After 50 years of building, fighting and growing, under the leadership and direction of the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence, directly the Border Guard Command, the Provincial Party Committee, the People's Committee of Tay Ninh province, and the support and protection of the people, Tay Ninh Provincial Border Guards have continuously developed, successfully fulfilled their core role in managing and protecting national sovereignty and borders, maintaining political security, social order and safety in the southwestern border of the Fatherland.

In the war to protect the southwestern border, the Provincial Border Guards promoted the tradition of Tay Ninh homeland "Loyalty - Resilience"; resolutely holding on to fight "Not an inch gone, not a millimetre left", coordinating with other forces, firmly maintaining the border defence line. Since the border war ended, the Provincial Border Guard has consolidated its forces and fought against hostile, reactionary, and criminal forces; firmly managed and protected sovereignty and border security.

In recent years, inheriting and promoting the glorious tradition, the Provincial Border Guard proactively grasps the situation, synchronously implements all aspects of border work; at the same time, actively builds areas and political bases, helps people eliminate hunger and reduce poverty, builds a peaceful, friendly, cooperative, and developed border with positive achievements. Notably, during the 2020 - 2025 term, the Provincial Border Guard has successfully completed 11 special projects; arrested 1,838 cases per 4,020 subjects; confiscated 95.7kg of various drugs, smuggled goods worth over 14 billion VND, etc. With its outstanding achievements, the Provincial Border Guard was awarded by the Party and the State with 01 Second Class Military Exploit Medal (in 1979); 02 Third Class Military Exploit Medals (in 2011 and 2015), and many other noble awards.

The Provincial Border Guard arrest a drug trafficker

To achieve the above results, first of all, the Provincial Border Guard has successfully performed its advisory function with the Party Committee, the Border Guard Command and the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People's Committee on managing and protecting the national border. The Provincial Border Guard has proactively researched, assessed, and accurately forecasted the situation, and had timely countermeasures to handle situations occurring on the border, avoiding being passive or surprised. At the same time, it has advised on increasing forces, means, and technical equipment to coordinate with the border guards of neighbouring provinces to manage and protect the border, prevent illegal entry and exit, etc. Focus on advising on the effective implementation of policies and solutions for building border areas, building a strong people's border defence; building a solid border defence area; planning the system of border gates, border economic zones, etc. As a result, the combined strength of the entire Party, the entire people, and the entire political system has been promoted to participate in building, managing, and firmly protecting the territorial sovereignty and national border security. Border posts regularly coordinate with the Cambodian border protection force to conduct joint patrols, effectively handle incidents in the border areas in accordance with policies, countermeasures, treaties, agreements, protocols on border demarcation and border cooperation agreements between Vietnam and Cambodia to prevent complicated situations.

The effectiveness of management and protection of sovereignty and border security depends largely on the building of a strong all-people border defence and all-people border defence posture in the border area. Therefore, the Provincial Border Guard is always proactive and actively promoting its core role in this pivotal task, in order to strengthen the political and spiritual potential of the border area, creating the combined strength of the entire political system, all levels, sectors, forces and the entire people. For high efficiency, the Provincial Border Guard has presided over and coordinated with departments, branches and localities to advise the Provincial People's Committee to develop and effectively implement the Project "Promoting the role of the People's Army in participating in the dissemination and education of law, mobilising people to comply with the law at the grassroots level" for the period 2021 - 2027. Coordinate with local Party committees and authorities to implement Conclusion No. 68-KL/TW, dated 5 February 2020 of the Secretariat on the policy of increasing the number of Party committee members who are border guard station officers participating in the Party committees at district and border commune levels; advised on the issuance of Decision No. 1068-QD/TU, dated 26 September 2016 of the Tay Ninh Provincial Party Committee on introducing border guard station party members to participate in activities at hamlet party cells under the border commune party committees; and Directive No. 681-CT/DU, dated 8 October 2018 of the Standing Committee of the Border Guard Party Committee on assigning border guard station party members to be in charge of households in border areas. Up to now, the Provincial Border Guard has deployed 05 cadres to district-level party committees; 17 comrades to border commune party committees; introduced 153 party members to participate in activities at 96 village and hamlet party cells and assigned 374 party members to be in charge of 1,587 households in border areas. Implementing Directive No. 01/CT-TTg, dated 9 January 2015 of the Prime Minister on "Launching the movement of the entire people to participate in protecting territorial sovereignty and national border security in the new situation", the Provincial Border Guard has advised the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee to lead, direct and mobilise the participation of the entire political system, organisations and people to implement. Along with that, the Provincial Border Guard actively sticks to and grasps the area, promotes mass mobilisation, implements coordination programmes, border-oriented activities such as: "Helping children’s schooling - Adoptees of Border Guard stations"; "Accompanying women in border areas", "Spring on the border warms the hearts of the villagers", "Border Guards join hands to build new rural areas", "Border Guards join hands for the poor - leaving no one behind". The border guards have adopted 11 children and sponsored 73 students with difficult circumstances. The Border Guards have coordinated with the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee to mobilise the construction of 06 "Great Unity Houses" and a number of public works for border districts; organised gift giving to families with meritorious services, people with revolutionary contributions, and poor households, with a total amount of billions of VND. In addition, the Provincial Border Guards have promoted the effectiveness of military-civil medical stations, organised medical examinations and treatment, and provided free medicine for thousands of people. Through specific actions, the Provincial Border Guards have earned the sentiment and trust from the Party Committee, the government, and the people, strengthened the solidarity and close ties between the Border Guards and the people, built an increasingly solid people's hearts in the border area, and implemented "each person is a living milestone" in protecting national sovereignty and border security.

