In the process of formation and development of the General Staff (GS) of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), party and political work has always served as a foundation for the GS to develop organisations and manpower, enabling the GS to successfully fulfil its functions and tasks. Bringing into play those good results, the GS will continue further raising the quality and effectiveness of party and political work to turn itself into an increasingly strong agency capable of meeting the requirements of VPA building and Fatherland protection in the new period.

Conference to review party and political work within the GS in 2024 (photo: qdnd.vn)

In the past 80 years of construction, combat, and maturity, the GS of the VPA has always asserted its role as a strategic staff agency and a centre for commanding operations and organising and managing the people’s armed forces, making contributions to glorious victories of the cause of national liberation, construction, and protection. In that process, party and political work has always been the “soul and lifeblood”, playing a decisive role in making the GS politically strong, organisationally uniform, and exemplary in terms of morality and discipline, improving the quality of leadership, command, coordination, and combined strength of a strategic staff agency.

In the wars against colonialism and imperialism and for Fatherland border protection, party and political work helped provide ideological guidance, cement faith, stimulate revolutionary heroism, encourage the spirit of determination to fight and to win, and create unity within the entire GS as the basis for this Agency to formulate operational guidelines and projects, ensure coordination between services and corps, and give timely, sound strategic advice, thereby contributing to our VPA and people’s landslide victories. In the period of Fatherland construction and protection, party and political work has continued playing a central role in guiding troop ideology, improving troops’ revolutionary ethics, encouraging aspirations for devotion among cadres, party members, and the masses, and maintaining discipline, unity, and faith across the whole GS.

In recent years, in response to profound impacts made by situational changes around the world and in the region as well as hostile forces’ sabotage efforts, party and political work within the GS has been synchronously, closely, effectively led, directed, and organised. The GS has actively renewed and improved political education and ideological leadership, proactively providing information and opinion guidance for its cadres and soldiers against new, complex, sensitive issues. It has been active in the fight against wrong, hostile viewpoints, firmly safeguarding the Party’s ideological foundation, performing propagation work during major political events of the country and VPA. Emulation and commendation work and Determined to Win Emulation Movement have been effectively maintained and closely combined with other movements and campaigns both inside and outside the Military to encourage cadres and soldiers to successfully accomplish their tasks. Resolutions, conclusions, and regulations by the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission (CMC), particularly those on the building and rectification of the Party and political system have been effectively implemented. Due attention has been paid to releasing documents for directing and guiding the organisation of all-level party congresses across the GS.

The GS has synchronously carried out personnel work, reviewing and supplementing the planning of commanding and managerial cadres, executing the 13^th Politburo’s Resolution 05-NQ/TW, dated 17 January 2022, on organising the VPA in the period of 2021 - 2030 and beyond and the CMC’s Resolution 230-NQ/QUTW, dated 2 April 2022, on leading the organisation of the VPA in the period of 2021 - 2030 and beyond, making personnel plans for all-level party committees for 2025 - 2030 tenure in an elaborate, procedural manner. It has effectively implemented the work of inspection, supervision, and Party discipline, strictly handling violations by individuals to maintain discipline, well performing internal political protection work, ensuring secret and safety, synchronously, closely carrying out policy work and mass mobilisation work, especially during major political events of the country. Mass organisations and soldiers’ councils have operated according to their functions and tasks. Party and political work during missions have been actively, effectively conducted in accordance with the particularities of each office and unit.

It can’t be denied that party and political work has made significant contributions to enabling cadres and soldiers of the GS to remain steadfast and absolutely loyal to the Fatherland, the Party, the State, and the people, achieve uniformity between their will and their action, and heighten a sense of discipline and responsibility in every mission. That has laid a foundation for the GS to improve its capabilities in researching, proposing, and implementing overall, basic, long-term guidelines and solutions for preventing risks of war and conflict early and from afar as well as to give advice to our Party and State on building all-people national defence and posture of all-people national defence associated with postures of people’s security and “people’s hearts and minds”, raising the quality of provincial-level defensive zones and military region defence within the whole country’s strategic disposition, increasing national defence potential and national strength, mobilising forces and effectively responding to defence and security situations.

Steering Board 35 under the GS Party Committee reviews the tasks of fighting wrong, hostile viewpoints and protecting the Party’s ideological foundation in 2023 (photo: qdnd.vn)

Currently, the situation across the globe and in the region has rapid, complex, unpredictable developments. Domestically, the cause of Doi Moi (renovation) has obtained significant achievements, creating new strength and driving force for Fatherland construction and protection the era of development and wide and deep international integration. However, the four risks pointed out by our Party still exist and even become more complex. The operation of two-tier local government model and local military agencies after reorganisation has been stabilised, but faced new issues. Besides, hostile forces continue to step up their sabotage efforts against our Party, State, and VPA, especially prior to all-level party congresses. More demanding requirements are being imposed on VPA building, national defence consolidation, and Fatherland protection in the new situation. In order to build a strong GS capable of giving strategic advice, it is necessary to adopt synchronised measures, with a focus on improving the quality and effectiveness of party and political work as follows.

