Thoroughly grasping the Politburo's Resolution 33-NQ/TW, dated 28 September 2018, on the National Border Protection Strategy as well as its functions and tasks as a specialised training institution, the Border Guard Academy (hereafter referred to as the Academy) continues to intensify the implementation of this important Resolution via resolute and comprehensive measures.

Resolution 33-NQ/TW (hereafter the Resolution) is a document of special significance, providing strategic viewpoints, objectives, tasks, and measures for the management and protection of national independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, and border security, thereby firmly defending the Fatherland “early and from afar” in the new situation.

A conference to approve the detailed research project at Ministry of National Defence level

As an institution responsible for training and developing Border Guard officers - the core and specialised force in managing and protecting national border sovereignty and security - the Academy has focused on leading and directing the study, dissemination, and concretisation of the Resolution in accordance with its functions and assigned tasks. With the active involvement of party committees and commands at all levels, awareness and a sense of responsibility among personnel of the Academy towards the implementation of the Resolution have been steadily raised. The Resolution’s viewpoints, principles, guidelines, tasks, and measures have been promptly integrated into textbooks, teaching materials, and lectures.

Scientific research has been orientated towards summarising practical experience and developing theories of national border protection in the new context. Advisory work and policy recommendations to higher echelons on measures for managing and safeguarding territorial sovereignty and border security have been carried out in a timely and coordinated manner, in accordance with the Party's foreign policy lines. Training quality has gradually improved; graduates demonstrate comprehensive competence in political willpower, professional expertise, and working methods, along with a clear understanding of their honour and responsibility for managing and protecting national sovereignty and border security. Although these are preliminary results, they affirm the Academy’s political determination and sense of responsibility in executing the Resolution.

The global and regional situations are forecast to continue evolving rapidly, complexly, and unpredictably. Non-traditional security challenges and armed conflicts are emerging in several regions in new and increasingly dangerous forms. Domestically, following the successful 14^th National Party Congress, our country is entering a new era of development. These factors impose increasingly demanding requirements on Fatherland construction and protection in general, and the task of managing and firmly protecting national border sovereignty and security in particular. This necessitates the active involvement of all levels, sectors, and forces, with the armed forces playing a core role and the Border Guard Force (BGF) acting as a specialised force.

Against this backdrop, the Academy’s Party Committee and Board of Directors continue to lead and direct the effective implementation of the Resolution, contributing to maintaining national border sovereignty and firmly protecting the Fatherland “early and from afar” via several key measures as follows.

First, continuing to step up dissemination and education and strengthening the leadership and direction of party committees and commands at all levels over the implementation of the Resolution. The Academy continues to promote dissemination and education so that its personnel thoroughly grasp the viewpoints and policies of the Party, the State, the Central Military Commission, and the Ministry of National Defence (MND), as well as the directives of the BGF Command regarding the management and protection of national border sovereignty and security. At the same time, they are made fully aware of opportunities, challenges, and hostile forces’ plots and tactics, as well as the act of infringing upon territorial sovereignty and national interests in border areas. Doing so will help raise their awareness and responsibility and foster unity in both thought and action in their task performance, particularly in applying the Resolution to education, training, and scientific research.

Besides, the Academy directs the party committees and commands of departments, faculties, and cadet management units to continue reviewing, adjusting, and supplementing targets and measures for implementing the Resolution in the coming period. In this process, emphasis is placed on integrating the Resolution’s contents into lesson plans, lectures, and research materials so as to educate cadres, lecturers, and especially cadets - the future Border Guard officers - enabling them to master knowledge of national defence, security, and border laws. This helps foster political determination among cadres, party members, and the people - the true “living markers of sovereignty” in national border protection. Furthermore, proactive measures are taken to counter hostile forces’ schemes and sabotage activities in border, remote, island, and ethnic minority areas, thereby contributing to firmly protecting the Fatherland from grass-roots level.

