(Bqp.vn) - The State of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam realises its national defence management as defined by its Constitution and laws. The basic contents of the State’s national defence management consist of promulgating and conducting the implementation of a system of statutory documents on national defence, developing and implementing strategies and policies on national defence, building the all-people's national defence and plans for the defence of the country, national defence mobilisation and support activities. It organises and guides the implementation of national defence tasks and international defence cooperation, and other necessary measures to defend the Homeland.
The State builds a revolutionary, regular, highly-skilled, and gradually modernised VPA, which has an appropriate permanent force, a large and powerful Reserve, and a strong and extensive Militia and Self-Defence Force, playing the core role in performing national defence tasks. The State educates the entire people in national defence and security, develops the national defence industry, ensures the provision of proper equipment for the people's armed forces, combines national defence and security with economic, cultural and social activities and vice versa, implements policies regarding welfare of military families, and secures the material and spiritual lives of the officers, soldiers, defence employees and workers suitable to the activities of the VPA.
The National Assembly is the supreme organ of State authority of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, the sole body with the right to promulgate laws concerning fundamental domestic and foreign policies, the country’s socio-economic, national defence and security tasks, make decisions on the matters of war and peace, define the state of emergency and other special measures so as to ensure the national defence and security, and determine the building of the armed forces. The National Assembly exercises its supreme supervision over the State’s national defence activities.
The National Defence and Security Council is composed of the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Members. The list of members of the National Defence and Security Council shall be submitted by the State President to the National Assembly for approval. The National Defence and Security Council shall propose the National Assembly or, when the National Assembly cannot meet, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly to decide on a state of war, mobilise all forces and national recourses to defend the Homeland, execute special tasks and authority assigned by the National Assembly in case of war and decide the participation of the people's armed forces in UN peacekeeping operations in the region and around the world.
The State President has overall command of the people's armed forces and holds the office as Chairperson of the National Defence and Security Council, decides the award, promotion, demotion or deprivation of the ranks of general, admiral, vice admiral and rear admiral, and appoints, relieves from duty or dismisses the Chief of the General Staff, the Chief of the General Political Department of the VPA. Based on resolutions of the National Assembly or the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the State President promulgates or annuls decisions to declare a state of war, and on the basis of resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, issues an order on general mobilisation or partial mobilisation, declares or cancels a state of emergency or, in case the Standing Committee of the National Assembly cannot meet, declares or cancels a state of emergency nationwide or in a particular locality and decides to send the armed forces to participate in UN peacekeeping operations.
The Government is the highest state administrative body of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. The Government promulgates decrees and resolutions to specify the implementation of national defence laws and ordinances. It also makes policies on the consolidation of national defence and building of the armed forces, maps out the master and specific plans for defence mobilisation, organises and directs the implementation of national defence tasks and necessary measures to safeguard the Homeland. As delegated, ministries, branches and local authorities issue a system of statutory documents to fulfil tasks on national defence in accordance with the law and undertake national defence education and international cooperation in certain aspects related to national defence, ensure the material life for the armed forces, implement welfare policies for military families, and inspect the fulfilment of national defence tasks.
The Ministry of National Defence is the advisory organ for the Party and State to consult on matters of national defence and military guidelines and duties in safeguarding the Homeland, stands accountable before the Government on national defence state management, organises the implementation of building, management and command of the VPA, the Militia and Self-Defence Force, and administers public services as stipulated by law. The Minister of National Defence is the highest commander of the VPA and the Militia and Self-Defence Force, a Member of the National Defence and Security Council, Deputy Secretary of the CMC and Member of the government in charge of directing the execution of the State management functions on national defence and military affairs as defined by law and presides over the planning and organises the implementation of the National Defence Strategy. Assisting the Minister of National Defence are Deputy Ministers of National Defence, the General Staff, the General Political Department, four general departments, Ha Noi Capital High Command and seven military regions, two services (Navy and Air Defence-Air Force), Border Guard High Command, six arms, four army corps, Viet Nam Coast Guard Command, Cyber Command and the Ministry of National Defence affiliated units.
The General Staff commands and operates the VPA and the Militia and Self-Defence Force, and organises and directs the development of the VPA and the Militia and Self-Defence Force, at the same time exercises the command of military operations. The General Staff is led by the Chief of General Staff, who is assisted by the vice chiefs. The General Staff is composed of functional departments of operations, combat training, manpower and so forth. The Chief of General Staff, concurrently the Deputy Minister of National Defence, takes the role of the Minister of National Defence in the latter’s absence. The Chief of General Staff directs offices and units directly under the General Staff to formulate the military strategies, the master and specific plans for defending the country, presides over coordinating, instructing, inspecting and motivating other ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and the people’s committees at all levels to implement legal regulations on national defence, and inspects and urges the VPA units to abide by the military discipline, the State laws and the orders of the Minister of National Defence.
The General Political Department takes charge of the Party and political work in the military and operates under the leadership of the Secretariat, constantly and directly under the CMC. It has the Chief and Vice Chiefs, functional departments responsible for the Party organisation, personnel work, political propaganda and ideological education, military security, policy work and mass mobilisation.
