Grasping the Politburo’s Resolution 33-NQ/TW and the Party’s lines and viewpoints, the Provincial Border Guard (PBG) of Ha Giang has been actively adopting measures to cement all-people border defence posture, closely manage and firmly protect national sovereignty and border security, build a border of peace, stability, cooperation, and development, and successfully realise the Strategy for National Border Protection.

Ha Giang province shares a 277.899 km-long border with Yunnan province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China. The province’s border area with its tough terrain condition holds a position of special importance in defence, security, and diplomatic terms; the majority of the population here are ethnic minorities facing a lot of difficulties in their life together with poor infrastructures. In addition to advantages, political security and social order and safety along the border are confronted with complex factors, such as illegal border crossing and migration, smuggling, drug trafficking, and illegal missionary work, thus greatly impacting on national border protection.

Cadres and soldiers of Xin Cai Border Guard Post conduct patrol in the border area (photo: baodantoc.vn)

Against that backdrop, under the 13^th Politburo’s Resolution 33-NQ/TW, dated 28 September 2018, on the Strategy for National Border Protection and relevant documents, the PBG has promoted its core role in giving advice on building all-people border defence and posture of all-people border defence, encouraging the participation of the entire political system and people in managing and protecting national sovereignty and border security, building a border of peace, friendship, stability, cooperation, and development. It should be noted that the PBG has collaborated with competent forces in grasping the overall situation along the border, opportunely supplementing and executing projects and plans to thwart all plots and acts of violating security and social order and safety, especially crimes of all types and illegal immigration. It has conformed to its authority and statutory regulations in criminal investigation and handling of administrative offences, while giving advice to all-level authorities on completely settling cases relating to national sovereignty and border security.

To contribute to building strong political bases, the PBG has given advice on deploying cadres of border guard posts to join district-level and commune-level party committees, thus improving party organisations’ leadership capacity and combativeness as well as all-level authorities’ direction and operation efficiency. Besides, it has focused on building and developing a pool of cadres and party members in border, ethnic minority areas, encouraging the people to take part in managing borderline and border markers. Units have adopted many creative, effective approaches to help the people with economic development, hunger eradication, and poverty reduction, while improving the people’s material and mental life via movements and programs, such as “All people unite to build cultural life”, “Warm border Spring for villagers”, “Supporting children’s schooling -  Border guard posts’ adopted children”, “Accompanying frontier women”. The PBG has also promoted international cooperation, enhancing border defence diplomacy, deepening relations between border guard forces and people of the two countries. Those above-mentioned significant results have laid a solid foundation for building a firm all-people border defence posture within the all-people national defence posture associated with the people’s security posture, directly contributing to safeguarding national sovereignty and border security in the province.

In the upcoming time, increasingly high, new requirements will be imposed on Fatherland protection in general, national border protection and border defence work in particular. To continue to successfully implement the Strategy for National Border Protection, the PBG will focus on several main measures as follows.

First, enhancing propagation and education to raise awareness and a sense of responsibility towards national border protection among cadres, soldiers, and citizens. This is a fundamental, consistent, and long-term measure. Therefore, the PBG will concentrate on renewing and improving political and ideological education, propagation, and mass mobilisation via flexible, proper forms and methods. Doing so will enable cadres, soldiers, and citizens to clearly understand that national border management and protection represent a central, routine task of the entire Party, people, Military, and political system, with “each frontier citizen serving as a living border marker”, the people’s armed forces playing a core role, the Border Guard Force acting as the specialised force and the first combat force in the cause of national border protection and management. In response to policies on building a two-level local government model and merging provinces and communes, the PBG will proactively grasp the people’s ideological situation, enhance mass mobilisation, opportunely carry out propagation work to achieve consensus among the people and prevent hostile forces from sowing distortions, inciting the people, and undermining the close-knit bond between the people, the Party, the government, and the armed forces. At the same time, the role of village heads and persons with great prestige within ethnic minority groups will be promoted to spread official information and contribute to building a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds” right at grass-roots level. Significance will be attached to building a corps of cadres and soldiers with great political steadfastness, professional expertise, and knowledge of local customs and foreign languages, turning them into “culture ambassadors”, especially in the key areas, such as Lung Cu Border Guard Post - the Fatherland’s sacred Northernmost point, with Lung Cu Flag Tower - a symbol of national sovereignty, contributing to raising awareness and a sense of responsibility among the people towards national border protection.

Second, raising the effectiveness of border management and protection, stepping up the fight against crimes. This is a central, consistent part of the Strategy for national sovereignty and border security protection. Under the Politburo’s Resolution 33-NQ/TW and other directing documents by the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence, and the Border Guard Force Command, the PBG will continue to develop action plans and programs aimed at closely managing the border and creating a stable, safe environment for socio-economic development. In response to increasingly cunning tactics employed by cross-border crimes, such as smuggling, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and illegal immigration, offices and units of the PBG will further improve the quality and effectiveness of situational monitoring, analysis, evaluation, and forecast, proactively design and implement specialised measures synchronously, promote coordination with other relevant forces and grass-roots authorities to closely control the movement of people and vehicles across the border, especially in the areas having trails, harsh terrain conditions, and a high risk of illegal entry and goods transport. Troops’ proactivity, vigilance, and discipline will be encouraged to avoid falling into passivity. The PBG will continue to strictly maintain combat readiness regulations, organise projects-based, situations-based training, and increase joint exercises with other forces, particularly the militia and self-defence force and the public security force in order to improve its capacity to deal with emergencies. Due regard will be paid to grasping troops’ ideological developments amid negative impacts from social networks and cross-border evil information, maintaining ideological foundation, cementing the people’s faith, encouraging troops’ readiness to undertake their tasks under any circumstances.

Third, stepping up the building of all-people border defence associated with the postures of all-people national defence and people’s security. The building of strong all-people national defence is a strategic, long-term task of decisive importance to realising the Strategy for National Border Protection. Grasping the viewpoints, goals, and tasks set by Resolution 33-NQ/TW and higher echelons’ guidance and directives, offices and units will proactively give advice to local party committees and authorities on combining socio-economic development, new-style rural area building, and sustainable poverty reduction with defence and security consolidation within the border area. At the same time, due attention will be paid to raising the quality of borderline and border marker self-management teams and people’s security teams, promoting the masses’ proactivity in protecting borderline, border markers, security, and order right at grass-roots level. In response to its new task requirements and the policies on merging provinces, the PBG will proactively review and reassess infrastructures for mass mobilisation work, and cooperate with localities in force adjustments to ensure the continuity and effectiveness of the established twinning and inter-sectoral coordination programs. Consideration will be given to carrying out ideological work for cadres and soldiers, particularly in the areas directly affected by adjustments in administrative boundaries. The PBG will continue to stay close to the people, build strong border areas in defence, security, economic, social, cultural terms, deepen the close-knit bond between the people and the Military, and develop a firm posture of “people’s hearts and minds” and robust all-people border defence.

With a strong sense of responsibility to the Party, Fatherland, and people, bringing into play its recorded results, the PBG of Ha Giang will continue to effectively implement the Strategy for National Border Protection to contribute to safeguarding national sovereignty and border security, building a border of peace, stability, friendship, cooperation, and development, affirming its core role in protecting the Fatherland early and from afar.

Sr. Col. DAO HONG HA

Political Commissar of Ha Giang PBG