Party and political work within the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) is a very important part of the Party’s leadership over the Military, acting as a basic duty of all-level party committees, political commissars, junior political commissars, commands, and political agencies, aiming to maintain and strengthen the Party’s absolute, direct, comprehensive leadership over the VPA, contributing to building up the Military’s working-class, people-oriented, and national natures and turning the VPA into a reliable political force absolutely loyal to the Fatherland, Party, State, and people. The advent, development, efficiency, and effectiveness of party and political work within the VPA are closely connected with our Military’s process of construction, combat, victory, and maturity. Party and political work has significantly contributed to building the Military, consolidating national defence, and firmly protecting the Socialist Vietnamese Fatherland.

Sr. Lt. Gen. Trinh Van Quyet and representatives at a book exhibition during the Conference to review the 5-year implementation of the Project entitled “the Military prevents and combats peaceful evolution in the ideological and cultural fields in the new situation” (photo: qdnd.vn)

Perceiving the results and achievements of party and political work and applying lessons drawn from this work in the past 80 years to building an adept, compact, strong VPA towards modernity in the new situation and making the Military capable of excellently fulfilling all tasks assigned by the Party, State, and people are of utmost importance. Hence, party committees, party organisations, political commissars, junior political commissars, commands, and political agencies at all levels across the Military should clearly assert and widely disseminate the massive, historic achievements of party and political work in the VPA’s process of construction, combat, victory, and maturity.

First, affirming the role and results of party and political work in building and protecting the Party’s ideological foundation within the VPA

Grasping the Party’s political and military lines, under the leadership of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the General Department of Politics (GDP) of the VPA has given direction and guidance on synchronously carrying out all aspects of party and political work across the Military, with a focus on ideological leadership and political education to equip troops with an accurate perception of loyalty and steadfastness in combat goals and ideals, cement troops’ faith in the Party’s leadership, and enable troops to distinguish between partners and opponents and grasp the VPA’s tasks in each revolutionary period, thereby making a decisive contribution to our Military’s task performance, robust development, and feats of arms in the struggle for national liberation, in the cause of Fatherland construction and protection, and in noble international missions. In all revolutionary periods, ideological work across the Military has been conducted in a comprehensive but focalised manner. In the resistance war against the French, the entire VPA and people thoroughly grasped the line of “all-people, all-round, protracted, self-reliant resistance war” and brought into play the spirit of “sacrificing for the Fatherland”, “popular education”, “jars of rice to relieve hunger”, and “all for the frontline, all for victory”, thus contributing to making the Dien Bien Phu victory that “resounded across the five continents and shook the globe”. In the resistance war against US imperialists for national salvation, amid difficulties and hardships on the Southern battlefield and in the Northern rear, our military cadres and soldiers upheld and promoted the spirit of “nothing is more precious than independence and freedom”, “splitting Truong Son mountain to save the nation”, “searching for American troops to fight, searching for Saigon puppet regime’s troops to annihilate”, and “grabbing the enemy’s belt to fight them”, thereby creating great synergy for “fighting to drive US troops away, fighting to topple Saigon puppet regime”, liberating the South, and unifying the country. After the victory of the resistance war against US imperialists for national salvation, party and political work across the Military witnessed new developments and greatly contributed to “Fatherland protection wars in the Southwestern and Northern borders, fulfilling international missions, assisting the Lao people in safeguarding their revolutionary fruits, helping the Cambodian people escape the genocide and revive their country”. In the period of Fatherland construction and protection, party and political work has been centred on well performing the tasks of training and combat readiness and actively, proactively taking part in the fight against hostile forces’ “peaceful evolution” strategy, plots, and artifices which are aimed at “depoliticising” our VPA, removing the socialist regime in our country, and separating our Military from the Party’s leadership. At the same time, this work has been effectively carried out to deal with illusions about imperialist nature change, signs of wavering faith, and a lack of faith in the path to socialism selected by our Party, Uncle Ho, and people.

The entire VPA has proactively conducted ideological work in accordance with developments in overall situation, tasks, partners, and opponents, with emphasis placed on renewing the content, forms, and methods of this work and improving the Military’s political steadfastness, combat readiness capacity, and combat power. The whole VPA has also focused on educating troops on Marxism - Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, the Party’s lines, the State’s laws and policies, revolutionary tasks, the Military’s nature, combat goals and ideals, glorious tradition, functions, and tasks, resolutely fighting against signs of degradation in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle as well as manifestations of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”. As a result, the Party’s ideological foundation within the Military has always been maintained and brought into play; the whole VPA has always remained united and absolutely loyal to the Fatherland, Party, State, and people, readily undertaking and successfully accomplishing all assigned tasks.

