Tay Ninh, which is a border province connecting the Southwest key economic region and Ho Chi Minh City, has a strategic position in terms of economy, defence, security and foreign affairs of the South.

In the past few years, the implementation of the Party and State’s policies on adjusting the administrative boundaries has not only brought the Province many development opportunities but also caused various difficulties and challenges. There have still existed many potential factors regarding the security of areas and borders in the province; the implementation of two-tier local governments has set high and urgent requirements with many new novel issues on ranges of social fields including the local military and defence work.

Clearly understanding the situation, and the assigned functions and missions, the Provincial Party Committee and Military Command have drastically led and directed the rearrangement and restructure of the local military authorities under the direction by the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence, and 7^th Military Region, at the same time, consulted, led and directed all localities, departments and units to implement comprehensively and effectively the military and defence work with many contents having been successfully done without any interruption caused by the adjustment and mergence. From the reality, the Provincial Military Command has drawn several experience which is also the basic solutions having been continuously carried out.

General Nguyen Trong Nghia, Chief of the General Political Department, grants the Third-class Military Merit Order to the Tay Ninh Provincial Military Command (Photo: qdnd.vn)

At first, intensely consulting the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee to improve the state management of national defence. Based on the thorough grasp of military and defence viewpoints and policies of the Party, resolutions and directives of the seniors, the Provincial Military Command proactively coordinates with functional agencies to advise the Provincial Party Committee, People’s Council and People’s Committee to timely issue resolutions, directive and plans on enhancing the all-level party committees’ leadership and the governments’ directions on the military and defence missions. These include the Project on organising the defensive zone exercises for services and departments, and the commune-level defensive combat exercises in the 2025-2030 term; the consultation on establishing steering committees, command boards and councils; assigning the goals of training, recruitment, and defence and security knowledge to participants; submitting to the Provincial People’s Council for approval of the Project on organising forces, training, activities and assuring benefits and policies for the Self-defence forces and Militia in the 2025-2030 period; proposing the Defence Ministry to recognise 89 communes and wards to be the key ones of defence, etc., at the same time, advises and directs all-level functional agencies to guide and inspect the implementation of military and defence tasks in services, departments, localities and subordinate party committees. As a result, all services, departments, agencies and localities have seriously grasped and implemented all documents; built programmes and plans, and performed all military and defence missions closely to their functions and tasks. Projects and proposals for supporting the military and defence missions have been properly invested; the working relationship, the mechanism of leadership, command and operation have been concretised, assuring the strictness, consistency, synchronicity and bringing into play the strength of the entire political system.

The education and training of defence and security knowledge has been drastically concerned and directed, creating many positive changes. As a permanent agency, the Provincial Military Command advises the Provincial People’s Committee to timely issue a Decision on establishing the Council of defence and security education at all levels according to Instruction No. 1937/HD-BTT, dated 09 July 2021 by the Standing Board of defence and security education council of the Military Region, assuring the right structure and staff, and the suitability to the two-tier local governments. Meanwhile, the Command has proactively checked, classified and built the plans on educating and training defence and security knowledge, assuring the strictness and scientificity without missing out anyone, etc.; paid attention to presiding cadres in agencies, departments and boundary areas; specific officials, religious dignitaries, business owners and cadres in the planning sources of localities and units, at the same time, coordinated with Tay Ninh Newspaper and Radio - Television to maintain the feature sections including The National Defence; For national border sovereignty and security with varied contents and forms; directed communes and wards to promote the propaganda on the radio and electronic portals with the sufficient and comprehensive contents on the military, defence and security work in the locality.

Conducting infantry drill training

In the context of performing various important tasks related to rearranging and strengthening the political system, in 2025, the Province organised 27 classes of defence and security knowledge for 3,070 participants; directed 73 high schools, colleges and universities in the area to include the subject of defence and security education into their training curriculum for over 80,000 students; coordinated with the Service of Education and Training, the Provincial Youth Union to build plan on organising 04 classes of “Military Training Semester” for 252 students. The Provincial Military Command has also coordinated with the Defence and Security Education Centre in the MR’s Military School to give lectures on defence and security to 367 students in Tan Tao University, and Economics and Industrial University; coordinated with the Provincial Political School to include the defence and security education according to the decision by the President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Public Administration into the training curriculum for 1,539 cadres, making great contribution to building the solid “people’s hearts and minds”, timely orienting the ideology for cadres and the people on crucial decisions of the Party and State.

