The army must uphold the general strength of the nation, the entire political system and the great national unity bloc to build up the people’s defence and strengthen military power in terms of both potential and posture.

Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh delivered this request at the ninth Party Congress of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), which opened in Hanoi on Sept. 20.

Former Party chiefs, Do Muoi and Le Kha Phieu, and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung joined a number of former senior Party and State leaders and representatives of ministries and agencies at the event.

Manh, who doubles as Secretary of the VPA Central Party Committee, stressed that “Striving to successfully accomplish the Party’s guidelines and revolutionary tasks is the only mission of our army”.

The Party leader urged the army to continue building up the people’s armed forces - which have general strengths and good combat capacity - strongly and comprehensively.

He emphasised the need to step up research and implementation of directions in a move to build up a regular, elite and modern people’s revolutionary army.

Manh also asked the army to better carry out the Party building work, to ensure that its Party organisation, officers and soldiers are firmly consistent with Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought and adhere to the goal of national independence and socialism, as well as the Party’s renewal policy.

In a political report, General Phung Quang Thanh, Deputy Secretary of the VPA Central Party Committee and Minister of National Defence, said in the context of both opportunities and challenges, the army’s Party organisation has done well in its role as an advisor for the Party and State in the fields of national defence and security.

The army has also actively prevented and broken “peaceful development” schemes from hostile forces, and detected and effectively addressed acts of violation against national sovereignty and interests, the minister said.

Thanh noted that the army has contributed actively and effectively in the country’s socio-economic development programmes and activities designed to eradicate hunger, reduce poverty, support families and persons with great devotion to the nation, and build a new cultural life, especially in remote, border and island areas.

The army has also worked as a major force in rescue activities as well as in mitigating and surmounting the consequences of natural disasters and epidemics, he said./.