Fully aware of their role as the specialised force in law enforcement and national security protection at sea, the Party Committee and Command of the Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG) have always paid due attention to leading and directing sea and island propagation, considering this as one of their central political tasks and breakthrough measures to create synergy for managing and firmly defending national sacred sovereignty over seas and islands.

Over the years, in addition to performing all pieces of specialised work, the VCG’s Party Committee and Command have directed offices and units to closely collaborate with ministries, sectors, unions, and political - social organisation at Central and local levels, the Border Guard Force, the Navy, the Public Security, and press agencies both inside and outside the Military to step up propagation of issues relating to seas and islands stipulated in the Resolution of the 13^th National Party Congress, the 12^th Party Central Committee’s Resolution 36-NQ/TW, dated 22 October 2018, on “the Strategy for sustainable development of Vietnam’s marine economy towards 2030, with a vision towards 2045”, agreements on sea and continental shelf delimitation that Vietnam has signed with other regional countries, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the 2012 Law of the Sea of Vietnam, the 2018 Law on VCG, and historical and legal evidence for Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two archipelagos of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa. Thanks to those efforts, all people’s awareness and knowledge of the Party’s lines and the State’s laws and policies on seas and islands and the struggle for sea and island protection have been raised; all people have more clearly understood the position, potential, and importance of seas and islands in the cause of national construction and protection. At the same time, hostile forces’ plots and artifices of taking advantage of the issues relating to seas and islands to undermine the country’s stability have been exposed and resolutely combated. 

Coordination in sea and island propagation by Coast Guard Region 2 in Quang Tri province

Offices and units across the VCG have renewed and flexibly applied forms and methods of propagation work, aligning sea and island propagation with the performance of their political, military, legal tasks in the areas of their responsibility. On a yearly basis, they have maintained coordination to organise dozens of conferences, forums, and talk shows on sea and island sovereignty, launching knowledge contests on seas, islands, and the VCG within schools and political - social organisations, with the participation of various forces. They have collaborated with central and local press agencies to design and produce 6,000 pieces of news, articles, and reports on the VCG’s operations. Moreover, they have conducted propagation via the “VCG and Friends” exchange program (every two years) and other exchange programs designed for young military officers from regional littoral countries.

In fact, many programs and models of sea and island propagation, deeply imbued with the identity of the VCG, have been designed and multiplied with far-reaching positive effects, such as “Coast Guards accompany fishermen”, “Coast Guards with ethnic and religious communities”, “Spring in border areas”, “Tet holiday in sea and island areas”, and the Contest “I love my Fatherland’s seas and islands”. Via those models, the VCG has not only well performed the work of propagation about the country’s seas, islands, and maritime sovereignty, but also organised many social security activities of humane value. Thanks to those models, cadres and soldiers of the VCG and the people, particularly fishermen and citizens of coastal localities have acquired a clearer understanding about maritime laws as well as the position, potential, and advantages of Vietnam’s seas and islands. Those models have also promoted patriotism and a sense of responsibility for sea, island, and maritime security protection among all troops and citizens, encouraging them to actively take part in sea-oriented activities and contribute to fostering marine economic development, firmly protecting national sovereignty and interests, and maintaining security, order, and safety in the Fatherland’s sacred sea and island areas.

Currently, the situation on global and regional scales continues to have complex, unpredictable developments; strategic competition between major powers and disputes over national sovereignty, sovereign rights, and national jurisdiction in the East Sea continue to be intensified, alongside many destabilising factors. Besides, crimes of various types and violations of law and security at sea are more sophisticated and reckless. To fulfil its maritime law enforcement task, the VCG will continue raising the quality of sea and island propagation, with a focus on several main measures as follows.