Building the defensive zones is considered an important content of the local defence and security work. Given new requirements, the Provincial Military Command has advised the Province to strengthen and improve the quality and effectiveness of the commune-level governments, focusing on building and reinforcing the party and governmental entities. On enhancing the implementation of socio-economic development targets, the Provincial Military Command has proactively coordinated with the Police and functional agencies to strictly evaluate the major projects on socio-economic development combined with strengthening the military and defence potentials; advised the Province to plan the residential locations along the borders, creating the posture of new forces across key areas; promoted the afforestation and the infrastructure for economic development including the transportation network, ports, etc. combined with building the combat bases, logistics bases and defensive structures. On building the defensive zones, the Provincial Military Command has made research and advised the Province to check and adjust the plans on the military postures according to new administrative borders, intensely direct the strengthening of organisations and staff, improving the quality of activities of the military commands in communes and wards, at the same time, increased the training and improving the general quality and combat readiness capability for the armed forces to be able to timely and effectively solve any defence and security situations, avoiding either the suddenness or “hot spots” in the area.

Participating in military medical drill

After the application the two-tier local governments, the Provincial Military Command has timely adjusted the regulations on implementing Decree No. 02/2020/NĐ-CP, dated 30 June 2020 by the Government on the coordination between the self-defence forces and militia and other forces in protecting the national borders, assuring the social security and order, and preventing crimes; other forces have proactively coordinated to exchange information, hold the situations inside, outside and along the border. The Command has directed departments and units to proactively hold the situations, strictly maintained the regulations of combat readiness, regularly checked, adjusted and completed the plans of combat, fire and explosion prevention, post-disaster discovery, search and rescue; directed the Border Guard Command to proactively build their plans on supporting and protecting all border posts and stations, border militia posts, well implement the work of preventing types of crimes, and organise the training exercises to be ready to solve any arising situations without any passiveness or suddenness.

Building the strong armed forces is a solution deciding the effectiveness of the local defence and military work. The Provincial Military Command’s Party Committee has paid attention to leading and directing the adjustment of the active forces regarding the organisation and staff towards the “elite, compact, strong” way according to Decision No. 1449/QĐ-TM, dated 14 June 2025 by the General Staff, focusing on building the active forces and the ones doing mobile tasks which are ready for combat as the cores forces in coordinating with others to effectively solve any arising situations; firmly maintain the political security, social order and safety; volunteer to take part in the natural disaster prevention and recovery, search and rescue. The active forces are strengthened and reinforced under the organisation and establishment table from the Ministry of National Defence; played the key role in consulting, coordinating, guiding and implementing the military and defence work. The reserved forces are registered, arranged and organised at 100% of their military professions with the rate of 12.05% party members, and 60.22% youth union members; they are strictly managed, regularly examined and reexamined to be ready for any task performance. For the self-defence forces and militia, the Provincial Military Command proactively dismisses and newly establishes units of self-defence forces and militia which are suitable with the commune-level administrative borders.

Together with well completing the above tasks and solutions, the Provincial Military Command has advised and directed all command boards of defensive zones to coordinate with communes and wards to do the citizen selection and enlistment work; enhance the defence foreign affairs; promote the mass mobilisation combined with building the new rural areas and developing the economy and society; well implement the policies regarding military families and “Gratitude Repayment”, help the residents with hunger eradication, poverty alleviation, natural disaster prevention and recovery, through which, to continuously cement the trust by the people to the Party and State, maintain the close-knit ties between the military and people, build the solid “people’s hearts and minds” posture and the all-people national defence, meeting the requirements of building and safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation.

Senior Colonel NGUYEN THANH TAM, Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Commander of the Provincial Military Command