Firmly maintain the policy of "warm inside, peaceful outside", "peaceful inside, quiet outside"

Directing the 12th Congress of the Party Committee of the Army for the 2025-2030 term, General Secretary To Lam, Secretary of the Central Military Commission, requested to firmly maintain the policy of "warm inside, peaceful outside", "peaceful inside, calm outside". In the context of a volatile world with complex and unpredictable developments, such a policy is both a goal and a solution to prevent the risks of war and conflict early, from afar, from the starting point...

Báo Quân đội Nhân dân•23/11/2025

Correct perception of strategic policies

The direction of General Secretary To Lam, Secretary of the Central Military Commission, is the concretization and creative application of Ho Chi Minh's thought and the foreign policy and defense policy of our Party and State in the new situation. The policy of "warm inside, peaceful outside", "peaceful inside, quiet outside" demonstrates strategic vision, affirming the country's foundation, potential and position in the current era of fierce geopolitical competition. Especially the competition of interests between major powers in regions and fields has far-reaching influence.

In the history of our nation's founding and defense, the ideology of peace, respect for peace , and taking stability as the fundamental interest has always been the core content in international relations. During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh taught: "Respond to all changes with the unchanging", affirming that the steadfastness of strategic goals must go hand in hand with flexibility and creativity in tactics and solutions. Our Party's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development according to the "bamboo diplomacy" school is the concretization and creative development of the identity of our ancestors. In the current context, the policy of keeping "warm inside, peaceful outside", "peaceful inside, calm outside" is both a long-term core strategy and an urgent current requirement. The goal of this policy is to prevent the risk of war and conflict early, from afar, right from the beginning. At the recent 12th Congress of the Party Committee of the Army, this policy is one of the "Two preventions" of the defense policy and tasks of the Vietnam People's Army, emphasized by the General Secretary and Secretary of the Central Military Commission. "Two steadfastness", "Two promotion", "Two preventions" were summarized by the highest leader of our Party, head of the Central Military Commission, having a dialectical and unified relationship, clearly demonstrating the goals, strategies and solutions in building and protecting the Fatherland.

Illustration photo: qdnd.vn

It should be emphasized that these contents are not new to us. They are consistent and consistent ideas throughout the history of the nation, especially in the Ho Chi Minh era. In each historical period, based on the world situation, the trend of the times and the country's circumstances, our Party has supplemented and developed appropriate theoretical thinking and strategic ideas.

Emphasizing this issue to see more clearly, while our Party, State and Army are steadfast, consistent, public and transparent in their peaceful and self-defense policies, hostile forces and political opportunists deliberately distort and distort the nature of the problem. Recently, the prestige of the Army and the image of Uncle Ho's soldiers have been highlighted and shone through parades and marches to celebrate major holidays, along with foreign affairs activities, defense exhibitions, international missions, exercises, and organization in a streamlined, compact and strong direction, helping people to prevent and combat natural disasters... In that context, the "dirty" media network of hostile forces has again raised distorted, distorted information, leading public opinion to misunderstand the nature of the problem. They have arbitrarily accused and assumed that Vietnam is in an "arms race", purchasing weapons, and modernizing its military potential to act as a counterweight to "deter" and "threaten" other countries. Even in cyberspace, there are many "keyboard experts" loudly "lecturing" and "advising" who Vietnam should rely on, which country it should fight, which side it should join a military alliance with... These arguments are completely wrong, illogical, and go against the foreign policy motto and vivid practice of Vietnamese diplomacy. The harmonious handling of relations with other countries, especially in the context of great power competition, shows our independence, autonomy and consistent goal of not choosing sides, only choosing the right for the benefit of the nation and people, contributing to building a peaceful and stable environment in the region and the world.

One of the core foundations for the Vietnam People's Army to play a pivotal role in realizing the policy of "warm inside, peaceful outside", "peace inside, calm outside" is the "four no's" defense policy: Not participating in military alliances; not allying with one country to fight another; not allowing foreign countries to set up military bases or use Vietnamese territory against another country; not using force or threatening to use force in international relations. This is a clear and transparent policy statement, demonstrating the peaceful and self-defense nature of Vietnam's defense.

The “four no’s” policy is also the basis for us to use justice to refute the distorted and erroneous arguments that defeat the “peaceful evolution” strategy of hostile forces. Vietnam has never and will never choose to confront any country. We do not take sides or form military alliances, but are always friends, reliable partners, and responsible members of the international community. That is the nature of “warm inside, peaceful outside”, “peaceful inside, calm outside”. And to have “warm inside” and “peaceful inside”, we attach importance to strengthening and caring from the roots. That is to build a clean and strong Party organization of the Army; proactively prevent all signs of degradation in political ideology, ethics, lifestyle, “self-evolution”, “self-transformation”; firmly maintain the principles of democratic centralism and self-criticism and criticism. When the internal unity, ideology are clear and the organization is strong, the strength of the Army will constantly multiply, and the national defense will be firmly and sustainably consolidated.

Correctly understanding the strategic policy of "warm inside, peaceful outside", "peaceful inside, quiet outside" is also the basis for us to use "building" to "fight", successfully performing the leading role in building and rectifying the Party; fighting to protect the Party's ideological foundation.

Strategic belief and the power of solidarity and unity

In international relations, strategic trust is the foundation and condition to ensure the quality, effectiveness, stability and sustainability of cooperation. In recent years, in international forums and dialogues on defense cooperation issues, we have always emphasized and committed to our partners on this issue. Vietnam wishes to promote bilateral and multilateral defense cooperation, effectively participate in United Nations peacekeeping activities, respond to natural disasters, search and rescue, etc. These are concrete manifestations of building and strengthening strategic trust with the international community. The basis for our commitment and building trust with international friends is the consolidation of internal potential, internal strength, building a stable political environment, and a consistent policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization and the "4 no" defense policy. Strategic trust is established from both sides, we put our trust in you and you have your trust in us. Vietnam is always consistent with the goal of peace and development, transparent in defense policy, responsible in international affairs, respect for international law and the United Nations Charter. The international trust in Vietnam is increasing thanks to these values. That is the goal and solution of "peace on the outside" and "calm on the outside".

From a dialectical perspective, we clearly realize that in the policy of "warm inside, peaceful outside", "peace inside, calm outside", the key and decisive factor is to build a foundation of "warm inside", "peace inside". That is the solidarity and unity within the Party, within the Army and among the entire people. That is the spirit of consensus, steadfast will, "Party's will meets people's will". When the rear is strong, when social trust is consolidated, when the strength of the great national unity bloc is promoted, "warm inside" will create strength to help "peace outside", "peace inside" will surely "calm outside".

We are stepping up the building of a revolutionary, disciplined, elite, and modern Vietnam People's Army. The "two pushes" include stepping up the building of modern people in the Army as a prerequisite factor and stepping up the development of an autonomous, self-reliant, modern, and dual-purpose defense industry. When the Army is strong politically, good at military affairs, elite in responding to non-traditional security challenges, proactive in technology, and creative in combat, "internal peace" will be a solid shield to protect the Fatherland. Along with that is the role of the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defense, and the entire army in proactively providing strategic advice, firmly grasping and correctly forecasting the situation, not being passive or surprised. When the strategic response is correct, when the core force is strong enough, all sabotage plots and intentions to cause instability can be repelled and neutralized early, from afar, from the starting point.

Each party member, cadre and soldier in our Army is a positive factor, uniting and uniting for "internal warmth" and "internal peace", then the cultural environment and political-ideological front, especially in cyberspace, will spread endogenous strength, repelling and defeating all plots and tricks of "peaceful evolution" by hostile forces./.