Communist Review - Researching and developing the Vietnamese theory on national defense and security in the new situation is an objective requirement of the revolutionary cause in general and of the cause of defending the Vietnamese Fatherland in particular. Thoroughly grasping and following the political guideline of the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV), mastering the fundamental and core contents and practical requirements of defense and military tasks in the new situation, bringing into play the role of organizations and forces as well as strengthening the CPV’s leadership in researching and developing the national defense and military theory are the solutions of great significance, aiming to gradually improve the Vietnamese national defense and military theory system.

The theory on defense and military plays an important role in the revolutionary guideline, which has been of particular interest to the CPV and President Ho Chi Minh. During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh always attached great importance to theory and theoretical learning of cadres, party members, soldiers and people. He was particularly fascinated by the famous quote of V.I. Lenin: "Without revolutionary theory, there is no revolutionary movement". Therefore, he always required cadres and party members not to underestimate theory, to promote theoretical learning, and to know how to apply theory to practice. "Theory is a guideline, showing us the way in our practical work" and "a man who doesn’t understand theory is like a blind man walking at night” he added. Deeply grasping and seriously implementing President Ho Chi Minh's thought on the pioneering role of the revolutionary theory, the CPV, the Central Military Commission, and the Ministry of National Defense of Viet Nam have always paid special attention to practical review, research and development of the defense and military theory in order to provide a scientific foundation for the formulation of the Party's guidelines and the State's policies and law, creating a new stature and power to build and defend the Vietnamese Fatherland in the period of international integration.

Looking back on 35 years of the Doi Moi period, the implementation of the Party Central Committee’s resolutions on theoretical work in the Doi Moi period, together with the research and development of theories in the fields of economy, culture, society, defense and military have regularly been focused on with these being constantly supplemented and developed on the basis of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh's thought. Up to now, the fundamental theoretical system on national defense and military, especially those on the Party’s leadership and the State’s management over the Army and national defense and military tasks have been formed. Besides, the theoretical system regarding goals, viewpoints, tasks, mottos, methods, forces and strength for national defense; partners and objects; building the all-people defense posture in association with the people's security posture; building the people's three-component armed forces; building the revolutionary, regular, elite, and gradually modern People's Army; combining economy, culture and society with national defense, security and foreign affairs; building defense and civil defense areas; non-traditional security issues and their impacts on defense and military tasks has been gradually strengthened. Recently, the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense of Viet Nam have promptly advised the Communist Party and State of Viet Nam to promulgate and implement synchronously the National Defense Strategy, the Military Strategy, and the the Strategy for National Border Protection, the Strategy for Fatherland Protection on Cyberspace and to study, amend and supplement the legal system on national defense and military…

However, compared to task requirements, there have remained a certain number of limitations in the work of researching, supplementing and developing the national defense theory. The awareness of cadres, party members and intellectuals about the work is yet to be complete and acute. Theoretical research on a number of new issues has not kept up with the developments of the situation. The grasping of the Party's viewpoints, the State’s policies and laws on national defense and military hasn’t been done effectively. The situation in the world and the region is expected to develop complicatedly and unpredictably in the coming years. The situation in the South China Sea is subject to potential conflicting factors; the strategic competition between major countries has become increasingly fierce; and new types of war are likely to occur.

After 35 years of Doi Moi, Viet Nam has earned outstanding achievements of historical significance. Never before has Viet Nam had the opportunity, potential, stature and prestige as today. However, the country is also facing various difficulties and challenges that must be overcome in order to develop quickly and sustainably. The conspiracy and acts of "peaceful evolution", "subversive riots" by hostile forces have been developing with more sophisticated, cunning methods and tricks. The threat of internal "self-evolution" and "self-transformation", the challenges of non-traditional security issues, and the development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution continue to exert strong impacts on the field of national defense and military. Such situation poses a new requirement to accelerate researching and reviewing practice in order to supplement and develop the national defense and military theory, contributing to facilitating the entire Party, the people and the army to successfully implement national defense and military tasks in the new situation.

