Vietnam's prestige and international position - the "key" target of sabotage by hostile forces
The international prestige and position of a country is the recognition and assessment by the international community of the role, influence, capacity and responsibility of that country in global and regional issues as well as in implementing international commitments. International prestige and position are demonstrated through strategic trust, the depth and breadth of diplomatic relations and a country's contributions to international organizations, as well as the ability to protect its interests in the international arena. In the context of globalization and deep international integration, the international prestige and position of a country not only reflects the country's overall strength but is also a key factor in ensuring a peaceful and stable environment, creating favorable conditions for sustainable development.
General Secretary To Lam . (Photo: VNA) |
Vietnam's international prestige and position "is the crystallization of creativity, the result of a process of persistent and continuous efforts over many terms of the entire Party, people and army" (1). Vietnam's international prestige and position are made up of many factors, including political , economic, cultural - social, defense, security and foreign affairs strength; combining national strength with the strength of the times, domestic strength with international strength. According to President Ho Chi Minh, "If we persevere and steadfastly build up our strength to fight resolutely, that fighting strength will make the world recognize our complete independence" (2). In other words, Vietnam's international prestige and position are the result of the dialectical movement and impact of the country's position and strength, on the basis of the Party's correct and creative domestic and foreign policies in each stage of development. In which, the basic foundation is "the economy must be stable, national defense must be strong, the real power must be strong, the people must be at peace, politics and society must be stable, the whole nation must be a united bloc" (3). This is not only a measure of overall strength but also an important factor contributing to promoting socio-economic development, consolidating national security and improving people's lives.
Over the years, Vietnam has affirmed its prestige and solid international position through its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development; multilateralization and diversification of foreign relations; being a friend, a reliable partner and an active, responsible member of the international community; proactively and actively integrating comprehensively and deeply into the international community. However, a number of foreign organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), intergovernmental organizations (IGOs); hostile and reactionary forces; political opportunists at home and abroad, with the support and encouragement of a number of ill-intentioned media agencies (RFA, RFI, BBC...) have continuously sought to sabotage, distort and defame the image of our country, considering Vietnam's prestige and international position as one of the "key" sabotage targets.
The consistent plot of hostile forces in their sabotage, undermining and defaming Vietnam's prestige and position is to sow doubt, destabilize domestic public opinion and undermine the international community's confidence in Vietnam's stability and development. In the long term, they aim to weaken the country's position and prestige, hinder the process of international integration and cooperation, and create conditions for interference and influence from outside. The deepest goal pursued by these forces is to change the political regime in Vietnam, going against the development path chosen by our Party and people. The actions of defaming and defaming Vietnam's prestige are only part of the overall strategy to gradually carry out this plot, directly threatening the independence, sovereignty and sustainable development of the country.
The anti-government content is comprehensive, covering all aspects and elements that make up Vietnam’s reputation and international position. The primary focus is on democracy and human rights, with baseless accusations of suppression of freedom of speech, press, religion, and other civil rights. They deliberately ignore Vietnam’s efforts and achievements in perfecting its legal system and ensuring human rights, instead focusing only on individual cases or false information to create a negative image of Vietnam.
In addition, the issue of maritime sovereignty has always been a "trigger" that hostile forces have thoroughly exploited. They distort Vietnam's viewpoints and policies, intentionally causing misunderstandings about its steadfast stance in protecting national sovereignty, and even inciting extreme nationalism. In the economic field, they seek to defame the investment environment, spreading false rumors about the lack of transparency and stability, in order to reduce Vietnam's attractiveness to international investors. Even the anti-corruption work, an internationally appreciated effort of Vietnam, has been distorted by them into internal conflicts, eroding public trust.