Second, asserting the necessity of maintaining and enhancing the Party’s absolute, direct, all-round leadership over the Military, building pure, strong party organisations, unceasingly raising the quality of cadres and party members

In any circumstances, the GDP has proactively advised the CMC, the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, and the Politburo on sound strategies, gradually completing the Party’s mechanisms of leadership over the Military, defining the role of special importance of party and political work to maintaining the Party’s absolute, direct, all-round leadership over the VPA, regularly consolidating all-level party organisations across the Military, especially making grass-roots party organisations pure, strong, and capable of serving as the nucleus of leadership over the building of comprehensively strong offices and units. Due attention has been paid to proactively consolidating party committees both qualitatively and quantitatively, perfecting and strictly executing party organisations’ leadership and working regulations, upholding the principle of democratic centralism, renewing working style and methods, raising the quality of party meetings, self-criticism, and criticism, cementing unity within party cells, party committees, offices, and units, unceasingly improving party organisations’ leadership capacity and combativeness as the basis for building a politically strong VPA and an exemplarily, typically strong, pure Military Party Organisation (MPO).

In all revolutionary periods, especially in the new period, due regard has been paid to building a contingent of military cadres with proper quantity, increasingly high quality, appropriate structure, absolute loyalty to the Fatherland, Party, State, and people, great courage and ingenuity in combat, dedication and high determination in training, combat readiness, work, and production, thereby meeting the requirements of VPA building, national defence consolidation, and Fatherland protection. Consideration has been given to closely combining the consolidation of party committees with the building of a pool of cadres and party members, and opportunely appointing key cadres with great capability and prestige to party committees. Before and after each party congress, great value has been attached to the planning and use of cadres, particularly leaders at all levels so that they would possess considerable political steadfastness, knowledge, and acumen to lead their offices and units to surmount all difficulties, effectively handle complex situations, and successfully fulfil all tasks.

Third, keeping raising the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of political agencies and a contingent of political cadres at all levels

Over the past 80 years, party and political work has always asserted its role of special importance to building a politically strong VPA, becoming the “soul and lifeblood” of all military activities, particularly in the performance of the Military’s functions and tasks as well as contingency missions assigned by the Party, State, and people. The entire VPA has managed to build a system of political agencies and a pool of political cadres capable of unceasingly improving the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of party and political work according to their functions and tasks. The contingent of political cadres has been built and developed in terms of quality, capacity, and working style. The organisational structures of political agencies and the contingent of political cadres across the Military have been regularly consolidated from company to military region levels and within strategic offices, under the streamlining of the VPA. The GDP’s competent offices have given sound advice, direction, and guidance on party and political work across the VPA.

The GDP has step by step completed and promulgated regulations on party and political work within the VPA, especially since the issuance of the Politburo’s Resolution 51-NQ/TW, dated 20 July 2005 and the CMC’s Resolution 513-NQ/ĐUQSTW, dated 7 November 2005, defining functions, tasks, work relationships of political agencies; besides, functions, tasks, and work relationships of political cadres have been identified more clearly as the basis for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of party and political work. Due attention has been paid to stepping up scientific research and practical review to draw lessons on party and political work, thereby contributing to developing theories about Party and State building, completing the Party’s mechanisms of leadership, and shaping new thinking on building the VPA, consolidating national defence, and protecting the Fatherland in accordance with new task requirements.

Fourth, focusing on affirming matters of principle to maintaining and fostering the close-knit bond between the Military and the people, allowing the former to forever deserve to be an Army of the people, by the people, for the people

Regarding the function as an army ready for work and for production, party committees, party organisations, political commissars, junior political commissars, commands, and political agencies across the VPA have rendered all cadres and soldiers fully aware of the significance, content, and requirements of mass mobilisation work. Much weight has been given to grasping the Party’s viewpoints on all-people war, the nature and fine tradition of a revolutionary army, a sense of discipline, and attitudes towards the people. The entire VPA has actively encouraged the people to successfully implement the Party’s lines and the State’s laws and policies, cementing the people’s faith in the victory of the cause of Fatherland construction and protection, motivating the people to raise vigilance and join the entire Party and Military in resolutely combating wrong, hostile viewpoints and distortions of military - civilian solidarity. Cadres and soldiers of military units have closely collaborated with local party committees, authorities, and unions in carrying out twinning activities and mass mobilisation work, establishing working groups and teams for the building of strong political bases, transferring technological and technical advances to the people in remote, isolated, border, sea, island areas, well executing the “clever mass mobilisation” emulation movement, fostering information and propagation work for the people’s improved knowledge, developing cultural residential areas, actively taking part in helping the people with hunger eradication, poverty reduction, new-style rural area building, and civilised urban area development. The VPA has acted as the core force in natural disaster and epidemic prevention and control, search and rescue, assisting localities in building a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds” as the basis for consolidating the postures of all-people national defence and people’s security and facilitating socio-economic, cultural development.

