President Tran Dai Quang (L) visits the Ministry of National Defence at the Mieu Mon training centre in Hanoi on October 17 (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Amid complicated
and unpredictable global and regional situations, the Vietnam People’s Army
(VPA) must always stay alert and continually improve its combat strength so as
to deserve being the faithful and trustworthy political and combat force of the
Party, State and people.
President Tran Dai Quang, Chairman of the
Defence and Security Council and Commander of Armed Forces, made the remark
during a working visit to the Ministry of National Defence at the Mieu Mon
training centre in Hanoi on October 17.
Reporting about the VPA’s performance in 2017,
Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lt. Gen. Phan Van Giang, Chief of the General
Staff of the VPA, said the army has fulfilled assigned tasks well, including
advising the Party, the State and local authorities about military-defence
tasks, along with training, organising drills and being ready to combat.
He added that it has coordinated with police and
other forces to deal with arising situations in a timely manner, thus
establishing itself as the core force in protecting the country’s sovereignty,
territorial integrity, and border, airspace, sea and island security . The VPA
is also the key force in addressing natural disaster consequences, search,
rescue, and settling war consequences. It has also effectively taken part in
reinforcing local political systems.
Speaking at the working session, President Quang
applauded the Defence Ministry’s achievements in leading and instructing the
realisation of military-defence tasks.
He asked the Central Military Commission and the
ministry to continue implementing resolutions of the Party Central Committee
well, the targets and tasks set in the resolution of the army’s 10th Party
congress, along with the tasks assigned by the Party, the State and people.
They need to have a firm grasp of the situation
and advise the Party and State about socio-economic development associated with
defence and security, he said, adding that they also have to step up building a
revolutionary, regular and elite VPA that is gradually modernised.
The Central Military Commission and the Defence
Ministry need to keep optimising the combined strength of different forces, be
active, creative and steadfast in achieving the set targets, and ensure safety
during training, drills, search and rescue. It is also necessary to boost
communications to raise people and armed forces’ awareness of the Party, State
and people’s attention to the army, the President added.
He told them to strengthen the Party building
and clean-up, fight the degradation of thought, morality and lifestyle,
self-evolution and self-transformation in the army’s Party organisation, and
continue studying and following late President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality
and style.
The commission and the ministry have to work
closely with police and relevant forces to defeat all sabotage plots and
activities of hostile forces, keep political security and social order and
safety, and ensure absolute safety for important events, especially upcoming
activities of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, President Quang noted.-VNA