Circular No. 102/2006/TT-BQP guiding the implementation of Directive No. 36/2005/CT-TTg dated October 17, 2005 of the Prime Minister on continuing to direct the construction of comprehensive strong bases to meet the requirements of national defense and security in the new situation.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for implementing Directive No. 36/2005/CT-TTg dated October 17, 2005 of the Prime Minister on continuing to direct the construction of comprehensive strong bases to meet the requirements of national defense and security in the new situation

Hanoi, October 17, 2005

to meet the requirements of national defense and security in the new situation

__________________

Pursuant to Directive No. 36/2005/CT-TTg dated October 17, 2005 of the Prime Minister on continuing to direct the construction of comprehensive strong bases to meet the requirements of national defense and security (ND-SS) in the new situation, the Ministry of National Defense guides implementation as follows:

1. Organizing dissemination and building plans to implement the Directive

All levels, sectors, and localities shall study, deeply disseminate, and strictly and effectively implement the Prime Minister's Directive on continuing to direct the construction of comprehensive strong bases to meet the requirements of national defense and security in the new situation; based on this, they shall build specific plans with measures closely aligned with the situation of their locality and base to achieve the basic objectives of the construction task, which is "Maintaining political stability; economic, cultural, and social development; improving the material and spiritual life of the people, having a healthy cultural lifestyle, ND-SS being strong, contributing to thwarting the 'Peaceful Evolution' strategy and violent overthrow plots of hostile forces, and being ready to successfully counter any situations that may arise at the locality and base."

2. Building a politically strong base and establishing a solid "people's front"

To build a politically strong base and establish a solid "people's front," party committees and local authorities at all levels need to organize deep dissemination and wide-ranging propaganda of the Party's guidelines, policies, and state laws to all cadres, Party members, and various strata of the people, especially the key cadre teams at the grassroots level, to ensure correct understanding and voluntary compliance with the Party's policies and state laws, thereby continuously consolidating and building the people's trust in the Party's leadership. This is one of the strategic issues and an urgent ongoing task for the entire Party, people, military, and the entire political system.

a) Disseminating, building plans, and effectively implementing Resolution No. 5 of the 9th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam on "Reforming and Improving the Quality of Grassroots Political System in Communes, Towns, and Urban Villages." The focus should be on building clean and strong branch organizations. Regular attention must be given to building and consolidating organizations within the political system at commune, town, urban village, village, and hamlet levels to be strong enough to handle complex issues at the grassroots level. Efforts should be concentrated on enhancing the quality of activities of departments, industries, and mass organizations at village, hamlet, and community levels. This is a crucial factor for economic and social development, ensuring ND-SS, and maintaining social order and safety at the grassroots level.

b) Continuously focusing on training, nurturing, and building a strong cadre team at the commune, town, urban village, village, hamlet, and community levels according to Decision No. 03/2004/QĐ-TTg dated January 7, 2004 of the Prime Minister on Orientation for Training and Nurturing Cadres and Civil Servants at Commune, Town, and Urban Village Levels until 2010, particularly in border areas, remote regions, and ethnic minority areas. Emphasis should be placed on political education and ideological work, constantly enhancing the political qualities, ideological awareness, and revolutionary ethics of cadres and Party members at the grassroots level. Cadres and Party members must truly be close to the people, delve deep into the people's lives, understand their thoughts and aspirations, and promptly address their legitimate concerns. They must also excel in propaganda and mobilization, making the people understand and voluntarily comply with the Party's policies and state laws.

Concentrating on reinforcing and perfecting the cadre team in agencies and mass organizations at the grassroots level. Organizing recruitment, training, and nurturing in specialized fields and professions in accordance with the spirit of Decree No. 114/2003/NĐ-CP dated October 10, 2003 of the Government on Cadres and Civil Servants at Commune, Town, and Urban Village Levels and Decree No. 117/2003/NĐ-CP dated October 10, 2003 of the Government on Recruitment, Utilization, and Management of Cadres and Civil Servants in State Agencies. The cadre team in general, especially key cadres and Party members, must fully grasp and conscientiously implement all Party policies on economy and society, ND-SS. Key cadres and Party members must be trained in ND-SS knowledge according to the prescribed content and programs for each category.

Effectively implementing training, nurturing, planning, and building a strong cadre team at the commune, town, and urban village levels through various appropriate forms and solutions; actively creating sources of grassroots cadres from children of revolutionary families, university graduates, boarding school students, and veterans returning to their home regions.

c) Promoting the establishment and implementation of democratic regulations at the grassroots level, expanding and promoting the people's right to self-governance while maintaining state discipline and law; organizing the people to participate in supervising the activities of Party organizations, administrative bodies, and mass organizations in a practical manner; strengthening the consolidation of the great unity of the people, especially in places with many religious followers and ethnic minorities. Concentrating on building and gradually perfecting the system of regulations and clarifying the working relationships between organizations within the grassroots political system; promoting the movement "All People United to Build a Cultural Life in Residential Areas," focusing on building and perfecting community regulations and customs; promptly resolving internal disputes among the people to prevent minor conflicts from accumulating over time and becoming hotspots.