Sr. Lt. Gen. Trinh Van Quyet gives presents to locals of Dong Tam village, Yen Thanh commune, Quang Binh district, Ha Giang province after Storm No.3 (September 2024) (photo: qdnd.vn)

The GDP has advised the CMC and the Ministry of National Defence (MND) on directing competent offices to propose and release many directives and guiding documents on mass mobilisation, thus effectively assisting sectors, localities, offices, and units in performing this work, spreading the qualities and image of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” among Vietnamese citizens and international friends, deepening the close-knit bond between the VPA and the people, cementing the people’s faith in the Party, State, and socialist regime. For that reason, the VPA’s mass mobilisation work has always been highly appreciated and acknowledged as a “bright spot” in the Party’s mass mobilisation work.

Remarkable achievements in the VPA’s party and political work over the past 80 years are of significance and value in both theoretical and practical terms. Those achievements stem from the sound leadership and direction of the Party, CMC, and MND, from enthusiastic, effective coordination and support of ministries, sectors, and localities, from the people’s shelter and assistance, from the GDP’s significant contributions, and from tireless efforts and sacrifice of generations of cadres and soldiers across the Military. Those important achievements are also valuable lessons that should continue to be studied, applied, and further promoted in building the VPA, consolidating national defence, and protecting the Fatherland in the new situation.

In the upcoming years, there will be rapid, complex, and highly unpredictable global and regional changes. Strategic competition between major powers will be more intense together with a multipolar world order. Traditional and non-traditional security challenges, disputes over territories and natural resources, terrorism, arms race, natural disasters, epidemics, and climate change will be more serious and complex. Domestically, tremendous, historic achievements in the national renovation cause have laid an important foundation for building and protecting the Fatherland in the new era - the era of our nation’s rise, towards the 100^th founding anniversary of the Party and the 100^th founding anniversary of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (the present-day Socialist Republic of Vietnam). However, our country will be faced with many difficulties and challenges. The four risks pointed out by our Party still exist and even have some more complicated developments. More demanding requirements will be imposed on Fatherland protection amid globalisation, international integration, and the robust development of science and technology; the VPA’s organisational adjustments and the dark side of the market economy will greatly impact on thoughts and psychology of cadres, soldiers, and defence employees. That situation necessitates continuing to raise the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of party and political work to meet the building of a revolutionary, regular, elite, modern VPA ready to fight and sacrifice for national independence and freedom and for socialism. To that end, it is necessary to focus on several fundamental measures as follows.

Firstly, continuing to grasp the Party’s lines and the State’s laws and policies on military - defence and Fatherland protection tasks and MPO building in the new situation

It is essential to achieve a reform in studying, grasping, and realising resolutions, directives, and conclusions by the Party Central Committee (PCC) and the CMC in accordance with training and combat readiness realities and the building of an adept, compact, strong VPA. All-level party committees, party organisations, political commissars, junior political commissars, commands, and political agencies should thoroughly grasp resolutions, directives, regulations, and conclusions by the Party and the CMC on military - defence tasks and Party building, particularly the Resolutions of the 13^th National Party Congress and the 11^th Military Party Congress, the Strategy for Fatherland Protection in the New Situation, other military, national defence, and national border protection strategies, regulations on the example-setting responsibility and revolutionary moral standards of cadres and party members, and regulations on things that party members must not do. They should review goals, targets, and main tasks set by resolutions of all-level party congresses and whole-tenure action programs as the basis for developing new methods of leadership and direction to fulfil all those goals, targets, and tasks with the best results and quality.

It is important to grasp and strictly execute the Politburo’s Directive 35-NQ/TW, dated 14 June 2024, and the CMC Standing Board’s Directive 2960-CT/QUTW, dated 18 July 2024, on all-level party congresses within the MPO towards the 14^th National Party Congress as well as other directing and guiding documents by the PCC, CMC, and GDP on all-level party congresses. Party committees, party organisations, cadres, and party members within the Military should consider it as a central political task and demonstrate their resolve to carefully prepare and organise all-level party congresses, making all-level party congresses within the MPO really typical and exemplary to greatly contribute to the success of the 14^th National Party Congress. Due attention should be paid to promoting a sense of responsibility for grasping, studying, and implementing resolutions of all-level party congresses for 2025 - 2030 tenure, the 12^th Military Party Congress, and the 14^th National Party Congress, thereby contributing to successfully fulfilling all targets of building a revolutionary, regular, elite VPA towards modernity.