Notably, recently, when our Party, State and people have vigorously carried out the revolution of streamlining the apparatus of the political system "to strengthen the leadership role of the Party; improve the effectiveness and efficiency of State management and the quality of operations of the Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations; promote the mastery of the people" (4), hostile and reactionary forces, hiding under the name of "suggestion" and the cover of "experts", have used sophistry and distorted the policy of streamlining the apparatus of our Party and State. They deliberately denied the scientific nature and urgency of the reform, putting forward false arguments such as "lack of theoretical basis", "not enough conditions for implementation", "Vietnam does not have the experience to implement large-scale reforms". With dark intentions, they distorted the action plan, slandering that this was an "impossible" plan, carried out in a "patchwork" manner, and even serving personal interests rather than the nation and people.
More dangerously, they openly distort that Marxism-Leninism has failed, that the Vietnamese political system is falling into “crisis”, exaggerate the inevitable challenges of reform, sow skepticism, incite public fear of the risk of “shock therapy”, cause political instability, undermine the international community’s trust in Vietnam, and make it difficult for the process of international integration and cooperation.
In terms of tactics, they thoroughly exploit sensitive issues of democracy, human rights, religion, ethnicity, etc. to exert pressure and create pretexts to accuse Vietnam of violating international principles. By using non-governmental organizations as cover, these subjects infiltrate strategic locations and sensitive areas to collect information, find ways to approach and direct extremist elements to propagate narrow nationalist ideology, incite demands for "autonomy" and "secession", cause political instability and create pretexts for external intervention.
In particular, they use social media platforms, networks of reactionary exile organizations and ill-intentioned media to spread false information, taking advantage of objective difficulties in Vietnam's development process to exaggerate and distort the truth in order to undermine people's trust in the leadership of the Party and State, divide the great national unity bloc, weaken the country's internal strength, and lower Vietnam's prestige in the international arena.
The plots, tricks and activities against the reputation and international position of Vietnam carried out by hostile forces have caused far-reaching harm in many aspects. Economically, defaming the national image can undermine the confidence of foreign investors, negatively affect FDI capital flows, international trade activities and the tourism industry, thereby hindering economic growth and creating difficulties in the development process.
Politically, false and negative information can erode foreign relations, make it difficult to build and maintain strategic cooperative relationships, and reduce Vietnam's voice and role in international forums. More profoundly, these activities also have a negative impact on national unity, cause confusion in public opinion, and undermine people's trust in the leadership of the Party and State. At the same time, they create significant challenges in protecting national sovereignty, especially in cyberspace and in the context of complex geopolitical competition, damaging national pride and solidarity of Vietnamese people around the world.
General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping and General Secretary To Lam at the launching ceremony of the "Red Journey of Youth Research and Study". (Photo: Dinh Hoa) |
The role of foreign affairs in the struggle to protect the country's prestige and international position
The 13th National Congress of the Party determined that, in the coming years, it is necessary to "continue to promote the pioneering role of foreign affairs in creating and maintaining a peaceful and stable environment, mobilizing external resources to develop the country, and enhancing the country's position and prestige" (5). The practice of Vietnam's foreign affairs also shows that, "along with the political, military, economic, cultural fronts,... the diplomatic front always plays an important role in the revolutionary cause of our people" (6), contributing to creating a way, paving the way, taking the lead in gradually breaking the siege and embargo, opening up relations with many partners, opening a new situation for the cause of innovation, integration, building and defending the country.
General Secretary To Lam held a brief meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Photo: VNA) |
The 8th Conference of the Party Central Committee (13th tenure) issued a Resolution on the Strategy for National Defense in the New Situation. The Resolution affirmed: “The role of foreign affairs in serving the cause of national construction and defense is increasingly deeply and comprehensively recognized” (7), pioneering in “consolidating a peaceful and stable environment, attracting resources for national development; at the same time proactively detecting, having plans and policies to prevent risks of war and conflict early and from afar and well controlling factors that may cause disadvantages and sudden changes; resolutely and persistently protecting independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and national interests” (8). That affirms that foreign affairs not only play an important role in maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for the country's overall development, but is also one of the "armies" playing a "pioneering" role in the struggle to defeat all plots and actions to sabotage the country's reputation and international position.
