The core, groundbreaking aspect of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's thinking in developing Vietnam's national defense strategy is the idea that "protecting the independence and sovereignty of the country must be linked to protecting peace ."
In his capacity as Secretary of the Central Military Commission, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has always shown close, warm, and profound affection for the officers and soldiers of the army and the militia forces nationwide, and has issued strategic directives that have made important contributions to the cause of building the army, consolidating national defense, and firmly protecting the Fatherland.
Building a strong foundation of public support.
General Phan Van Giang, Member of the Political Bureau, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, and Minister of National Defense, emphasized: "With his intellect, strategic vision, and sharp, insightful thinking, Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong has made significant contributions to the successful implementation of the National Defense Strategy in the new situation and the Party's guidelines and policies, as well as the State's legal system in the military and defense fields. As early as 2003, in his capacity as a Member of the Political Bureau and Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, in charge of the Party's theoretical work, Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong made important contributions, helping the Central Committee of the Party (9th term) to issue the first thematic resolution on the National Defense Strategy."
A consistent requirement and a core lesson leading to the victory of the Vietnamese revolution was building a strong foundation of popular support and mobilizing the strength of national unity.
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's viewpoint is consistent with this ideology. In his capacity as Secretary of the Central Military Commission, the General Secretary has always emphasized the need to promote "the core role in building a national defense system based on the people's security posture and building strong provincial and city defense zones; strengthening the country's defense potential and strength."
The General Secretary also requested that "the policy of combining national defense and security with the economy, and the economy with national defense and security be effectively implemented, raising awareness, especially in strategic areas, key locations, borders, and islands. National defense and security education should be done well, raising awareness, responsibility, and action of the entire population regarding the task of consolidating national defense and protecting the Fatherland."
According to General Phan Van Giang, based on a firm grasp, accurate assessment and forecast of the situation, trends of the times, and ways to overcome risks and challenges, from 2011 to the present, the General Secretary has directed the development, promulgation, and implementation of Central Resolution 8 (11th and 13th Congresses) on the Strategy for National Defense in the New Situation, ensuring it is scientific, accurate, and effective; marking a new development in thinking and awareness about national defense from early on and from afar, "keeping things stable at home and peaceful outside"; "the people are the foundation," the center, the subject, building a "people's defense posture," ensuring people's peace is the decisive factor in the success of the cause of national construction and defense; Defining the objective of "Protecting the Fatherland means protecting independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, protecting the socialist regime, protecting the people, building a favorable environment for development, but it must be linked to protecting peace, and peace is considered a sacred value of the country"; closely integrating economic, cultural, and social development with ensuring national defense, security, and foreign relations with national defense and security to maximize the comprehensive national strength.
In his working sessions and speeches, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong consistently demonstrates the unwavering and consistent ideology of the Party's leader regarding the guiding principles, objectives, and directions and solutions for implementing the task of national defense in the new era.
The General Secretary's directives inherit the tradition of the Vietnamese nation's struggle for national construction and defense, while also drawing lessons from rich and vibrant practical experiences. They demonstrate thoroughness, decisiveness, and comprehensiveness, contributing to clarifying the development in the Party's theoretical thinking on military guidelines and national defense strategy, especially the Party's comprehensive and direct leadership role in the cause of national construction and defense.
"Under the direction of the General Secretary, the Strategy for National Defense in the new situation has been seamlessly integrated into the guidelines, policies, plans, projects, and programs for socio-economic development, and has been concretized through many specialized strategies, such as the National Defense Strategy, the Vietnamese Military Strategy, the Strategy for National Defense in Cyberspace, the Strategy for National Border Protection, the National Security Strategy..., and the resolutions, directives, and conclusions of the Politburo and the Central Military Commission in each field and aspect of work. These are major guidelines and compasses for us to successfully carry out the crucial and ongoing task of protecting the Fatherland in the new context, in the face of the multifaceted impacts of the world and regional situation with many complex and unpredictable developments," General Phan Van Giang affirmed.
Peace is the overarching goal.
As someone involved in developing Vietnam's national defense strategy, the late Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh (former member of the Central Committee of the Party, former Deputy Minister of National Defense) had many opportunities to directly report to and seek guidance from General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, and also attended many meetings chaired by the General Secretary on related issues.