Secondly, continuing to enhance leadership capacity and combativeness of party committees, party organisations, and party members, building a politically strong VPA

Emphasis should be placed on building a really pure, strong, exemplary, typical MPO and improving the comprehensive leadership capacity and combativeness of party committees and party organisations. Consideration should be given to renewing party organisations’ content, methods, and style of leadership, raising the capability of party committees and party secretaries, ensuring the core role and comprehensive leadership of party organisations, stringently maintaining the Party’s principles of organisation and operation, especially democratic centralism and self-criticism and criticism, strengthening discipline and internal unity. Due regard should be paid to building really pure, strong party organisations in tandem with “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong offices and units.

It is important to continue to raise the quality and effectiveness of task performance assessments of grass-roots party organisations and party members as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of inspection, supervision, and Party discipline work. It is crucial to step up Party building and rectification under the Resolutions of the PCC’s 4^th Plenum (11^th, 12^th, 13^th tenure) and conclusions, directives, and regulations by the PCC, the Politburo, the PCC’s Secretariat, and the CMC in line with the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics, and lifestyle and the Campaign entitled “promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s Soldiers in the new era”. The example-setting responsibility and vanguard role of cadres and party members should be widely disseminated across the entire VPA and society. Great value should be attached to carrying out internal political protection work, ensuring security, safety, and unity, resolutely preventing and pushing back the degradation in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle and the signs of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”, proactively combating corruption and negative practices right at grass-roots level.

Thirdly, promoting the role of a contingent of cadres, especially all-level political cadres to meet new task requirements

The entire VPA should continue to grasp and effectively execute the Party’s resolutions and directives on personnel work, particularly the CMC’s Resolution 109-NQ/QUTW, dated 11 February 2019, on “building a contingent of military cadres, particularly at operational and strategic levels to meet the task requirements in the new situation”, the CMC’s Statute 2036-QC/QUTW, dated 16 June 2023, on “leadership over personnel work within the VPA”. To do so, it is crucial to build a pool of cadres at all levels with “political steadfastness, exemplary ethics and lifestyle, proper quantity and structure, high quality, and good adaptability to situational developments and the building of a revolutionary, regular, elite, gradually modern VPA”.

All-level party committees and party organisations should strictly conform to principles, regulations, and procedures for personnel work, align the building of a contingent of cadres and party members with the building of party committees, closely combine personnel work with Party building and the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics, and lifestyle, exercise their leadership and direction over personnel-related planning, rotation, management, evaluation, training, cultivation, and policies. It is necessary to step up the building and development of high-calibre military human resources, opportunely grasp and effectively implement the Project on “policies to attract and utilise talents for the VPA towards 2030, with a vision towards 2050”, well conduct personnel planning and preparation for all-level party congresses for 2025 - 2030 tenure, strengthen control over power, combat bribery for job titles, and resolutely handle negative practices in personnel work.

It is essential to grasp and effectively execute the 9^th Politburo’s Resolution 51/NQ-TW and the CMC’s Resolution 513/NQ-ĐUQSTW on “continuing to complete the Party’s mechanisms of leadership, implementing one-commander regime in line with political commissar and junior political commissar regime within the VPA”. Emphasis should be placed on building a pool of political cadres with great capabilities in giving advice to the Party, State, CMC, and MND on strategies to enhance the Party’s leadership over VPA building, national defence consolidation, and Fatherland protection. Great value should be attached to improving political commissars’ capabilities in leading and directing the implementation of resolutions and directives on party and political work. Political agencies and political cadres should be cognisant of their role and responsibilities and actively better themselves comprehensively on a par with their functions and assigned tasks.

Fourthly, continuing to renew the content, forms, and methods of party and political work to meet the requirements of both regular and irregular tasks

Party and political work within the VPA must stay close to realities of the country and the Military as well as the impacts made by international situation to proactively deal with ideological issues; difficulties and advantages in the overall situation must be clarified to formulate the content, forms, and methods of party and political work properly. Therefore, in addition to a reform in the content of party and political work, it is necessary to diversify forms and methods to raise the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of party and political work, allowing this work to permeate deep into military activities.