The role of foreign affairs in the struggle to protect the country's prestige and international position is currently expressed at different levels, degrees and scopes depending on the functions and tasks of each organization and force in performing foreign affairs. Considering the overall foreign affairs work on all three pillars: Party foreign affairs, State diplomacy and people's foreign affairs, with the participation of all levels, sectors and relevant forces, associated with the task of fighting to protect the country's prestige and international position, foreign affairs plays a "pioneering" role, is the core force, taking the lead in contributing significantly to preventing and defeating all plots and sabotage tricks of hostile and reactionary forces. That role is reflected in the following basic contents:
Firstly, foreign affairs directly detects and identifies “early” and “from afar” all plots and activities that undermine Vietnam’s reputation and international position. This is a strategic task, clearly demonstrating the role of foreign affairs in the struggle to protect the country’s reputation and international position, requiring the sensitivity, professionalism and expertise of the foreign affairs staff. Vietnam’s network of diplomatic missions spread throughout the world, from major powers to neighboring countries, from major international organizations to regional forums, is the basis for collecting, analyzing and evaluating multi-dimensional information about the international situation, the attitudes and intentions of different countries and forces towards Vietnam.
Practices over the years have shown that, through bilateral and multilateral diplomatic channels, Vietnam has repeatedly detected early signs of abnormalities, false and distorted arguments about the country's situation. At international forums, Vietnam's proactive participation and contributions have helped us identify plots to take advantage of global issues to interfere in the country's internal affairs. "Early and remote" identification not only gives Vietnam time to prepare effective countermeasures but also allows us to proactively orient international public opinion, prevent the spread of false information, and protect the national image.
Second, foreign affairs plays a role in connecting and coordinating these forces, creating a unified and synchronous force in the struggle to protect the country's prestige and international position. Protecting the country's prestige and international position is an important task, requiring the promotion of the nation's overall strength, combining national strength with the strength of the times, between domestic forces and other international entities. In particular, foreign affairs plays a key role in connecting forces from politics, economics, culture to national defense and security.
Through effective foreign affairs activities of all levels, sectors and specialized forces, Vietnam not only strengthens relations with strategic partners, but also enhances the national image in the international arena, creating a solid foundation and a continuous posture in carrying out the task of fighting against all plots, tricks and actions to sabotage Vietnam's reputation and position.
Over the years, foreign affairs have closely coordinated with ministries, branches and localities, especially the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security; and effectively coordinated with neighboring countries in resolving issues related to borders, ethnicity and religion. Through bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms, Vietnam has built trust and mutual understanding, preventing hostile forces from taking advantage of these issues to cause instability. Typically, in the issue of overseas Vietnamese, foreign affairs have proactively developed policies to attract, support and create conditions for overseas Vietnamese to contribute to the country's development, while preventing activities of enticing and inciting by reactionary organizations, contributing to strengthening friendly and cooperative relations with neighboring countries, creating a peaceful and stable environment for national development.
Third, foreign affairs directly organizes effective combat against plots, tricks, and activities that undermine Vietnam's reputation and international position. Vietnam's foreign affairs practice in recent years has affirmed its active, proactive, and direct role in combating false and distorted information and activities that undermine the country's reputation and position. Through diplomatic channels, Vietnam has proactively provided official information and clearly explained issues raised by international organizations or individuals.
In international forums, Vietnam has directly engaged in dialogue and clarified issues frequently raised by international organizations regarding human rights, religious freedom, or other issues related to Vietnam. External information work plays an important role in refuting misinformation and leveraging the power of social media platforms to disseminate accurate and timely information. These efforts help protect the country’s reputation and international position, while affirming Vietnam’s transparency and commitment to sustainable development.
