Socialist Republic of Vietnam

DEFENSE ATTACHE'S OFFICE

The 60th Anniversary of the Founding of Vietnamese People’s Army and
the 15th Anniversary of All-People’s National Defense Day of Vietnam
(22 December 1944 – 22 December 2004)

I. Overview: The process of founding, fighting, building, and growing of the Vietnamese People’s Army

December 22, 1944 has been taken to be Vietnamese People’s Army Day. It was the founding day of the Armed Propaganda Unit of the Liberation Army, the first regular force of the Revolution, under the directive of the late President Ho Chi Minh. Carrying on and heightening the military tradition of the nation, relying on the strength of the people and people’s war in Vietnam, and on the solidarity and assistance of friendly countries’ peoples and armies, the Vietnamese, undergoing the process of fighting and building up their strength at the same time, have grown from small to large units. The more it fights, the stronger it becomes, achieving ever-greater successes and growing stronger by leaps. The fighting power of the Vietnamese People’s Army manifested in resistance wars against foreign aggressors has taken its source from politico-ideological consciousness, from the unanimity of objective and ideal being fought for, from the unity between the Army and the people and between officers and soldiers, from bravery and wisdom in fighting, and from creative dynamism in the use of weapons and technical equipment suitable to the Vietnamese military arts and the battleground.
Since the country embarked upon a period of peace and construction, the Vietnamese People’s Army has continued to display its fine traditions and nature and has always faithfully fulfilled its function as an army ready for combat as well as for work and production worthy of the late President Ho Chi Minh’s praise: “Our Army, loyal to the Party, pious to the people, and ready to fight and sacrifice their lives for the Homeland’s independence and freedom, for socialism, will fulfill any task, cross over any difficulty, and defeat any enemy”.

Nowadays, while the country continues to carry out the cause of revolution and intensify the process of industrialization and modernization, the Vietnamese People’s Army plays the key role in building and consolidating a strong all-people’s national defense and, together with other components of the armed forces, takes part in the consolidation of “great national unity” to guard against all plots to sow division among religions and nationalities, firmly maintaining political stability, security, and social order, protecting the peaceful life and labor achievements of the people, and building the country pursuant to the goal of making “a rich people, a strong country, and a civilized, democratic, and equitable society”.

II. The Vietnamese People’s Army Today
A. Organization

Organizationally, the Vietnamese People’s Army, both standing and reserve forces, is composed of the main force and local forces.

The standing force consists of all servicemen on active duty and civil servants and employees working for the armed forces. In peacetime, the strength of the standing force is maintained at the minimum necessary, just enough to meet the requirements of combat-readiness through regular training and weapons, technical equipment, and materiél stock maintenance. The standing force plays an important role in the building of the reserve force so as to ensure a supplementary source of manpower for the standing force when necessary.

The reserve force is composed of all home reservists chosen and classified as meeting the demands of the mobilization plan. In peacetime, the reserves are registered, administered, and organized into reserve units which are trained as stipulated according to program and fulfill other tasks in their localities. The reserves have the same components as those of the standing force, with officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers of various branches and services of the main force and local forces who have completed their active service obligations and a number of civilians listed also as reservists.

Since the beginning of the period of national construction in peace, the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has decided to reduce by two-thirds the numerical strength of its standing force, readjusting its strategy so as to concentrate efforts on economic development with a view to ensuring a happy life of abundance for the people. This reduction in the numerical strength of the standing force and the adjustment of strategy have been carried out simultaneously with an upgrading in quality of all aspects so that the Army can cope with all situations of war or armed conflict that may threaten the independence, sovereignty, national unity, territorial integrity, and national interests of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

The President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the Commander-in-Chief; the Minister of National Defense is in charge of directing and administering the Vietnamese People’s Army and carrying out the functions of State management in the domain of national defense. Under the Minister of National Defense there are such agencies as the General Staff Department, the General Political Department, the General Logistics Department, the General Technical Department, the General Department of National Defense Industry, and other directly subordinate entities.