In the orientation of theoretical research and development to 2030, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPV highlighted in-depth research on the nature and characteristics of modern capitalism; new characteristics of the transition period from capitalism to socialism on a global scale; the world and regional situation; the relations between major powers and neighboring countries; the situation of global forces; changes in politics, economy, security and defense in the region and the world; maritime security in the region and in the world; the issues of democracy, human rights, ethnicity and religion. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct extensive research to predict the situation; to promote research into new ideological trends, doctrines and theories based on objective and dialectical viewpoints and progressive values; to struggle against dogmatism, revisionism, opportunism and hostile ideologies of all kinds. In particular, it is essential to clarify the relationship between the two strategic tasks of building and defending the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland; to combine economy and culture with national defense, security and foreign affairs; to build the all-people national defense posture in association with the people's security posture; to promote national independence in association with socialism and international integration; and to overcome traditional and non-traditional security challenges. It is also of great significance to forecast major trends in the region and the world, opportunities, advantages as well as challenges affecting the cause of national construction and defense in general, defense and military tasks in particular. In order to carry out those tasks and meet the requirements of the cause of building the Viet Nam People's Army, strengthening national defense, and safeguarding the Vietnamese Fatherland in the new situation, the work of practical review, theoretical research and development should focus on performing the following tasks and solutions:

Firstly, closely following the Party’s guidelines, the State’s policies and laws while conducting the work of practical review, research and development of the national defense and military theory in the new situation.

This is a fundamental and main content of practical review, theoretical research and development, which ensures that all defense and military lines are in the right direction set out by the CPV. Viet Nam's military lines serve as an important part and depend on the CPV’s political guidelines. They provide theoretical foundations for the army to successful implement political goals and tasks of the CPV in each revolutionary period. Therefore, closely following the political guidelines of the CPV, of the Central Military Commission, and of the Ministry of National Defense in order to draw up guidelines, to supplement and develop the national defense and military theory in the new situation is a matter of principle in the perception and action of all organizations and individuals when performing this task.

It is vital to closely follow the central task of the Vietnamese revolution, which is to successfully build socialism and firmly defend the Socialist Fatherland of Viet Nam, to successfully realize the goal of "Rich people and strong, democratic, equal and civilized country”, and to grasp the Communist Party's resolutions on theoretical work and strategies, the State’s policies and laws of on national defense and military, and task performance with a view to reviewing, evaluating, drawing valuable lessons, identifying problems and shortcomings, as well as generalizing new theories. The Draft Political Report of the 13^th National Congress of the CPV identifies the motto: "Unity - Democracy - Discipline - Creativity - Development"; The Congress introduced such new contents as promoting the national will, aspiration, strength and unity; promoting innovation; striving to build Viet Nam as a developed socialist country by the middle of the 21^st century. Therefore, it is of great necessity to thoroughly grasp these new contents in researching, supplementing and developing the theory of national defense and military and resolutely fight against theoretical backwardness.

Secondly, grasping the fundamental and core contents as well as the regular and important requirements of defense and military tasks in the new situation in theoretical research and development.

This is a solution of substantial importance, ensuring that theoretical research and development work will be done in the right direction and with the right goals of defending the Fatherland in the new situation. At the same time, it is required to thoroughly watch the development of the revolutionary situation and tasks, especially the economic, cultural and social development of Viet Nam, as well as the changes around the globe to study, supplement and develop theories. Therefore, it is necessary to base on the principle of the comprehensive and synchronous protection of the socialist Fatherland including geographical, political, social and cyber-space factors, in which, protecting national interests is of ultimate significance.

The CPV’s viewpoints on national defense and military have identified the focus of research including those on all-people national defense, people's war, building and defending the socialist Fatherland in the new situation; economic development as the core, Party construction as the key, cultural development as the social spiritual foundation, and strengthening national defense and security as an important and regular task. The viewpoints also focus on researching and clarifying a number of new perspectives on national defense "early, from afar"; "resolutely and persistently" struggling to firmly protect the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Fatherland; building a firm "posture of people's hearts and minds"; closely combining economy, culture, society, foreign affairs with national defense and security; strengthening the State management of national defense; improving the quality of strategic forecasts  as well as dialectical view of partners and objects. In addition, at the center of focus is to build a national defense strategy with defense strength as the key, military strength as the foundation, and the combat strength of the Viet Nam People's Army as the direct factor. Also, building a peaceful environment for the construction and development of Viet Nam is prioritized. The aforementioned are issues with new contents that need researching, concretizing and clarifying in the new situation, especially in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, digital economy, e-government, cyber environment, space environment...