Fourth, foreign affairs play an important role in building Vietnam's prestige and position in the international arena, creating a foundation and "resistance" against distorted and destructive arguments about the country's image, prestige and position. Creating a material foundation and strong "resistance" against destructive plots is an important and characteristic role of foreign affairs. President Ho Chi Minh once advised, "We must rely on real strength. With strong real strength, diplomacy will be victorious. Real strength is the gong and diplomacy is the sound. The louder the gong, the louder the sound" (9).
In addition, mobilizing the combined strength to develop the country and improve people's lives is also a key factor in strengthening the trust of cadres, party members and people in the leadership of the Party and State, creating an inherent "resistance" against false information. Vietnam's great achievements in the process of innovation and international integration, and its increasingly enhanced role in regional and international forums have contributed to significantly enhancing the country's prestige and position. "Our country has never had such a foundation, potential, position and international prestige as it does today" (10). Vietnam's successful assumption of the role of ASEAN Chair, non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council... affirms Vietnam's position and responsibility in resolving regional and global issues.
Commander of the Vietnam Navy visits and attends Russian Navy Day. (Photo: Vietnam Navy Newspaper) |
Some solutions to promote the pioneering role of foreign affairs in the struggle to protect Vietnam's prestige and international position today
In the current complex international context with increasingly clear multipolarity, increasing strategic competition between major powers, there are many unpredictable factors of instability. Peace, cooperation and development are still the major trends, but are facing many obstacles and difficulties. Domestically, despite many achievements, Vietnam still faces internal challenges, especially the four risks that have been warned.
Notably, “Hostile forces, reactionary elements, political opportunists at home and abroad are colluding with each other to intensify comprehensive sabotage activities in politics, military, economy, ideology, culture..., taking advantage of the issues of “democracy, human rights”, ethnicity, religion; propagandizing and inciting the implementation of “peaceful evolution”” (11), directly attacking in order to weaken the prestige and position of Vietnam in the international arena. This reality poses an urgent need to continue promoting the role of foreign affairs in the struggle to protect Vietnam's prestige and international position, contributing to bringing the country forward in the new era. Accordingly, it is necessary to synchronously implement a number of the following basic solutions:
Firstly, continue to thoroughly grasp the Party's foreign policies and guidelines. In the context of many complex changes in the world, hostile forces have increased their activities of distorting and defaming Vietnam, thoroughly grasping the Party's correct foreign policy is the basis for orientation, maintaining principles, and creating a proactive position in the struggle to protect the country's prestige and international position. The 13th National Party Congress determined that in the coming years, it is necessary to continue to thoroughly grasp and effectively implement "the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, and diversification; proactively and actively integrate comprehensively, deeply, and effectively into the world; maintain a peaceful and stable environment, and constantly enhance Vietnam's international position and prestige" (12).
Accordingly, it is necessary to focus on thoroughly grasping and effectively implementing the Party's resolutions, directives and conclusions on foreign affairs; on the struggle to protect the Party's ideological foundation. The focus is on Resolution No. 22 of the Politburo on international integration; Directive No. 25 of the Secretariat on raising the level of multilateral foreign affairs; Resolution No. 35-NQ/TW, dated October 22, 2018, on "Strengthening the protection of the Party's ideological foundation, fighting against erroneous and hostile views in the new situation". Grasp the situation, activities, plots and tricks of hostile forces to sabotage and lower the prestige and international position of Vietnam both at home and abroad.
Second, proactively and actively participate in multilateral mechanisms to gain international support for the process of fighting to protect the country's prestige and international position. Multilateral mechanisms play an important role in establishing international rules of the game, directly affecting Vietnam's security and economic environment. Proactive participation helps Vietnam enhance its role and at the same time gain support from the international community on important issues such as territorial sovereignty, human rights, ethnicity, and religion, thereby minimizing the risks and impacts from sabotage by hostile forces.
Accordingly, it is necessary to clearly demonstrate the role of a friend, a reliable partner, an active and responsible member in organizations such as the United Nations, ASEAN, APEC, WTO, etc. to both make positive contributions and create a forum to protect national interests. In the process of participating in multilateral mechanisms, it is necessary to "actively participate in consolidating, building and shaping multilateral mechanisms and international law" (13) to increasingly affirm Vietnam's role and position in international relations.