3. Vigorously developing the economy and society, closely combining the consolidation of ND-SS with economic and social development.

In the current context, the trend of integration, competition, and economic development among countries around the world is intensifying. Falling further behind economically can easily lead to political and social instability, limiting the ability to consolidate national defense and security as well as protect national independence and sovereignty. Therefore, the decisive condition is to develop the economy and society at a fast and sustainable pace, ensuring political stability, combined with combating negative social phenomena, building a healthy cultural life, which serves as the foundation for strengthening national defense and security at the grassroots level.

a) All levels, sectors, and localities need to consistently grasp and understand the two strategic tasks of "building and defending the country." Grasp the Resolution of the 8th Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Party (Term IX) on "Strategic Defense of the Country in New Circumstances" and the Resolution of the 10th National Congress of the Party, enhance responsibility in organizing implementation; proactively organize investigations, surveys, and specific plans to ensure effective economic and social development combined with consolidating national defense and security at the local level; contribute to enhancing economic potential and national defense and security potential right from the grassroots level. Pay attention to applying and concretizing the Party's policies, directives, and resolutions in accordance with local conditions and circumstances; closely combine economic development with solving social issues and strengthening national defense and security; care about developing health and education services, reducing poverty, and continuously improving the material and spiritual lives of the people.

b) Local authorities at all levels need to study and promote structural transformation in the right direction, combining production development with the establishment of new production relations, suitable for local conditions and circumstances, and environmental protection; vigorously reduce poverty, improve the material and spiritual lives of the people, especially in old resistance areas, border regions, and ethnic minority areas. Must take villages, wards, communes, hamlets, villages, and towns as the deployment areas for implementing small and medium projects to practically develop the economy and society, build infrastructure serving the lives of local residents. For places with many ethnic minorities, border communes must do a good job in propaganda and mobilization, helping the people to develop production, stabilize their lives, not listen to bad elements' incitement and agitation; coordinate with border guard detachments and armed forces in the area to firmly defend the country's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

c) Economic and social development must go hand in hand with strengthening national defense and security capabilities; meeting both requirements for economic and social construction and development during peacetime and responding to requirements when war breaks out. In planning economic and social development in various industries and localities in fields such as industry, culture, tourism, etc., it is necessary to pay attention to national defense and security, ensuring that economic growth targets are met while also meeting the requirements for national defense and security at the local, grassroots, and national levels. At all levels, sectors, and localities, even during peacetime, it is necessary to organize investigations and surveys of industrial capacity within the territory to select and develop plans for converting civilian industrial production chains to military production when needed, contributing to gradually developing the country's defense industry. Develop plans for economic and social mobilization to ensure the needs of national defense and military operations for the construction and combat activities of the homeland defense region. Coordinate with local military agencies to assess, plan, and develop economic and social plans combined with national defense and security in strategic areas, regions, and locations, and develop plans for mobilizing the national economy to meet national defense requirements in all situations.

d) All levels, commissions, sectors, and localities need to continue to grasp and effectively implement the Law on National Defense and guiding documents accompanying it; Decree No. 119/2004/NĐ-CP dated May 11, 2004 of the Government on national defense work in ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and localities. Deeply grasp the policy of comprehensively building strong bases as a long-term strategic issue, a regular task of the entire Party, the whole people, and the entire political system. Focus on building a comprehensive national defense and security posture; combine national defense and security with the economy, and the economy with national defense and security. Key areas should be combined with implementing national programs according to the Prime Minister's decisions on socio-economic development in particularly difficult communes, mountainous areas, and remote regions. When formulating economic and social policies, as well as domestic and foreign policies, pay attention to the political and social effectiveness, economic efficiency, and the impact of these policies on the country's national defense and security tasks. In considering and resolving all issues, do not be one-sided, extreme, or single-minded, benefiting the economy but harming national security, benefiting localities in the short term but causing long-term damage to the country.

It is necessary to strengthen the consolidation of national defense, maintain security, and ensure social order and safety to create a peaceful, stable, and cooperative environment for economic and social development. Conversely, good economic growth rates contribute to stabilizing social situations, creating conditions for consolidating national defense and security, which is also a practical approach and measure to prevent and combat the "Peaceful Evolution," subversion, and violent overthrow by hostile forces at the grassroots level.

e) Sectors and localities need to closely cooperate with the Ministry of National Defense in building and developing economic-defense zones in strategic and key areas; effectively implement projects to comprehensively build strong bases, contributing to making provinces, cities, and localities into solid defense regions.