First, enhancing leadership capacity and combativeness of party committees and party organisations within the Party Organisation of the GS - Organ of the Ministry of National Defence (MND). This measure aims to create a favourable condition for raising the effectiveness of party and political work and serves as a deciding factor in building an “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong GS. Hence, all-level party committees and party organisations across the GS should continue grasping and executing resolutions, conclusions, directives, regulations, guidance, and plans by the Party Central Committee and the CMC on Party building work, particularly the Resolution of the 13^th Party Central Committee’s 4^th Plenum on the building and rectification of the Party and political system, the 13^th Party Central Committee’s Resolution 21-NQ/TW, dated 16 June 2022, on consolidating grass-roots party organisations and raising the quality of party members in the new period, the CMC’s Resolution 847-NQ/QUTW, dated 28 December 2021, on promoting the virtues of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” and resolutely fighting individualism in the new situation in tandem with the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics, and lifestyle.

All-level party committees should design their work regulations for 2025 - 2030 tenure, review, amend, and strictly implement their statutes on leadership over crucial missions, and raise the quality of refresher courses for their members and political cadres at all levels. It is important to frequently consolidate all-level party committees and party cells, improve their all-round leadership capacity and combativeness, and increase their capabilities in giving advice and guidance on carrying out party and political work during missions. Great value should be attached to managing and educating party members, strictly maintaining regulations on example-setting responsibility of cadres and party members and on party members’ don’ts, aligning the building of a pool of party members with the building of a corps of cadres at all levels. It is essential to renew leadership style and methods, particularly the procedures for designing and realising resolutions in a focalised, close, synchronised, effective manner. Party committees and party cells should stringently maintain statutes on meetings and organisational principles, while renewing and improving the work of inspection, supervision, and Party discipline. Due attention should be paid to grasping situational developments, fighting signs of degradation in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle as well as manifestations of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”, and strictly, opportunely handling violations by party organisations and party members.

Second, maintaining the Party’s leadership principles and renewing forms and methods of party and political work properly. Party and political work must always ensure the Party’s principles, working-class nature, and combativeness; the content, forms, and methods of this work must be derived from the task requirements of Fatherland construction and protection as well as the functions and missions of a strategic staff agency; there should be creative, practical, careful plans to ensure the quality and effectiveness of this work and meet the task requirements in the short term and long term. Party and political work during missions, particularly training, combat readiness, discipline management, and new, difficult tasks should be renewed and promoted. Political and ideological education should be aimed at guaranteeing troops’ political steadfastness and absolute loyalty to the Fatherland, the Party, the State, and the people and improving strategic staff cadres’ scientific thinking, acumen, and creativity.

It is necessary to effectively execute the CMC Standing Board’s Directive 2423-CT/QUTW, dated 9 November 2023, on renewing and improving political education in the new period, with a view to achieving a high degree of consensus and political awareness among cadres and soldiers across the GS. Political education should be provided in a fundamental, systematic, flexible, modern fashion; information technology and digital transformation should be promoted in this regard; political briefings and specialised meetings should be practically maintained. Due regard should be paid to increasing democratic dialogues, grasping and forecasting ideological developments, opportunely settling ideological issues among cadres and soldiers, aligning political education with emulation movements and the building and multiplication of typical examples. Besides, it is vital to improve cadres’ competence and working methods, closely combine ideological work with organisational work and policy work, proactively fight wrong, hostile viewpoints, firmly protect the Party’s ideological foundation, cement unity and uniformity, and increase political - spiritual strength to contribute to building an “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong GS.

Third, building a contingent of cadres capable of their task requirements in the new situation. All-level party committees and commands should seriously implement resolutions, directives, and regulations on personnel work, especially the CMC’s Resolution 109-NQ/QUTW, dated 11 February 2019, on building a pool of military cadres, particularly at strategic and operational levels to meet the task requirements in the new situation, and the 13^th Politburo’s Regulation 144-QĐ/TW, dated 9 May 2024, on revolutionary moral standards of cadres and party members in the new era. Emphasis should be placed on developing a corps of commanding and managerial cadres with sufficient qualities and capabilities. It is necessary to strictly sustain democratic centralism, promote the role of party committees and party cells, and encourage a sense of responsibility among party committee secretaries and commanders towards personnel work. Criteria, principles, and procedures for personnel recruitment, deployment, and appointment should be stringently maintained. Moreover, the planning, training, development, and rotation of commanding and managerial cadres should be well conducted. Due regard should be paid to ensuring policies for cadres, heightening example-setting responsibility of cadres and party members, protecting cadres who dare to think, dare to speak, dare to do, dare to take responsibility, dare to be innovative and creative, dare to confront difficulties, and dare to act for the common good. Doing so will allow the GS to build a pool of cadres with proper quantity, comprehensive knowledge, great political zeal, pure morality, healthy lifestyle, and great capacity to fulfil all assigned tasks.

Fourth, bringing into play synergy of organisations and forces in party and political work. To that end, it is necessary to keep raising awareness and a sense of responsibility among organisations and forces, especially key cadres at all levels towards the role of party and political work. Conducting party and political work is responsibility of all organisations and forces, especially party committees, political commissars, junior political commissars, and commanders; this work must be conducted wherever troops are present. Party committees and commands of offices and units should closely work with competent agencies at all levels to ensure resources and means for party and political work. Consideration should be given to improving material and mental life of cadres, soldiers, and employees and well implementing policies regarding military families to enable troops to keep their mind on their work.

Promoting their brilliant achievements in the past 80 years of construction, combat, victory, and maturity, the Party Committee and Command of the GS will continue focusing their leadership and direction on renewing and further improving party and political work to contribute to building an increasingly strong GS capable of excellently accomplishing all assigned missions and bolstering the glorious tradition of “loyalty, ingenuity, dedication, creativity, unity, coordination, determination to fight, determination to win”.

Maj. Gen. NGUYEN NGOC DOAN

Director of the Department of Politics

General Staff of the VPA