Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra has just signed Decision No. 40/2025/QD-TTg dated October 31, 2025 on criteria, order and procedures for recognizing island communes and safe zone communes during the resistance wars against France and the US.
Criteria for recognition of island communes
According to Decision No. 40/2025/QD-TTg, communes and wards recognized as island communes must meet the following two criteria:
a) 50% or more of the natural area is an island or archipelago as prescribed in Article 19 of the 2012 Law on the Sea of Vietnam (amended and supplemented by the Law on Organization of Local Government dated June 16, 2025) or the entire natural area is an islet isolated from the mainland, with conditions similar to an island;
b) There are permanent residents or armed forces stationed on islands, archipelagos, and islets to participate in the management, protection of national defense, security, and sovereignty of seas and islands.
The Decision also clearly states: The special zone is recognized as an island commune and does not have to follow the procedures to request recognition as an island commune.
Criteria for recognizing safe communes
Decision No. 40/2025/QD-TTg stipulates that communes, wards, and special zones (hereinafter referred to as commune-level administrative units) are recognized as Safe Zone communes when they have 3 or more of the following 5 criteria:
1. The Party Committee from the Regional Party Committee, Military Region Party Committee and above shall direct the construction of a revolutionary safety zone (a place with conditions of terrain, topography, politics , military, socio-economy, population and ensuring safety for the Party's revolutionary leadership activities during the resistance war against France and the US).
2. Place of residence (raising, hiding, keeping secret), work and leadership activities, directing the building of revolutionary movements in the resistance war against France and the US of comrades and cadres of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations from the Regional and Military Region levels and above.
3. Places where particularly important events took place, where strategic decisions of the Party were of a turning point in the stages of the two resistance wars against France and the US, or where the headquarters of agencies, organizations, and units of the Party, the State, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and socio-political organizations from the Regional and Military Region levels and above, foreign diplomatic headquarters, and campaign-level Front Command offices during the resistance wars against France and the US were located.
4. Places for stationing, training, coaching, gathering, and transit of armed forces (army, police) from company level and above; places with warehouses for storing food, provisions, weapons, equipment, military uniforms, military supplies, and other essential equipment and supplies in the resistance war against France and the US to serve the Front at campaign level or Military Region level and above.
5. Places with strong revolutionary bases and movements in the resistance wars against France and the US; at the same time, local armed forces proactively or in coordination with regular armed forces organized battles against the enemy to protect the safety of Party and State cadres, agencies and organizations stationed in the area or where important victorious battles took place, contributing to creating an advantageous battlefield situation for the revolution and resistance in the locality and neighboring areas.
Decision No. 40/2025/QD-TTg also specifically stipulates the order, procedures and dossiers for requesting recognition of island communes and safe zone communes.
Decision No. 40/2025/QD-TTg takes effect from October 31, 2025.
Transitional provisions
1. Island communes and Safe Zone communes that have been recognized by the Prime Minister before the effective date of this Decision and do not implement administrative unit arrangement in 2025 will continue to be recognized as island communes and Safe Zone communes without having to follow the procedures prescribed in this Decision.
2. In case of merging the status quo of commune-level administrative units that have been recognized as island communes and have the entire natural area of islands, archipelagos, and islets into new commune-level administrative units, the new commune-level administrative units will be recognized as island communes without having to follow the procedures prescribed in this Decision.
3. In case of merging the status quo of a commune-level administrative unit that has been recognized as a Safe Zone commune with all or part of other commune-level administrative units into a new commune-level administrative unit, the new commune-level administrative unit will be recognized as a Safe Zone commune without having to follow the procedures prescribed in this Decision.
4. In case of changing the name of a commune-level administrative unit that has been recognized as an island commune or a safe zone commune or a newly established commune-level administrative unit on the basis of the status quo of a commune-level administrative unit that has been recognized as an island commune or a safe zone commune, the new commune-level administrative unit will continue to be recognized as an island commune or a safe zone commune without having to follow the procedures prescribed in this Decision.
5. For commune-level administrative units established by merging, dividing, or adjusting boundaries according to decisions of competent authorities, part of which is an island commune or a safe zone commune and not subject to the provisions of Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article, the Provincial People's Committee shall direct the Commune-level People's Committee to review, prepare records, and carry out procedures to request recognition of island communes or safe zone communes (if any) according to the provisions of this Decision.
6. The Prime Minister's Decisions on the recognition of safe zones, safe zone communes, and island communes shall continue to be effective until the decisions of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee on the recognition or publication of the list of island communes and safe zone communes take effect.
7. During the period when there are no decisions to recognize or announce the list of island communes and safe zone communes as prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article, people, cadres, civil servants, public employees, workers and salary earners in the armed forces who are enjoying the regimes and policies for island communes, safe zone communes and safe zone areas will continue to enjoy the regimes and policies according to current regulations until the decisions of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee on recognizing or announcing the list of island communes and safe zone communes come into effect.
8. For commune-level administrative units that have been recognized as island communes before the effective date of this Decision but are not recognized as island communes after review, the people, cadres, civil servants, public employees, laborers, and salaried people in the armed forces who are living and working on the natural areas of islands and archipelagos of these commune-level administrative units shall be subject to the same regimes and policies as for island communes according to current regulations, except in cases where documents on regimes and policies have other provisions./.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/tieu-chi-cong-nhan-xa-dao-va-xa-an-toan-khu-trong-cac-thoi-ky-khang-chien-post1074184.vnp
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