4. Building the People's Armed Forces at the grassroots level, directing coordination among forces to contribute to maintaining political stability, meeting the requirements of economic development and consolidating national defense and security.

The Party committees and authorities at all levels, departments, sectors, and mass organizations must truly pay attention to improving the quality of comprehensive consolidation and combat strength of local armed forces. Among which, focus on building military agencies, border guards, and local police forces strong in all aspects, capable of providing strategic advice to Party committees and authorities in leading and directing the organization to implement national defense and security work. Pay attention to deploying armed forces appropriately with practical conditions and tasks of each locality; in the short term, it is necessary to implement well the following contents:

a) Continuously carry out extensive propaganda and education for all levels, sectors, and individuals to understand the Law on National Defense, the Law on National Security, and the Law on Military Service; clearly define the obligations and responsibilities of citizens in building and defending the country in the new revolutionary period, and effectively perform the work of selecting and calling up citizens for military service. Continue to improve the quality of military recruitment work, prioritizing children of ethnic minorities to study at military schools and implementing the policy of selective recruitment. Localities should link the tasks of recruitment and enrollment with the task of building reserve forces and contributing to creating sources of grassroots cadres in remote areas, areas inhabited by ethnic minorities, and particularly difficult areas.

Reserve forces (DBĐV) must be closely monitored, registered, and managed accurately in terms of quantity and quality, managing the changes in reserve personnel. Effectively organize and manage units of reserve forces at the grassroots level. Focus on building units of reserve forces ready for mobilization when transitioning to a high state of combat readiness, especially units performing Task A2, particularly those in key areas.

Implement specific decentralization in ensuring logistics, weapons, technical equipment, finance... and reserves for mobilization tasks. Prepare thoroughly in all aspects to ensure that reserve forces always meet the requirements of being ready for mobilization, combat readiness, and dealing with all situations, including situations of riots involving armed intervention from outside and large-scale aggressive wars.

Build a cadre of reserve officers and reserve forces with sufficient numbers and guaranteed quality. Strengthen measures to create sources, ensuring synchronization in structure, management, training, and development, gradually increasing the proportion of professional military classification, meeting the requirements of organization and staffing.

To comprehensively improve the quality of reserve forces, continue to research and improve the content and methods of organizing training for reserve military personnel and reserve platoons; focusing mainly on the cadre, technical staff, training sources, and other core objects within reserve units. Emphasize training for reserve platoons for units that have the necessary conditions, especially emphasizing training for reserve platoons to be ready to perform Task A2 and mobilization tasks at a high state of combat readiness.

c) Continue to thoroughly implement and organize the implementation of the Ordinance on Militia and Self-Defense Forces, registering citizens within the age range, and enrolling them into militia and self-defense forces to ensure quality from the outset; pay special attention to reviewing existing forces to consolidate organizational structures, implementing rotation, maintaining appropriate numbers and scales according to the situation in each region and locality. Consolidate and improve the quality of existing anti-aircraft militia and self-defense platoons, organizing the construction of anti-aircraft militia and self-defense platoons, mobile militia, and permanent militia according to the directives of the Minister of National Defense.

Ministries, sectors, and localities with joint ventures with foreign countries should review their self-defense forces, study and determine appropriate numbers and organizational structures based on the nature of production and business operations. For places where there are still difficulties due to mechanisms, policies, or regulations not being suitable... plans should be made to closely coordinate with local military agencies, conduct surveys, and propose solutions to establish self-defense forces.

Conduct militia and self-defense force training according to the principle of "basics, practicality, and quality," closely aligned with reality; conducting training strictly according to the prescribed program for each category. Emphasize training for permanent and mobile militia and self-defense force cadres, and specialized forces suitable for organizational structure, equipment, and combat style. Direct the deployment of training exercises according to plans, anti-disaster drills, and other emergency response drills. Maintain patrols and guard duties, enhancing the quality and effectiveness of militia and self-defense force activities and regularly coordinating with other forces to contribute to protecting and maintaining political security and social order and safety at the grassroots level.

All cooperative activities in implementing national defense and security tasks and social order and safety at the grassroots level must be under the absolute, direct leadership in all aspects by the Party committees, the administrative direction by authorities at all levels, and the guidance by immediate superiors, leveraging the combined strength of the entire people and the whole political system, with the armed forces as the core. Ensure unity and close coordination among forces in carrying out tasks. Ensure centralized and unified command and direction for each force based on their functions, tasks, objects, equipment, methods, and content of activities according to Decision No. 107/2003/QĐ-TTg dated June 2, 2003, issued by the Prime Minister on the Regulation on Coordination between the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense in implementing national security protection and social order and safety tasks in the new situation and accompanying guiding documents; Decision No. 56/QĐ-BQP dated May 17, 2005, issued by the Minister of National Defense on the Regulation on the Operation of Militia and Self-Defense Forces.