Components of the Vietnamese People’s Army:

1. Main Force

The main force is the core of the Vietnamese People’s Army which includes various services, Army corps, arms, and professional troops, with high mobility and combat-readiness to the meet the requirements of combat missions under any circumstance in any place. Besides units trained for combat readiness, there is a complete system of logistical and technical units, academies and research institutes, officer training schools, and other specialized schools at different levels.
The Army (or Ground Force).

The Vietnamese army consists of military regions, Army corps, combined arms and armed units such as artillery, sapper, signal, chemical, armor, and special forces attached to the Ministry of National Defense. The military regions are organized according to strategic direction and incorporate regular troops directly under the military regions as well as units of provincial and district local forces within the military regions.

The Vietnamese army, which plays an important role in the Vietnamese People’s Armed Forces, was established from the beginning of the founding of the armed forces and has developed step by step in size, structure, and quality in conformity with the conditions, circumstances, and fighting methods of Vietnamese “people’s war”. Undergoing trials in a war of liberation and a war of national defense, the Vietnamese army has grown step by step, performing its duties brilliantly and establishing a glorious tradition. All army corps, almost all armed units and many other units of the Vietnamese army have been awarded the title, “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces”.

The Navy

The Vietnamese People’s Navy, formerly the Coastal Defense Department, was established on May 7, 1955 and became a service of the Vietnamese People’s Armed Forces on January 5, 1964. The Vietnamese People’s Navy assumes the responsibility of safeguarding the waters and airspace over the waters belonging to Vietnam. The Vietnamese People’s Navy has engaged in combat activities on the sea, brilliantly fulfilling its duties and has been granted the title “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces” by the State.

The Vietnamese People’s Navy consists of combat and logistic elements having more and more modern vessels, weapons, and equipment which enable it to carry out combat operations in Vietnamese waters. The Vietnamese People’s Navy plays an important part in protecting national waters, islands, the continental shelf, and special economic zones and in ensuring the interests of maritime economy. The Vietnamese People’s Navy is the lead force in maintaining coordination with other forces such as the police, customs service, border defense force, and maritime police to strictly control national waters and economic activities at sea in compliance with Vietnamese and international laws.

The Air Guard and Air Force

The Air Guard and Air Force is a combat service which comprises the responsibilities of both national anti-aircraft troops and the Air Force. Grown up from small units, the Air Guard and Air Force was an important part of the success of the Dien Bien Phu campaign in 1954. The Air Guard and Air Force has also made a worthy contribution to the tasks of defending the North and liberating the South for national reunification. For its achievements in fighting and in performing other duties, both the Air Force and Air Guard forces were awarded the title “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces” by the Vietnamese State.

Currently the Air Guard and Air Force, organized into air and anti-aircraft divisions and equipped with different types of aircraft, missiles, anti-aircraft guns, and other sophisticated technical equipment, is carrying out the tasks of training and combat readiness for the defense and control of the airspace of the Motherland.

The Border Defense Force

The Border Defense Force, a component of the Vietnamese People’s Army, has as its basic function being specially in charge of controlling and protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of and public order and security along land borders, islands, territorial waters, and border gates in accordance with Vietnamese law and international practices. Units of the Border Defense Force in each locality are also members of the armed forces of the respective provincial or district defense zones. The Border Defense Force has been granted the title “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces” by the State for its achievements in fighting and in fulfilling other assignments.