Regarding the guidelines on performing national defense and military tasks, it is compulsory to study and clarify the following contents: Being resolute and persistent in strategic principles combined with being flexible in strategies and tactics to protect the Fatherland; strengthening internal management with main emphasis on education, persuasion and prevention; maintaining strict discipline and strictly handling legal violations; supervising hostile forces to promptly prevent and handle violated leading figures; creatively applying and developing Ho Chi Minh's thought on "people first, guns later"; aiming at human development as the center of the national defense work; building high-quality human resources, and at the same time focusing on developing modern weapons, military ordnance and equipment...

Regarding building the synergy for Fatherland protection, it is necessary to intensively study the following issues: combining defense with construction, considering construction as the most effective method of defense; well handling both internal and external relations; fighting to protect the people; combining non-armed struggle with armed struggle, military struggle with political, diplomatic, economic and cultural struggle; not allowing other countries to harm the independence, sovereignty and interests of Viet Nam; and practicing the strategy of "village protecting village, commune protecting commune, district protecting district, province protecting province". To prepare for war is the best way to prevent wars; when there is a war, it is required to actively expand the space, narrow the battlefield, shorten the time, be ready to fight for a long time and ensure victory.

On the basis of such contents, it is required to propose suitable resolutions in the new situation of war using high-tech weapons and new types of war. Particularly, it is vital to clarify such contents as solutions to "well handle both internal and external relations"; fighting by non-armed means; strategy for building high-quality human resources in defense and military fields; policies and measures to transform objects into partners.

Regarding the theory of building the all-people national defense, the People's Army, and the people's war in the new situation, in addition to such fundamental issues as potentials, forces, and posture, it is of considerable significance to focus on clarifying theories on defense zones of military zones and building a modern, elite, compact and strong army. It is also vital to study the relationship between building the all-people defense posture associated with the people's security posture, "the people's heart and mind posture", especially the national defense posture in sea, island and strategic areas. Furthermore, it is obligatory to study ways to deal with non-traditional security and civil defense challengs; the coordination mechanism between components in the armed forces; defense and security education; building smart schools and approaching the Fourth Industrial Revolution to propose plans and strategies to develop the defense industry in the direction of independence, self-reliance, modernity, and dual-use as the spearhead of the national industry; supplementing and clarifying the combination of marine economic development with the protection of sea and island sovereignty; developing digital economy in association with national defense in cyberspace; developing green economy in association with environmental protection; and developing external economy in association with the defense of the Fatherland from afar...

Regarding military art, apart from concretizing and clarifying existing contents, it is essential to continue to study, supplement and develop the theory of people's war in the new situation, the theory of strategic operations, emerging war forms and possible countermeasures. It is also necessary to develop synchronously and comprehensively the theory of strategy, campaign and tactics regarding various operating domains including land, air, sea, cyberspace and space; to focus on developing the art of sea and island warfare, electronic warfare; to study and forecast the situation of space warfare in the period of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, 5G, 6G networks, etc. .

Regarding defense struggle, it is compulsory to study and clarify contents, methods and implementation mechanisms in handling each defense situation, interest disputes, conflicts and disagreements especially about sovereignty over territories, borders, seas and islands; measures to prevent and combat the conspiracies and tricks of "peaceful evolution", "subversive riots"; solutions to prevent the deterioration of political ideology, morality, lifestyle, and manifestations "self-evolution", "self-transformation", and "depoliticization" of the Viet Nam People's Army.

Regarding defense diplomacy, on the basis of thoroughly grasping the CPV’s foreign policy, it is essential to continue to study the theory of diplomatic struggle and the importance of defense diplomacy in safeguarding the Fatherland from early and from afar; the content and solutions to build strategic trust, to develop military cadres into global citizens, UN peacekeepers in the new situation...