5. Leverage the roles of various forces to form a combined strength for national defense and security work at the grassroots level.

a) All levels of authority need to continue building and perfecting organizational structures and resolving relationships to create conditions for agencies and organizations to effectively perform their state management functions according to the division of powers. Direct departments, sectors, mass organizations to coordinate with public security forces and military forces to disseminate, mobilize, and explain to the people the Party's and State's policies on national defense and security work, especially the regulations of the law on complaints and denunciations, so as not to be incited, remain calm in resolving conflicts and incidents within the framework of the law.

b) There should be many positive measures to ensure coordinated cooperation among forces, utilizing existing communication means at the local level, through various methods and forms suitable to each base to organize propaganda and implementation of the Party's policies and the State's laws, national defense tasks to the people, organizing propaganda on the Law on National Defense, the Law on Military Service, the Ordinance on Self-Defense Militia, the Ordinance on Reserve Mobilization... so that everyone understands them, while clearly exposing the plots and tactics of hostile forces and international reactionaries against the Vietnamese revolution, making every citizen a fighter in the cultural and ideological struggle, thwarting the "Peaceful Evolution" strategy and violent overthrow of the enemy. Closely follow the grassroots level, relying on the masses to grasp the situation, analyze and assess the situation accurately, thereby taking preventive and early intervention measures for issues such as complaints and disputes, national defense and security issues when they first arise, promptly and thoroughly addressing them at the grassroots level without allowing them to spread or prolong.

c) Direct, draw lessons, and improve the effectiveness of teams established under Decision No. 123/QĐ-BQP of the Minister of National Defense to coordinate well with departments, sectors, and related organizations, advising party committees and local authorities in building strong political bases, establishing a truly solid "people's heart fortress," thwarting all enemy plots, contributing to building a solid defensive area.

6. Ensuring the budget for national defense and security work at the grassroots level.

a) Annually, based on the nature, tasks, training requirements, and activities of the local armed forces, relevant departments and specialized agencies shall cooperate with financial agencies to prepare the budget for ensuring national defense and security work, report to the Chairman of the People's Committee at the same level or submit to the competent authority for approval. The preparation, execution, and settlement of the budget shall comply with the detailed regulations and guidance provided in Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government on Detailed Regulations and Guidance for Implementing the Law on State Budget; Decree No. 10/2004/NĐ-CP dated January 7, 2004 of the Government on Management and Use of the State Budget and Assets for Certain Activities in the Field of National Defense and Security, and current guiding documents.

b) The establishment of the national defense and security fund at the local level must be based on the Resolution of the Provincial People's Council; the management and use of the national defense and security fund shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee. Military agencies at all levels shall take the lead in coordinating with the Vietnam Fatherland Front at the same level to mobilize and encourage mass organizations, economic and social organizations, and all strata of the people to contribute to building the national defense and security fund in appropriate forms, while strictly managing and spending according to purpose, financial principles, achieving practical results, preventing embezzlement and waste.

c) Ministries, sectors, agencies, units, localities, and grassroots levels shall direct financial agencies to prepare the budget for expenses related to inspection, supervision, mid-term review, and final evaluation of the implementation of Directive No. 36/2005/CT-TTg dated October 17, 2005 of the Prime Minister into the annual regular budget of ministries, sectors, agencies, organizations, and localities.

7. Inspection, Supervision, Mid-term Review, and Final Evaluation.

a) Annually and during each period, all levels, sectors, localities, and grassroots levels must regularly or suddenly inspect and supervise the implementation and organization of Directive No. 36/2005/CT-TTg dated October 17, 2005 of the Prime Minister, thereby identifying weaknesses or violations, problems encountered in the implementation to report and resolve promptly.

b) The Ministry of National Defense's Inspectorate shall closely coordinate with inspectorates of other ministries, sectors, and provinces to annually plan inspections of the implementation of the Prime Minister's Directive in ministries, sectors, localities, and grassroots levels.

c) Annually and during each period, ministries, sectors, localities, and grassroots levels must organize mid-term reviews, final evaluations, draw lessons, and promptly commend and reward agencies, units, localities, grassroots levels, and individuals who have implemented Directive No. 36/2005/CT-TTg dated October 17, 2005 of the Prime Minister well. In 2009, localities will conduct mid-term reviews to draw lessons, enabling the Ministry of National Defense to assist the Government in conducting a nationwide mid-term review by the end of 2009.

This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

Heads of Ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, government agencies, provincial People's Committees, heads of General Departments, related agencies under the Ministry of National Defense, Commanders of Military Regions, Services, Arms, and local military agencies at all levels are responsible for implementing this Circular. Any issues encountered during implementation should be reported promptly to the Standing Office of the Ministry of National Defense for national defense work at the ministry, sector, and locality levels (Self-Defense Militia Department - General Staff).