2. Local Forces

Local forces constitute a mobile force operating on the spot, mainly in local areas, and together with the militia and self-defense forces play a key role in people’s war at the local level.
Local forces are closely associated with defense zones, fighting in the defense posture of the whole country in conformity with the requirements and characteristics of each zone in local people’s warfare, which is closely combined with the national people’s war. Local troops are in close coordination with the militia and self-defense forces in fighting for the protection of the people and of local authorities.
The militia and self-defense force, the maritime police, and the People’s Police.are integral parts of the Vietnamese People’s Armed Forces, standing side by side with the Vietnamese People’s Army in the cause of defending the socialist Motherland and ensuring public order and security.
The militia and self-defense force, a part-time armed force of the masses, is a component of the people’s armed forces of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. It is assigned the task of maintaining combat readiness and coordinating with grassroots security forces to ensure public and social order and political security at the local level. During the two resistance wars against foreign aggression conducted by the Vietnamese people, the militia and self-defense force brought into full play its strategic role in the people’s war, working as the core movement of all people fighting the enemy and awarded the title “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces”. The militia is organized in the countryside whereas the self-defense force is set up in urban areas, offices, enterprises and at construction sites and farms.

B. Carrying out the activities of “repayment in kind” and assistance to comrades and the people

During the wars of national liberation and for the defense of the country, millions of Vietnamese cadre and soldiers of the Vietnamese People’s Army have died or left part of their flesh and blood on the battlefields.

In line with the moral philosophy “When drinking water, remember the source”, over the past decades, especially after the reunification of the country, the Vietnamese People’s Army has established special action teams which have climbed many mountains and crossed many rivers to all corners of the country and to some localities in Laos and Cambodia to search for and exhume the remains of our deceased soldiers and then relocate them to be buried in our country, meeting the aspirations of the relatives of the martyrs and lessening the pain caused by war.

Being an army which is of the people, by the people and for the people, the Vietnamese People’s Army has always been loyal to the people. During the last years, together with the tasks of training and combat readiness, the Vietnamese People’s Army has been conducting the tasks of propagandization and mobilization of the people aimed at successfully implementing the guidelines of the Party, abiding by the policies and laws of the Government and attaching importance to the building of an all-people’s national defense. Every year units of the Vietnamese People’s Army combine outdoor operations with the task of the people’s mobilization. The Army eats, lives, and works together with the people. These units spend millions of working days helping the people to do irrigation work, build roads, harvest crops, and build “gratitude houses” for the families of dead and invalid soldiers and “affection houses” for poor families at the local level. The Vietnamese People’s Army has been actively involved in universalizing education for tens of thousands of people, mainly from mountainous areas, and has built thousands of classrooms and hundreds of infirmaries to hand over to the people. It has also built small-scale hydroelectric stations and radio and TV stations to raise the cultural standards of the people.

The Vietnamese People’s Army has contributed tens of billions of Dong to raise a Gratitude Fund for the families of dead and invalid soldiers as well as for families which have done a great service for the Revolution. It has also raised a Fund for the Poor to help poor families stabilize their lives and develop their production.

Particularly when natural disasters or events of great tragedy occur, and imbued with the spirit of self-sacrifice for the people, the Vietnamese People’s Army mobilizes its forces and fearless of the danger saves the people and helps them to overcome the consequences and stabilize their lives. Many cadre and soldiers have sacrificed themselves for the safety of the people. Their deeds go into the heart and minds of the people.

C. Engaging in productive labor and national construction

Over the past sixty years of fighting, building, and growing, the Vietnamese People’s Army has always attached importance to the tasks of engaging in productive labor and developing the national economy. Under the severe conditions of the past wars, units of the Armed Forces actively joined in productive labor, producing especially food, foodstuffs, and consumer goods in order to improve living standards and contribute to ensuring that they could fight and win.

Under the conditions of peace, the Vietnamese People’s Army has determined that engaging in production and helping to develop the national economy are strategic tasks aimed at closely combining national defense and the economy and combining the economy with national defense, thus making a contribution to bringing the cause of industrialization and modernization to victory and firmly defending the socialist Motherland of Vietnam.