The functional organisations at the general department level of the Ministry of National Defence include the General Department of Logistics, the General Department of Technology, the General Department of Defence Industry and the General Department of Defence Intelligence. Each general department has the director and deputy directors (the General Department of Defence Intelligence has the Commander and Deputy Commanders), the political commissar and deputy political commissar, the staff office, the political department, and other functional departments and subordinate units with specific responsibilities and duties.
The General Department of Logistics is the organ under the Ministry of National Defence which has the functions to advise, direct, and organise such logistical activities as material supplies, daily necessity support, medical care, and transportation for the military. It has functional departments responsible for logistics consultation, military ordnance, military medicine, stationing facilities, fuel, transportation and other subordinate agencies and units.
The General Department of Technology is the organ under the Ministry of National Defence which has the functions to advise the CMC and the Ministry of National Defence to direct and instruct the technical support in the VPA and the Militia and Self-Defence Force, assists the Minister of National Defence to conduct the state management functions on the technical support, directs the technical branch in the VPA and the Militia and Self-Defence Force on the matters concerned, and manages and directs its subordinate units.
The General Department of Defence Industry is the organ under the Ministry of National Defence which has the functions to advise the CMC to direct the building and development of defence industry in the VPA, assists the Minister of National Defence to conduct the state management functions on defence industry in the whole country. It is in charge of commanding and managing its subordinate units composed of functional departments and divisions, manages and directes the establishments manufacturing and maintaining military weapons and equipment, research institutions, vocational schools, and subordinate units.
The General Department of Defence Intelligence assists the Minister of National Defence to conduct the state management functions on defence and military intelligence. It directly carries out intelligence activities at the strategic level. At the same time, it is the advisory organ for the Minister of National Defence and the VPA's Chief of General Staff to consult on the force organisation and intelligence operations. It is the lead department directly responsible for directing and commanding the military intelligence and reconnaissance network in terms of intelligence professionalism.
The Foreign Relations Department is the state management organ on the VPA’s international defence relations and international integration, functioning as the advisory organ for the Standing CMC and the Minister of National Defence to consult on the guidelines, directions and measures to international defence relations and international integration, instructing and managing international defence relations activities, and planning and organising those activities in assigned domains. It represents the Ministry of National Defence in working with foreign defence attachés, diplomatic representatives, international and regional organisations in defence matters.
The Office of the Ministry of National Defence, concurrently the Office of the CMC, and other functional bodies play the role of a consultative organ and provide assistance to the Ministry of National Defence. Besides, the Minister of National Defence is assigned to manage certain Government agencies.
The Government Cryptographic Agency is a national cryptography office, in charge of cryptographic management, assisting the Minister of National Defence to provide recommendations for the CPV and the State on cryptographic work and carry out the task of the state management of cryptography, contributing to ensuring timely and absolutely accurate, secure and secret information for the leadership of the CPV, the management of the State, the operation of the Government, the command and guidance of the commander of the people’s armed forces in any situations. It proactively protects and participates in the struggle against cryptanalysis activities harmful to national security, the State's interests, and legitimate rights and interests of other organisations and individuals.
Viet Nam Coast Guard is an element of the people's armed forces which plays a role as a specialised force of the State and exercises its core roles of law enforcement and protection of national security, order and safety at sea. It provides recommendations to the Minister of National Defence or makes proposals to the CPV and the State to issue policies and laws on the protection of national security, order and safety at sea, protecting national sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the sea waters of Viet Nam. It exercises the functions to control maritime security, order, and safety, and conduct law enforcement activities as stipulated by Viet Nam's laws and relevant international conventions and agreements signed or participated in by the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Viet Nam Coast Guard has four Coast Guard zones (1, 2, 3, 4). Each has a Coast Guard Command and subordinate units. Viet Nam Coast Guard is equipped with vessels, aircraft, weapons, explosives, support instruments and other specialised equipment to carry out its functions, missions and rights in the sea waters of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and the sea waters beyond the Vietnamese sea waters stipulated by Vietnamese law and related international conventions and agreements of which Viet Nam is a signatory.
The Department of Search and Rescue is the organ under the General Staff of the VPA, which functions as the lead organ to advise the CMC, the Ministry of National Defence, and the General Staff to direct military units to conduct the task of disaster prevention and relief, search and rescue. It also functions as the Standing Office of the National Committee for Search and Rescue, assisting the Government to direct and coordinate both military and non-military forces in search and rescue operations, and disaster relief.
The Standing Office of the National Steering Committee on the Settlement of Post-war Unexploded Ordnance and Toxic Chemical Consequences (also known as Office 701 based under the Department of Military Science) is in charge of providing recommendations for building and implementing the work plans and programmes of the Standing Office and the Steering Committee. It coordinates with Viet Nam National Mine Action Center (VNMAC) under Engineering Command and the National Action Center for Overcoming Toxic Chemical and Environment Consequences (NACCEC) under the Chemical Command. These are the two governmental agencies responsible for conducting propaganda and cooperation programmes and appealing for domestic and international donations and assistance to overcome post-war unexploded ordnance and toxic chemical consequences.
