Draft national border protection strategy tabled for discussion

Defence Minister General Ngo Xuan Lich speaks at the conference (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – The Defence Ministry held a conference in Hanoi on July 24 to collect opinions of defence officials, military officers and experts on a draft of the national border protection strategy.

In opening the conference, Politburo member and Defence Minister General Ngo Xuan Lich stressed that the national border protection strategy aims to put in concrete terms the resolution on national defence-security missions adopted at the 8th plenum of the 11th Party Central Committee.

He said the strategy aims to combine the experience of generations of Vietnamese in defending the country’s border and that of other nations in the world.

The national border protection strategy defines the goals, viewpoints, principles, guidelines on the work, along with the methods and policies to successfully implement the strategy.

Participants contributed their opinions to clarify the principles and guidelines for national border protection. They stressed several major measures to implement the strategy, one of which is to strengthen the Party’s leadership and improve the efficiency of State management over the building, control and protection of the national border.

National consensus and concerted actions of the entire political system are also necessary to ensure the effective protection of the national border, as are a strong political base at grassroots level and social-economic development in border areas.

Participants also expressed approval of other measures specified in the draft strategy, including the building of people-based border defence with the people’s armed forces as the core and the border guard as the specialised force.

They underlined the need to enhance international cooperation in the work, especially defence and border diplomacy.

Research should be conducted to perfect the mode and plans to manage border protection work, along with mechanisms, policies and laws on the building, management and protection of the national border.

General Ngo Xuan Lich said the strategy drafting board will study the opinions raised at the conference and incorporate useful contents into the draft national border protection strategy to submit to the Politburo for consideration.-VNA