“Stability at home, friendship abroad” to safeguard the country in peace and from afar

Maintenance of “stability at home, friendship abroad” is a strategic guiding principle for defending the country from afar of the Party. This content needs further study, grasp, and effective implementation aimed to contribute to firm protection of the Homeland in all situations.

On the basis of inheriting our ancestors’ experience in protecting the country from afar, especially the principle of “stability at home, friendship abroad” in the history of national construction and defence; conducting research into causes, laws, and methods to stage recent wars; and evaluating situations in the region and country, notably hostile forces’ plots to sow division within the Party, undermine people’s confidence in the Party’s organisations and authorities at all levels, destabilise political security, social order and safety, incite demonstrations and riots to overthow the legitimate governemnt, Viet Nam’s Defence Strategy has stressed the importance of keeping “stability at home, friendship abroad”, safeguarding the country from afar. This is a consistent standpoint, which demonstrates the Party’s strategic vision and sound leadership of national defence in the new situation.

Protection of the Homeland relates to not only defence of national territories but also maintenance of domestic security and political stability for sustainable development.  Protection of the Homeland means not only combat in wartime but also active defence to defeat hostile forces’ plots to conduct “peaceful evolution,” sabotage and proactive preparation in politics, economy, national defence, security, foreign relations, etc., right in peacetime. Therefore, the entire Party, people, military, and political system must continue to grasp and realise the following contents effectively.

First, strengthening of Party building, effectiveness and efficiency of state management of national defence. To promote Party’s building, effectiveness and efficiency of state management of national defence needs to adopt many measures to make party organisations pure and strong in terms of politics, ideology, morality, organisation, and cadre; step up inspection and oversight; firmly preserve unity and solidarity within the Party; resolutely prevent and repel degradation in political ideology, morality, lifestyle, manifestations of “self-evolution”, “self-transformation”, corruption, wastefulness, bureaucracy, “interest group,” etc., in order to create people’s confidence in the Party and State, which provides a firm foundation for bringing into full play the posture of “people’s hearts and minds” in national construction and defence. It is necessary to improve the Party’s mechanism for leading national defence and ability to map out guidelines, institutionalise and carry out resolutions on national defence of party committees at all levels; supplement and materialise functions, relationships, and leading role of the Central Military Commission in the implementation of defence missions; supplement functions, missions, and relationships between military region party committees and provincial, municipal party committees within their areas of responsibility. There is need to further reform mode, mechanism, and structure of leadership in order to enhance local military party committees’ leadership of building and operating provincial, municipal defence zones in both peacetime and wartime. The corps of cadres is to be cultivated to meet requirements of industrialisation, modernisation, and international integration. It is important to strengthen bodies and cadres in charge of national defence in ministries, branches, ministerial-level agencies, and agencies of the governemnt.

Second, closely and effectively combining economic, cultural, social development with strengthening national defence, security, and protection of the Homeland. This is a strategic guideline and vital content of keeping “stability at home,” safeguarding the Homeland from afar. To carry out this content requires attaching importance to combining economy, culture, and society with national defence and security and vice versa nationwide, especially in remote areas, border areas, at sea, and on islands; thoroughly overcoming shortcoming and weaknesses in combining economy with national defence and security in all areas, particularly in the strategic ones. The relationship between national construction and building must be materialised and realised effectively in the strategy for socio-economic development, Strategy to Safeguard the Homeland; in the fields of economy, culture, society, national defence, security, and diplomacy; in strategic regions and areas; and in each concrete mission, program, and plan. More effort should be put into carrying out the resolution of the Politburo on socio-economic development in border communes on land in association with strengthening national defence and security; connecting marine economy development with protection of sovereignty over seas and islands; associating economic growth with implementation of social progress and justice right in each development stage and policy with a view to ceaselessly improving people’s material, spiritual life, making people have confidence in and try their best to fortify national construction and defence. The defence industry and security industry are to be established and developed to both satisfy demands of national defence and contribute to socio-economic development.

Third, building a strong national defence and people’s security to meet requirements of safeguarding the Homeland in the new situation. Currently, it is an urgent need to operationalise synchronously and uniformly the building and development of a wealthy, powerful country in association with building a robust national defence and people’s security; enhance combat readiness and effective response to situations; care for building strong potential in terms of politics, spirits, economy, military, etc., to serve the needs of national construction and defence in peacetime and to be readily mobilised for countering wars. The People’s Army and People’s Public Security are built to become revolutionary, regular, highly skilled, and gradually modernised with some services, arms, and forces advancing straight to modernity. They are also requested to possess political steadfastness, comprehensive quality, and high combat capabilities, be absolutely faithful to the Homeland, Party, and people, and meet mission requirements in any situations. Efforts must be concentrated on building an adept, compact, strong People’s Army, capable of playing the core role in building the all-people national defence, safeguarding the Homeland, and defeating any aggressors. The Reserve is made powerful, with sufficient quantity, high political quality, right composition, and strict management and training. It is ready to be mobilised for supplementing the active force when required. It is necessary to tap into responsibility of local party committees and authorities, bodies, units, and enterprises for building the Militia and Self-Defence Force; renewing modes of organisation, training, and operation of the Militia and Self-Defence Force in association with protecting localities and firmly maintaining political security, social order, and safety at grassroots level. Special importance is attached to building the permanent Militia in border provinces, key areas, and Maritime Militia and Self-Defence Force; conducting research into organising the Militia Force in private, foreign-invested enterprises properly to meet requirements of preserving order and security in their areas of responsibility. The building of local armed forces must be connected with building comprehensively strong, robust, provincial, municipal defence zones, capable of combating independently within postures of military region defence zones and general defence posture of the whole country. There is need to continue building the all-people national defence posture in association with the people’s public security posture and speeding up developing economic – defence zones in key areas, border areas, at seas, and on islands, firmly protecting national borders.

Fourth, proactively, actively carrying out international integration and defence diplomacy, promoting national strength. International integration and defence diplomacy are important missions and strategies to safeguard the country from afar; prevent, push back, and defuse risks of conflicts and wars; preserve a stable, friendshipful environment for national development; combine national power with power of the times in order to create comprehensive strength to keep “stability at home, friendship abroad.” Therefore, there is need to promote cooperation with countries, especially those Viet Nam has established comprehensive partnership, strategic partnership, comprehensive strategic partnership, major powers, neighbouring countries, traditional friends; actively, proactively participate in multilateral defence cooperation and UN friendshipkeeping operation. Attention should be paid to strengthening organisations and developing a high-quality human resource for defence diplomacy; renewing contents and forms of cooperation, methods to hold conference, workshops, multilateral forums; improving effectiveness of propaganda and foreign information to generate high consensus in the whole Party, military, people, overseas Vietnamese communities, and international community about Viet Nam’s defence policy of friendship, self-defence, cooperation, and development. Also, scientific solutions must be worked out to minimise negative effects of international integration, resolutely struggle to defeat plots and activities, which exploit foreign relations to contact and infiltrate agents into our apparatus in order to conduct acts of sabotage and undermine our national interests. It is necessary to supplement and perfect coordination mechanisms between defence diplomacy and local, central foreign relations agencies; leverage foreign resources to serve socio-economic development and strengthening of national defence and security.

Grasp and effective implementation of keeping “stability at home, friendship abroad” and protection of the country from afar will directly contribute to defeating hostile forces’ plots of “peaceful evolution” and inciting “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”, preserving stability, creating position, strength, and overall power for preventing, repelling, defusing risks of conflicts and wars, firmly safeguarding the socialist Vietnamese Homeland in the new situation.