Regarding military culture, it is important to research and clarify: developing military cultural values ​​in the new situation; values ​​and standards for "Uncle Ho's Soldiers" in the Fourth Industrial Revolution on the basis of the Vietnamese national culture of fighting the enemy and defending the country; continuing to concretize and bring Ho Chi Minh's ideological, moral and style values ​​into the spiritual life of military officers and soldiers and the entire armed forces; and promoting the values ​​and strength of patriotism and self-reliance in national construction and defense.

Regarding the CPV’s leading role and the State’s management in national defense and military, it is needed to continue to research, supplement and develop theories on the absolute and direct leadership role of the Party in all aspects to the Viet Nam People's Army; the centralized and unified management of the State over national defense and security tasks in the new situation; the work of planning, promulgating and implementing, supervising, evaluating, summarizing, supplementing and perfecting national defense and military guidelines. It is also vital to study and clarify the mechanism, principles, authority and scope of responsibility of the Party, the State and the political system of Party committees, organizations, and authorities at all levels in formulating and implementing guidelines, theories, strategies and policies and laws on national defense and military in the new situation.

Thirdly, promoting the role of organizations and forces in summarizing practice, researching and developing the national defense and military theory.

In order to study, supplement and develop the theory on national defense and military, it is of great necessity to step up the review of practice and bring into play the role of organizations and forces throughout the country, especially those under the CPV, the State, the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defense, strategic agencies, research centers, and training institutions inside and outside the Army. These are agencies and forces with functions and tasks to organize practical review, theoretical research and development in each field of national defense and military under the direct leadership and instruction of the Politburo and the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee, the Central Commission for Popularization and Education, the Central Theoretical Council... In the Army, these agencies include the Institute of Defense Strategy, the Institute for Military Social Sciences and Humanities, the Military History Institute of Viet Nam, the National Defense Academy together with other functional agencies of the Ministry of National Defense, academies and schools. They directly decide the quality and effectiveness of researching and developing the theory of national defense and military. Therefore, their role should always be promoted, and the dynamism and creativity as well as research capacity of scientists, theorists and leading experts should be enhanced.

Continuing to thoroughly grasp and effectively implement the tasks assigned by the Politburo of the Party Central Committee in the resolutions on theoretical work; focusing on fundamentally renovating the training of theorists, from planning to programs, contents, selection methods, standards for quality assessment; forming a team of leading experts and its successive one with sufficient quality and quantity, suitable structure, meeting all requirements as well as immediate and long-term tasks; building mechanisms and policies to improve the material and spiritual life of the scientists in order to attract more talents to participate and contribute to this field.

Fourthly, strengthening the leadership of the CPV and the Central Military Commission for the theoretical research and development on national defense and military in the new situation.

The Party Central Committee, the Politburo, the Secretariat, and most directly the Central Military Commission have determined the viewpoints, objectives, directions and tasks of theoretical research and development on national defense and military in the new era; closely monitored all processes and stages of theoretical research, supplementation and development; directed the construction of research organizations and institutes, a contingent of high-quality theorists; developed effective mechanisms and policies to encourage talents and facilitate renovation; selected and assigned research tasks to individuals and collectives at strategic level and on new sensitive and complex issues; mobilized necessary resources, expanded democracy, and created favorable conditions for theoretical research and development; organized and encouraged scientific staff and agencies to actively participate in the planning process of the CPV’s guidelines and strategies and the State’s policies and laws in the field of national defense and military in the new condition.

Leading bodies of the CPV, party committees, organizations, and theoretical research agencies are required to pay attention to comprehensive leadership in theoretical work and practical review; to adopt resolutions to stimulate scientific research; to promote the role of party committees and leaders, to create a democratic atmosphere, a favorable working environment for their staff to promote their capacity, intelligence and creativity in conducting research and scientific projects; to encourage them to actively grasp reality, advise and propose new solutions, new issues to supplement and develop the theory on national defense and military to meet all task requirements.

This article was published in the Communist Review, No. 957 (January 2021)