associated with posture of people’s security. Hence, ministries and central sectors should proactively consolidate their Military Commands both qualitatively and quantitatively. Great value should be attached to selecting cadres in charge of military affairs with political steadfastness, pure ethics, a strong sense of responsibility, and great professional competence and capability in staff work. Ministries and central sectors should frequently organise refresher courses to equip cadres of their Military Commands with new military - defence knowledge and skills.   

Ministries and central sectors should concentrate on organising and building a strong self-defence force under the Law on Militia and Self-Defence Force and the Law on Reserve Force. They should closely carry out review, registration, and management of members of the self-defence force relevant to manpower of their offices and units, properly delegate tasks to this force, and ensure a harmony between professional activities and readiness for defence tasks. Due attention should be paid to building a politically, ideologically, organisationally strong self-defence force, strictly maintaining regulations on training and exercises, raising this force’s combat readiness capacity, improving this force’s coordination in dealing with defence - security and civil defence situations, protecting offices and units, and ensuring political security and social order and safety.

Fifth, enhancing inspections and preliminary and final reviews of defence work.

Inspections and reviews play a role of importance in helping leaders of ministries and central sectors correctly assess the performance of defence tasks, point out strong and weak points, and formulate remedial solutions. Thus, ministries and central sectors should make plans for regular and irregular inspections of defence work performed by their affiliated offices and units. Those inspections should be focused on the introduction and realisation of legal normative, directing, and guiding documents for defence work, on the system of leading and directing documents and action plans for defence work, on combat readiness work, on the building of self-defence force, on the consolidation of Military Commands, on cyber security and military secret protection, on civil defence work, and on defence and security education for target individuals.

Ministries and central sectors should carry out preliminary and final reviews of defence tasks both regularly and irregularly, opportunely supplement and adjust their defence work plans, and commend collectives and individuals with brilliant achievements in defence work to contribute to multiplying good models and approaches and raising the performance of defence tasks in the new situation. Besides, they should frequently cooperate with local military agencies to conduct situational analyses and assessments and adopt measures of coordination in settling complex defence - security situations in the area.

Over the years, defence work at ministries and central sectors has been carried out effectively to contribute to strengthening all-people national defence. However, Fatherland construction and protection in the new situation are now imposing high requirements of defence work on ministries and central sectors. Therefore, ministries and central sectors should continue bringing into play their recorded results, overcoming their weaknesses, and proactively improving the performance of defence work to make more significant contributions to the cause of Fatherland construction and protection.

Lt. Gen. NGUYEN QUANG NGOC

Member of the Party Central Committee

Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army