Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) has always served as the
core force to, together with the Party and the people, achieve splendid
accomplishments in national liberation and construction and defence throughout
its 75-year history, Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong has
said.
In
an article published on the occasion of the 75th founding
anniversary of the VPA (December 22, 1944), the Party and State leader stressed
that those accomplishments were the results of multiple factors, of which the Communist
Party of Vietnam (CPV)’s comprehensive, absolute and sound leadership is a
decisive one.
Trong,
who is also Secretary of the Central Military Commission, said the Party has
flexibly applied Marxism-Leninism and President Ho Chi Minh’s thought to build
a new-style army that suits the specific situation in Vietnam. The Party also
affirmed the inevitable need to turn the army into the key force in the cause
of national liberation and defence.
During
the resistance war against the invading French colonialists, the VPA won
glorious feat of arms, including the 1953-1954 Winter-Spring Campaign with the
peak of the Dien Bien Phu victory that forced the French government to sign the
Geneva Accords in 1954, ending the war and restoring peace in Indochina.
This
was the first time in the contemporary history that an army equipped with
rudimentary weapons had defeated a professional counterpart, which marked the
beginning of the collapse of colonialism and provided a strong boost to the
national liberation movement in the world, he stressed.
In
the anti-US war, the VPA, along with the entire Party and people consecutively foiled
war strategies. Such great victories won by the Vietnamese army and people drove
the US to sign the Paris Peace Accords that committed to put an end to the war,
and created a premise for the Spring General Offensive and Uprising in 1975,
culminating with the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, leading to the full liberation
of South Vietnam, national reunification and the end of the 30-year resistance
war, the top leader said.
Not
only fighting to liberate their own country, with a pure proletarian
international spirit, the VPA has also stood side by side with armed forces of
Laos and Cambodia in the fight against common enemies.
Right
after the anti-US war ended, the VPA immediately embarked on another fierce
battle to protect the national border and performed its international mission
of helping Cambodian people escape from genocide.
During
the cause of national construction and defence in the renewal period, the army
has carried forward its role in combat and production, while serving as an
advisor of the Party and the State in military, national defence and drafting
strategic guidelines for national protection.
At
the same time, it has made outstanding performance in defence diplomacy,
contributing to building a peaceful and stable environment for national building
and development, Trong said.
Over
the past 75 years, in any revolutionary period, even the toughest time, the CPV
has maintained its comprehensive, absolute and direct leadership over the VPA.
This
is an important factor for the success of national building and safeguarding,
and also the decisive factor for the growth, combat capacity and triumph of the
army, he said.
The
Party General Secretary pointed out that unforeseeable and complex developments
are lying ahead in the regional and global situation, along with increasing
traditional and non-traditional security challenges and fierce strategic
competition between world powers.
The
East Sea issue also contains many unexpected risks, he said, adding that the
trend of connectivity, globalisation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution have been
exerting profound impacts on all countries in various spheres.
Inside
the country, the macro economy has been stabilised but not quite sustainably.
Although Vietnam’s internal strength has been consolidated and its prestige and
position in the international arena has been rising, the country still faces a
range of difficulties and challenges.
The
Party leader also called attention to the fact that hostile forces have stepped
up the so-called “peace process,” “self-evolution,” “self-transformation,”
“non-politicalisation,” and “civilisation” of the army, especially after,
during and before all-level Party congresses and the 13th National
Party Congress.
The
cause of national construction and defence goes with heavy requirements, with
the struggle to safeguard the country’s sovereignty over its sea, islands and
territorial integrity forecast to be a tough, long-term and complex one.
In
2020 and the years to come, the VPA will have to take tougher tasks, he said, requiring
the Party maintain and enhance its absolute, direct and comprehensive
leadership over the VPA in order to help the army complete its missions.
“We
believe that with its 75-year history of building and fighting under the Party
leadership, the VPA will continue to write more glorious historical pages for
the nation,” he concluded./.