During the past years, besides carrying out the task of engaging in productive labor in order to improve living standards, the Vietnamese People’s Army has participated in economic development in many fields, namely industry, agriculture, forestry, fishing, transport, capital construction, and post and telecommunications, in which it has exerted much of its efforts in the construction of many important economic projects, such as the Hoa Binh hydroelectric power plant, the trans-Vietnam 500 KV power line, and the Ho Chi Minh Highway for the support of national industrialization and modernization. Units of the Vietnamese People’s Army participating in economic development have become a mission force which performs difficult and arduous tasks in restoring and developing the national economy and in reclaiming land in remote areas, border areas, and on islands. The participation of the Vietnamese People’s Army in economic development has brought about concrete effects on socio-economic development and the consolidation of national defense and security and has contributed to the strengthening of the defense industry. Some joint economic-defense zones built by the armed forces have become archetypal models for the adjustment and rearrangement of population areas at the national level, especially in border areas and on islands. By utilizing used military technical equipment to meet in part the demands of national welfare and the people’s livelihood a wide range of products manufactured by national defense factories are of high quality and satisfy the needs of domestic consumption and export, contributing to the growth of the national economy and balancing the state budget earmarked for defense. From the efficient earnings generated by productive labor and economic development the living standards of the cadre and soldiers of the Vietnamese People’s Army have improved with each passing day.

Through the effects of productive labor and economic development, the image of Uncle Ho’s soldiers in the forefront of national construction with the aim of building “a rich people, a strong country, and a civilized, democratic, and equitable society” has gone into the mind of the Vietnamese people.

D. Expanding friendly relations and cooperation with foreign militaries of the world

Since its establishment the Vietnamese People’s Army has always thoroughly grasped and strictly implemented the guidelines and foreign policy of the Party and State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

At the end of 1949 and in early 1950, meeting the demand for the expansion of foreign relations between the Vietnamese People’s Army and the armed forces of other countries, the General Military Committee of the Party Central Committee (the present-day Military Party Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam) and the Ministry of National Defense set up the Special Entertainment Committee to receive delegations from the armed forces of foreign countries visiting and working with the Vietnamese People’s Army. On May 28, 1964 the Foreign Relations Liaison Department of the Ministry of National Defense, now the Foreign Relations Department of the Ministry of National Defense, was founded and assumed the task of advising the Military Party Committee of the Central Committee and the Ministry of National Defense on working out measures and policies for controlling, guiding, and organizing activities conducted by the Vietnamese People’s Army in the field of foreign relations.

During the wars of resistance against foreign aggression for the defense of the Motherland the Ministry of National Defense exchanged military delegations, received and efficiently used assistance from international allies, exchanged and studied the experiences of war and military science, established and put into operation Vietnamese Defense Attache Offices in foreign countries, and approved and coordinated with the Defense Attache Offices of foreign countries in Vietnam.

Since the reunification of Vietnam the external activities of the Vietnamese People’s Army have been promoted further. Leaders of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense have visited many countries to express thanks for the support for the Vietnamese people and the Vietnamese People’s Army in their struggle to defend independence and for national reunification and socialist construction and to at the same time exchange experiences on building the armed forces in the new period. Since 1986, in line with the policy of renewal of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the principle “Vietnam is ready to be friends with and a trusted partner of all countries in the international community”, relations between the Vietnamese People’s Army and the armed forces of neighboring countries, of ASEAN, and of traditional friendly countries have been expanded, restored, strengthened, and developed; relations with the European countries have been established and diversified, relations with the United States opened, and relations further developed with many countries in Africa (South Africa, Angola, the Congo, Mozambique, et c.) and Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, Chile) by means of reciprocal visits by leaders of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense and those of other countries.
At present, Vietnam has established defense relations with more than sixty countries and set up Defense Attache Offices in 24 nations. There are Defense Attaches of 34 foreign countries either residing in Vietnam or accredited to Vietnam but residing abroad, including all five nations which are Permanent Members of the United Nations Security Council.

The foreign relations activities conducted by the Vietnamese People’s Army have made a worthy contribution to the common achievements of Vietnam’s diplomacy and to the cause of building the Vietnamese People’s Army into a revolutionary, standardized, first-rate and gradually modernizing army, thus helping to safeguard peace, stability, and development in the region and the world.

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