First, further disseminating the Party’s lines, the State’s laws and policies, as well as resolutions, directives, regulations, and guidance on seas and islands. Offices and units of the VCG should proactively collaborate with local party committees, authorities, and forces to design and realise plans of propagation in a comprehensive, in-depth, systematic, close, effective manner. In those plans, it is necessary to clearly define content, forms, methods, and groups of target individuals in accordance with the task requirements of each office, unit, and locality. Moreover, the VCG’s affiliates should promote the role and responsibility of their commands and specialised agencies in closely controlling, appraising, and managing propagation content, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and clear ideological orientation, maintaining information security to avoid leakage of military and state secrets, opportunely preventing and combating distorted, wrong information about seas and islands.

Second, actively renewing content, forms, and methods of sea and island propagation. To that end, offices and units of the VCG should continuously update themselves on content of propagation relevant to realities, groups of target individuals, and each area. It is essential to make a shift from “one-way communication” towards “multi-dimensional interaction”, with the people, especially fishermen acting as the centre and goal of the process of disseminating information. Forms of propagation should be diversified to be appropriate to the trend of information access in the digital era. In addition to forms of direct propagation, it is necessary to step up propagation work via social networks, digital platforms, and short videos, closely combine “building” with “fighting”, and align education with orientation in each propagation project. Offices and units of the VCG should regularly, closely cooperate with ministries, sectors, local authorities, and press agencies both inside and outside the Military to provide timely information and especially public opinion guidance for the press against new, complex developments at sea. By doing so, the VCG’s propagation activities on mass media will be increasingly professional and practically effective.

Third, multiplying effective propagation models and approaches and promoting the role of forces in coordinating propagation work. To that end, it is vital to improve the quality of the programs and models which have proved effective in realities, such as “Coast Guards accompany fishermen”, “Coast Guards with ethnic and religious communities”, and the Contest “I love my Fatherland’s seas and islands”. Offices and units of the VCG should regularly conduct final reviews to opportunely draw lessons and adjust content and forms of those models in accordance with the particularities of each locality, each group of target individuals, and each period. Coordination between the VCG and other forces, such as the Border Guard Force, the Navy, the Public Security, local party committees and authorities, and political - social organisations, as well as regional littoral countries should be renewed to bring into play synergy, develop new models, detect and multiply creative, effective approaches in terms of sea and island propagation.

Offices and units of the VCG should closely cooperate with academies and schools to undertake research projects on raising the effectiveness of sea and island propagation, particularly against complex, sensitive issues relating to national sovereignty and interests at sea. Moreover, it is important to carry out final reviews of the models and methods of propagation which have been executed in realities so as to multiply effective approaches and draw lessons on inappropriate content of propagation.

Fourth, mobilising resources for sea and island propagation. This is one of the key measures to improve the VCG’s sea and island propagation in the digital era. To that end, emphasis should be placed on training and developing a pool of cadres in charge of propagation work, equipping them with effective communication skills, and improving their capacity to employ information technology and digital communications. Besides, offices and units of the VCG should mobilise all resources available to invest in modern technical equipment and infrastructures for propagation work in accordance with the particularities of each sea and island area, such as digital infrastructures, modern communication - radio - television equipment, digital projection and on-the-spot communication equipment, and equipment for social networking and Internet connection. At the same time, great value should be attached to developing digital platforms and database for sea and island propagation and expanding space for disseminating the VCG’s official information via social networks, electronic press, and short videos.

Against the backdrop of hostile forces’ full exploitation of maritime issues for their sabotage efforts, propagation work relating to seas and islands is of strategic importance in the long term and short term; this work acts as the key to strengthening postures of all-people national defence and people’s security at sea and defending the Fatherland early and from afar. For that reason, the VCG will continue promoting its core, pioneering role on propagation front, turning sea and island propagation into a “bridge” between the Party, the State, and the people, contributing to encouraging our troops, citizens, and entire political system’s faith and sense of responsibility for safeguarding national sovereignty, security, order, and safety in the Fatherland’s sea and island areas.

Maj. Gen. TRAN VAN XUAN

Deputy Political Commissar of the VCG