In compliance with resolutions and orders from superiors, the Party Committee and the Provincial Border Guard Command focus on leading and directing the improvement of the quality of combat readiness, crime prevention and control; border gate management, and immigration control. Accordingly, along with promoting the core role in advising and proposing policies and measures to manage and protect sovereignty and border security, the Provincial Border Guard regularly reviews, adjusts and supplements the system of operational documents, plans A, A2, A3, A4. On that basis, organise training and practice drills; improve the effectiveness of handling situations on the border, especially complex and sensitive situations. Along with that, focus on directing stations to comprehensively implement professional measures, focusing on improving the quality of strict management of subjects; implement drastic measures in the border to clean up the area and proactively handle incidents, avoid being made passive or surprised. In recent years, the Provincial Border Guard has signed and implemented the coordination regulations between 05 district and border town committees, between the border commune party committees and the border guard station party committees and building a plan to coordinate border protection at the border with the Border Guards of Binh Phuoc province and Long An province. At the same time, strictly maintain the order, combat readiness and strengthen patrolling, controlling, managing, protecting the border, fighting and preventing crimes. The Provincial Border Guard has implemented different measures to improve the quality of border gate work and build a strong, disciplined, professional and modern border gate force; Promote administrative reform, invest in equipment, means, apply information technology, digitise, automate immigration control, process documents in the electronic environment, etc., contributing to creating openness, convenience, security, and safety for immigration, import and export activities, promoting economic, cultural, and social development of the country and locality. In the face of increasingly sophisticated tricks of criminals, the Provincial Border Guard has innovated fighting methods, built professional plans and established highly effective projects; launched peak campaigns to fight against criminal lines and gangs across the border, ensuring absolute safety of people, weapons, and equipment, preventing the formation of hot spots and complications, maintaining political security, social order and safety in border areas.

Commending outstanding collectives and individuals in the implementation of "All people's Border Guard Day" in the 2019 - 2024 period

Along with that, in order to manage and firmly protect sovereignty and border security from early on and from afar, the Provincial Border Guard attaches great importance to the effective implementation of border diplomacy. The talks and meetings to exchange information on border management and protection with the forces of police, military, gendarmerie of the same level of 03 provinces of Cambodia are carried out in a systematic and quality manner. In coordination with the Border Police forces of Svay-rieng, Prey-veng and Tbong Khmum provinces, many talks on patrols, controls, border protection, border markers and prevention, combat and prevention of all types of crimes on the border. Therefore, understanding, trust, information sharing, and unification of measures to effectively resolve issues related to borders and territories are created, contributing to maintaining the stability of the national border and security and order in the border area. The results achieved over the past 50 years are a solid foundation, adding strength and motivation for the Tay Ninh Provincial Border Guard to continue to perform well its core, specialised role, closely coordinating with other forces to manage and firmly protect national sovereignty and border security, contributing to building a peaceful, friendly, cooperative and mutually developing Vietnam - Cambodia border.

Senior Colonel LE VAN VY, Commander of the Provincial Border Guard Command