General Nguyen Chi Vinh once shared: “What surprised and impressed me was the superior thinking, vision, and scientific methodology of the General Secretary, clearly demonstrated throughout the process of directing the development of a specialized document of our Party on national defense and military affairs. With Resolution No. 24-NQ/TW dated April 16, 2018, of the Politburo of the 12th Party Congress on the Vietnamese National Defense Strategy, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong not only played the role of the leader but also a strategist, creating fundamental and key orientations in the path of protecting the socialist Fatherland of Vietnam in the new era.”
The process of developing Vietnam's National Defense Strategy – a crucial national strategy aimed at institutionalizing the Party's fundamental views on national defense – was guided by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in a very thorough, specific, detailed, and insightful manner, demonstrating the erudition, extensive knowledge, and strategic thinking of the Party's leader.
The core, groundbreaking idea in the thinking of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Secretary of the Central Military Commission, in building Vietnam's national defense strategy is the thought that "protecting the independence and sovereignty of the country must be linked with protecting peace," because peace is considered a sacred value, and protecting a peaceful and stable environment is essential for national development.
Therefore, the General Secretary always requires the Ministry of National Defense to study and thoroughly understand the situation, developments, and changes in all directions and areas, especially key areas; to do a good job of forecasting and strategic planning, to detect early and promptly advise the Party, the State, and the Central Military Commission to direct timely prevention of any incidents, absolutely avoiding passivity and surprise; affirming that "this is a very important strategic task, vital to the survival of the army."
Sharing his views on General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's perspective of prioritizing environmental protection and peace as a consistent goal in building comprehensive national defense and military strength, Major General, Professor, and Doctor Nguyen Hong Quan, former Deputy Director of the Institute of National Defense Strategy, stated that this is a completely scientific viewpoint, with a dialectical and organic relationship between the two, and has been tested in practice.
“The issue we see is that protecting peace is one of the fundamental tasks of our army, of the all-people national defense, and a sacred value of the task of protecting the Fatherland. Only by protecting a peaceful environment can we create the foundation for building a strong and solid army. At the same time, only by building a developed economy and expanding the country's foreign relations can we have the conditions to further enhance our overall defense and military strength, and strengthen and develop both the hard and soft power of our country,” said Major General Nguyen Hong Quan.
The army has always upheld its revolutionary nature.
In order to continue to uphold and strengthen the Party's leadership over the military, ensuring that the military always maintains its revolutionary nature, goals, and fighting ideals, and successfully fulfills the tasks of national construction and defense, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong believes that it is crucial to unify understanding: regardless of the circumstances or conditions, the principle of the Communist Party of Vietnam's absolute and direct leadership of the Vietnam People's Army in all aspects must be firmly upheld. Improving and enhancing the quality of the Party's leadership is the decisive factor in ensuring the Party's firm control over the military in all situations.
The General Secretary emphasized: "The Party not only sets forth military guidelines, determines the direction of development of the country's military and defense potential, defines the goals and ideals of combat, and outlines policies and solutions to enhance the combat effectiveness of the Party Committee of the Army, but also leads the organization and realization of the viewpoints and guidelines for building a revolutionary, regular, elite, and progressively modern army."
To build a strong and comprehensive army, it is first necessary to improve the quality and effectiveness of Party work and political work throughout the army, and to build a politically strong army. The General Secretary requested "improving the quality of political work; implementing many policies and solutions to enhance the leadership capacity and combat strength of Party committees and organizations at all levels."
Regarding military officers, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized the importance of training and developing both their character and leadership, command, and troop management skills. The General Secretary reminded and assigned tasks to the military forces: Absolute loyalty to the Party, the Fatherland, and the people; proactive, perceptive, and resolute struggle against erroneous and hostile viewpoints; manifestations of opportunism, individualism, declining faith, ambiguity, and complacency; and preventing ideological and political degradation, moral decay, and lifestyle deviations, as well as "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" within the ranks.
Continuing to innovate, strengthen, and improve the effectiveness of mass mobilization work contributes to consolidating the great national unity, tightening the close relationship between the Party, the army, and the people, firmly consolidating the people's trust and affection, and increasing the people's love and confidence in the Party, the State, and the army.
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's views and directives are important guidelines for continuing to build and perfect Vietnam's military line and national defense strategy to meet the requirements of building and defending the Fatherland in the new era; at the same time, they demonstrate close and comprehensive leadership over the Vietnam People's Army, an army that originates from the people, fights for the people, and is absolutely loyal to the Party, the Fatherland, and the people.
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