Third, promote foreign information work and fight against false information. In the face of hostile forces increasingly increasing false propaganda activities aimed at undermining the trust of international friends in Vietnam, it is necessary to promote timely and accurate foreign information. “Proactively and actively promote Vietnam’s stance, viewpoints and image to the international community; effectively combat propaganda from anti-party forces, protect the Party, protect the regime; contribute to promoting the country’s interests and position in the international arena” (14).
Establish a close coordination mechanism between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Science and Technology and press agencies to promptly refute false information. Take advantage of digital media platforms and social networks to spread positive information about the country's socio-economic and foreign achievements. Promote the role of overseas correspondents and overseas Vietnamese community organizations in providing official information.
Fourth, closely and effectively combine Party foreign affairs, State diplomacy, and people-to-people diplomacy; political diplomacy, economic diplomacy, and cultural diplomacy. The close and effective combination between foreign affairs channels and fields plays a key role in protecting national interests and fighting against false and distorted arguments about Vietnam.
Chairing a press conference after being elected as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (August 3, 2024), Comrade To Lam affirmed: Continue to promote the role of foreign affairs, combine national strength with the strength of the times, contribute to firmly protecting the Fatherland from early on, from afar... Prioritize building a modern diplomacy, closely combining party diplomacy, state diplomacy, and people's diplomacy, in which party diplomacy plays a guiding role, people's diplomacy firmly consolidates the foundation of the Party's will and the people's hearts (15). Promote diplomacy in all fields to support market expansion, attract investment and enhance Vietnam's economic position; promote the country's image, refute false information, thereby building trust and support from the international community for Vietnam.
Fifth, improve the diplomatic fighting capacity of the team of cadres working in foreign affairs and promote the role of the Vietnamese community abroad. The solution and the key requirement in foreign affairs in general, and promoting the role of foreign affairs in the fight to protect the prestige and international position of Vietnam in particular, is to "pay special attention to the work of building the organization, apparatus and training, fostering and building the team of cadres" (16).
The staff working in foreign affairs need to be fully equipped with professional knowledge, sophisticated diplomatic skills and the ability to respond quickly and effectively to diplomatic situations. Focus on improving practical capacity, especially diplomatic combat capacity; have the ability to closely coordinate with domestic and foreign agencies and organizations to be able to deploy foreign affairs strategies, organize flexible diplomatic combat activities, contribute to protecting national interests and effectively refute distorted arguments. Promote the role of the overseas Vietnamese community, create a support network, detect and refute false information about the country, thereby contributing to improving the effectiveness of foreign affairs, protecting the image and national interests in the fight against anti-Vietnam arguments.
References
1. Central Party Propaganda Department (2023), Research documents of the Eighth Conference, 13th Party Central Committee, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi.
2. Communist Party of Vietnam (2021), Documents of the 13th National Congress of Delegates, volume 1, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi.
3. Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW, dated October 25, 2017, the 6th Conference of the 12th Party Central Committee "Some issues on continuing to innovate and reorganize the apparatus of the political system to be streamlined, effective and efficient", Hanoi.
4. Ho Chi Minh, Complete Works (2011), National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, volume 4.
5. Nguyen Phu Trong (2023), Some issues on military guidelines and defense strategies in the cause of building and defending the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland in the new period, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi.
6. Government Electronic Newspaper (August 3, 2024), General Secretary and President To Lam: Promoting the spirit of "self-reliance, self-confidence, self-reliance, self-strengthening, and national pride" to the highest level (https://baochinhphu.vn/tong-bi-thu-chu-tich-nuoc-to-lam-phat-huy-cao-nhat-tinh-than-tu-chu-tu-tin-tu-luc-tu-cuong-tu-hao-dan-toc-102240803105435725.htm).
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