All-level party committees, political commissars, junior political commissars, commands, and political agencies should “continue to further renew the content and methods of ideological work in a proactive, practical, timely, and effective manner”. They should grasp and well execute the CMC’s directive 2423-CT/QUTW, dated 9 November 2023, on “renewing and improving political education in the new period”, Regulations on political education within the VPA and the Militia and Self-Defence Force, and other directives and guiding documents on political education. They should also renew the dissemination and education of Marxism - Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, the Party’s lines and viewpoints, and the revolutionary nature, traditions, and tasks of the VPA and their units, while promoting the role of cultural institutions and means of propagation in raising the quality of political education. Besides, they should bring into play synergy from all forces, particularly all-level Steering Boards 35 and Force 47 as well as press agencies to disseminate good people, good deed examples and the image of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”, proactively prevent and combat hostile forces’ “peaceful evolution” strategy and plot to “depoliticise” our VPA, especially on the Internet and social networks, thereby “firmly protecting the Party’s ideological foundation, ensuring that the VPA will always be absolutely loyal to the Fatherland, Party, and people and stand firm in the face of difficulties and challenges”.

Party committees, party organisations, and commands at all levels should focus their leadership and direction on grasping and closely taking steps of ideological management and public opinion orientation. They should frequently grasp troops’ ideological developments and public opinion within their offices, units, and stationed areas, while employing and combining forms and methods of ideological work, proactively forecasting, analysing, assessing, and opportunely settling ideological issues to maintain ideological stability, unity, and consensus within their offices and units. They should closely combine ideological management with discipline management, align ideological education with administrative measures and commendation, and stringently handle violations of law and discipline. In the process, it is necessary to closely combine “building” and “fighting”, with the former acting as a basic, long-term measure and the latter serving as an urgent, routine task. Besides, it is crucial to step up the building of a healthy, diverse cultural environment across the Military.

A reform in the content, forms, and methods of party and political work should be carried out synchronously to ensure that troops’ operations will always be accompanied by party and political work, party organisations’ leadership, and commanders’ management. Ideological work should be closely combined with policy work and organisational work in accordance with new task requirements; the system of regulations should be frequently perfected to avoid interruption or “loophole” in the work of leadership, command, management, and operation.

Forms and methods of party and political work must be diverse and proper. All-level party committees, political commissars, junior political commissars, commands, and political agencies should further promote their role and responsibility under the spirit of daring to think, daring to speak, daring to do, daring to take responsibility, daring to innovate, and daring to face difficulties and challenges for the common task. Party and political work should continue to be renewed and improved, particularly in combat, combat readiness, training, exercises, natural disaster prevention and control, search and rescue, local military - defence work, and defence diplomacy.

Fifthly, promoting synergy to raise the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of party and political work

In order to bring into play synergy of all organisations and individuals in the performance of party and political work, it is necessary to focus on building pure, strong party organisations and strong commands and mass organisations. Great value should be attached to closely aligning party work with staff work, logistics - technical support work, and other pieces of work. Coordination between the MND and other ministries and sectors as well as between all-level leaderships, commands, and political agencies within the VPA and party committees and authorities within the political system should be closely maintained to carry out and improve party and political work. Due regard should be paid to building strong mass organisations and soldiers’ councils. Offices and units across the VPA should regularly promote the role and responsibility of their cadres, party members, soldiers, and defence workers and employees in conducting party and political work. Moreover, resources should be proactively exploited to ensure funding and materials for party and political work. Much weight should be given to conducting preliminary and final reviews to draw lessons and develop theories about party and political work in response to the tasks of VPA building, national defence consolidation, and Fatherland protection in the new era of the nation.

The VPA’s process of construction, combat, victory, and maturity in the past 80 years has proved that party and political work is the “soul and lifeblood” of all military activities, ensuring the VPA’s working-class, people-oriented, and national natures, enabling the Military to be worthy of an Army of the people, by the people, and for the people with the title of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”. The tasks of VPA building, national defence consolidation, and Fatherland protection in the new situation necessitate party committees, party organisations, political commissars, junior political commissars, commands, and political agencies at all levels heightening a sense of responsibility and synchronously adopting measures to raise the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of party and political work as the basis for maintaining and enhancing the Party’s absolute, direct, all-round leadership over the Military, building a politically strong VPA with great synergy and combat power, and accomplishing all tasks assigned by our Party, State, and people.

Sr. Lt. Gen. TRINH VAN QUYET

Secretary of the PCC

Member of the CMC Standing Board

Director of the GDP of the VPA