Fully aware of their assigned political tasks, the Party Committee and Command of Coast Guard Region 3 have been focusing their leadership and direction on adopting various measures to build an “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong Region capable of meeting the requirements of law enforcement and firmly protecting national sovereignty over seas and islands in the new situation.

Under directives and guidance by the Central Military Commission (CMC), the Ministry of National Defence (MND), the Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG) Command, and competent agencies on building “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong units, Coast Guard Region 3’s Party Committee and Command have taken proper measures and obtained positive results in this work. Notably, all-level party committees and commands have well conducted political and ideological education work to build up troops’ political steadfastness and great resolve for tasks. The Region has been proactive in force adjustments, with priority given to providing sufficient personnel, weapons, and equipment for units in charge of patrol and law enforcement at sea. At the same time, it has strictly maintained regulations on combat readiness and sufficiently preparing manpower, materials, and weapons to deal with incidents. There have been many reforms in training work; the Region has organised and taken part in all-level contests with good results. Logistics and technical support for regular and irregular tasks has been ensured. In 2024, the Region implemented various breakthrough measures to turn itself into a role model in terms of regularity building and discipline management. As a result, over the past 5 years, the Region and its higher echelons have granted a recognition of 30 affiliates as “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong units, while 252 collective commendations and 2,089 individual commendations in the Region’s emulation movements have been presented. Those good results have laid a foundation for the Region to raise its synergy, combat power, and task performance.

Live firing during the General Exercise of 2024

Currently, complex developments in crime and violation of law at sea as well as the management and protection of seas and islands have been imposing more demanding requirements on the VCG in general, Coast Guard Region 3 in particular. To improve the building of an “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong Region under Directive 79/CT-BQP, dated 22 July 2022, by Minister of National Defence and Directive 212/CT-ĐU, dated 10 June 2021, by the CVG Party Committee Standing Board as the basis for building a revolutionary, regular, elite, modern VCG, the Region’s Party Committee and Command will focus on four central points as follows.

The Region’s Party Committee and Command always see the building of a politically strong Region as a deciding factor. Hence, the Region will continue to direct its offices and units to renew and improve party and political work. Emphasis will be placed on drastically, synchronously taking measures to completely handle weaknesses, build a strong Region Party Organisation in terms of politics, ideology, morality, organisation, and personnel, raise the leadership and combativeness of party organisations, enhance the training of cadres and party members, renew and improve regularity building, discipline management, safety assurance, and administrative reforms. Great value will be attached to maintaining the effectiveness of political, ideological, and legal education to render troops cognisant of the Region’s task requirements, criminals’ plots and artifices, and difficulties and challenges. Under the motto of “taking party cells as the centre”, the Region’s Party Committee and Command will promote the role of party cells as the nucleus for leadership, unity, and education and training of cadres, party members, and the masses, while maintaining the regulations on “self-review”, “self-correction”, and example setting among cadres and party members, particularly the key ones. Party cells must act as role models in the execution of their own resolutions, the quality of their own meetings, the management, education, and training of their own cadres and party members, the development of new party memberships, and the implementation of party-related administrative procedures. Each office and unit must step up the Determined to Win Emulation Movement towards their political tasks in line with the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics, and lifestyle, improve the virtues of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers - VCG Soldiers”, and build up troops’ political steadfastness, combat morale, vigilance, and resolve against all plots and artifices of hostile forces and types of crime, especially against violations of national sovereignty over seas, islands, and continental shelf.

The Region’s Party Committee and Command will also step up force adjustments in an adept, compact manner and improve task performance as the basis for building a professional, modern VCG. Under resolutions of the Politburo and the CMC, plans of the MND on organising the Vietnam People’s Army in the period of 2021 - 2030 and beyond, especially Resolution 594-NQ/ĐU, dated 20 July 2022, by the VCG Party Committee, and Plan 7118/KH-BTL, dated 25 July 2022, by the VCG Command on organising the VCG in the period of 2021 - 2030 and beyond, the Region will review and properly adjust its organisational structure to achieve a harmonious quantity of officers, professional service men and women, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers. It will resolutely reduce redundancies in intermediate and service sections, giving priority to providing sufficient personnel, weapons, and technical means for combat readiness and vessel units, reorganising logistics, technical, and specialised offices in accordance with their functions and tasks to keep pace with the development of the task of protecting national security, order, and safety at sea, diplomacy, and international cooperation in the new situation.