A work to welcome the 14th National Party Congress developed by Battalion 2

Second, flexibly and creatively applying the contents of the Resolution to the education and training process to build a contingent of “both red and expert” Border Guard officers capable of meeting their task requirements in the new situation. The results achieved by the Academy in implementing the Resolution are encouraging. However, given the rapid, complex, and unpredictable changes on regional and global scales, especially the emergence of new forms and methods of warfare in recent conflicts, the Academy’s Party Committee and Board of Directors continue to direct their affiliated units to closely cooperate with functional agencies in incorporating new practical developments relating to national borders into education and training curricula for different target groups. At the same time, the Resolution’s viewpoints, principles, mottos, tasks, and solutions must be applied flexibly, creatively, and effectively in both education and practical work, thus ensuring consistency, coherence, and close alignment with reality. This follows the motto: “The quality of training at schools determines the combat readiness capacity of units”, contributing to building a revolutionary, regular, elite, modern BGF.

Furthermore, due regard is paid to enhancing the capacity for situational assessment and forecasting, improving professional border defence skills, and fostering knowledge of national defence, security, foreign affairs, and international practices. Priority is given to developing measures to counter hostile forces’ sabotage activities in border areas and at border gates, as well as to handling issues related to the management and protection of national borders. This ensures that cadres, lecturers, and cadets are politically steadfast, professionally competent, proficient in military affairs, well-versed in the law, and fluent in foreign languages, including those of neighbouring countries and ethnic minority communities. Above all, they must demonstrate strong political resolve, maintain close ties with the people and local communities, and adopt a people-centred approach by living and working alongside locals, thereby protecting the people, safeguarding the borders, and successfully fulfilling all assigned tasks.

Third, raising the quality of scientific research and the compilation of textbooks, teaching materials, and training documents. Scientific research is one of the Academy’s important political tasks, contributing to the development of military art, national defence, security, Fatherland protection, and border science theory, laying a foundation for national border protection. Accordingly, as a centre for training and scientific research, the Academy continues to direct its units to step up research activities, focusing on anticipating strategic issues of national border protection, building an all-people border defence posture, promoting border diplomacy, and combating crime and violations of sovereignty and border security in the context of globalisation and extensive and intensive international integration. The core contents of the Resolution must be flexibly applied across scientific research projects at all levels. Practical experience from effective and innovative models of border management and protection should be summarised and developed into theoretical frameworks as the basis for translating the Resolution into the practical Border Guard operations.

Presenting certificates of merit to cadets graduating with distinction in their short-term training courses

In addition, the Academy will continue to apply science and technology, digital transformation, and research findings to border and border-gate management and protection, as well as to education and training, in line with the motto: “theory linked with practice; education linked with borders; training linked with personnel deployment”. Regular cooperation with ministries, sectors, local authorities, functional agencies, research institutes of the MND, and provincial-level Border Guard Commands is required to research and propose appropriate updates to strategies, laws, and decrees in the fields of military work, national defence, security, and border protection. The Academy will proactively propose and participate in national and ministerial-level research programs and projects, prioritising the application of the Resolution’s viewpoints and objectives to building a strong BGF, strengthening the all-people border defence, and consolidating the “people’s hearts and minds posture” and the all-people border defence posture, thus contributing to enhancing national defence, security, and external relations, and firmly safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation.

Fourth, concentrating on building a contingent of cadres and leading experts in education, training, and scientific research. The Academy continues to fully internalise and strictly implement its new organisational structure in accordance with the guidance of the MND and the General Staff. Emphasis is placed on reviewing and reorganising its contingent of cadres and lecturers in line with their positions and titles, ensuring unified and effective operations. In the immediate future, priority is given to developing a pool of cadres and leading experts in education, training, and scientific research to meet the requirements of education and training in the new context as well as to continue realising the Resolution through training programs conducted at academies and schools both inside and outside the Military.

The Academy also cooperates with foreign military training institutions to send its cadres for further education and professional development. At the same time, it continues to refine the organisational structure of the Border Guard Strategy Institute to effectively carry out both fundamental and applied research in border guard science. Particular attention is paid to selecting highly qualified personnel with extensive practical experience to establish specialised research groups tasked with studying, synthesising, and developing practical models and innovative approaches into theoretical foundations for national border protection.

With appropriate and well-founded measures, and the active involvement of party committees and commands at all levels, the Academy will continue to effectively implement the Resolution and contribute to firmly protecting territorial sovereignty and national border security in the new context.

Maj. Gen. NGUYEN XUAN BACH, PhD

Political Commissar of the Border Guard Academy