To build a contingent of officers, professional service men and women, and soldiers with great professional competence, scientific work style, and civilised conduct, the Region will attach importance to holding training courses to improve its troops’ legal knowledge, experience, and skills to deal with incidents. It is worth noting that troops of the VCG are regularly faced with many types of crime, particularly smuggling, trade fraud, and violation of national sovereignty; those illegal activities take place at sea, between winds and waves, regardless of daytime or night-time. Without political steadfastness, courage, good knowledge of Vietnamese and international laws, great professional competence, and willingness to accept sacrifice, cadres and soldiers will fail to fulfil their assigned tasks. Therefore, the Region will direct offices and units to renew content, forms, and methods of training, concentrate on synchronous, specialised training, and take national sovereignty protection, law enforcement, and the building of a revolutionary, regular, elite, modern VCG as the objective of training. The Region will intensify the training of troops to master and bring into play weapons, equipment, and vessels, particularly modern vessels. Besides, the Region will step up the execution of the Project on “training foreign languages for the VCG in the period of 2021 - 2030”, with a view to enabling its troops, particularly its officers and technical employees to have a good command of foreign languages and satisfy the requirements of law enforcement at sea and international integration. At the same time, the Region will diversify forms and methods of training to improve its troops’ legal knowledge, capability in crime and violation prevention and control, hands-on experience, and skills in settling situations. Combat training and refresher training at each level will be closely combined with self-study and self-training. The Region will enhance training and exercises on combat readiness, patrol, and law enforcement to improve its cadres and soldiers’ hands-on capacity. On a yearly basis, all cadres and soldiers shall get pass in training work; 85% of them shall get merit or distinction in this work. The Region will continue to well organise live-fire exercises associated with patrol and law enforcement, taking the protection of national sovereignty over seas, islands, and continental shelf and maintaining security, order, and safety within the seas of responsibility as the highest objective of training.

Vessel group of Coast Guard Region 3 during the General Exercise of 2024

In addition to training work, the Region will strictly maintain regulations on combat readiness, particularly for vessels in charge of patrol and law enforcement at sea. In response to the risk of instability in the East Sea, the Region will keep a close watch on situational developments at sea to propose remedial measures, readily handle violations of national sovereignty within the seas of responsibility, and ensure the safety of maritime economic activities. At the same time, the Region will continue to make breakthroughs in raising the effectiveness of management of seas and propose solutions to firmly protect national sovereignty over seas and islands and national interests at sea. The Region will regularly review, adjust, supplement, and practise combat plans and projects to improve its forces’ command, coordination, and combat capabilities. In maritime security work, the Region will strictly maintain duty regulations at all levels, while closely monitoring weather, meteorology, and hydrology conditions. The Region will cooperate with the Military, the Border Guard Force, Naval Region 2’s Command, Naval Region 4’s Command, local authorities, and state-owned businesses in designing plans, reviewing and managing human resources and civilian vessels to mobilise them for protecting national sovereignty and sovereign rights within Vietnamese waters under the MND’s Circular 153/2016/TT-BQP, dated 30 September 2016. The Region will also collaborate with competent forces and local authorities to well perform maritime security tasks, opportunely report incidents, and give advice on dealing with situations; it will work with other forces to maintain political security and social order and safety within its stationed areas, mobilise forces and means under projects, and make contributions to building firm postures of all-people national defence and people’s security.

With its uniform leadership and direction, Coast Guard Region 3 will resolutely realise the four central points mentioned above for the building of an “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong Region, laying a solid foundation for raising its synergy and combat power, meeting the requirements of law enforcement, maintaining national security, order, and safety within the Fatherland’s seas and islands.

Maj. Gen. NGO BINH MINH

Commander of the Region