Building a “steel shield” to safeguard the Fatherland’s frontier

Throughout the history of national construction and defense, national border sovereignty has always been sacred, an inviolable “flesh and blood” part of the Fatherland. In Dong Nai City, building and consolidating a strong all-people border defence system has received special attention from the Party Committee, government, armed forces, and people.

The Dong Nai City Steering Committee for Border Affairs and representatives of Thien Hung Commune sign the minutes and hand over documentation concerning the borderline and national border marker system to Thien Hung Commune.

The image of Border Guard soldiers, together with the “steel shield” of the people’s hearts, standing firm day and night to protect every sacred inch of the Fatherland’s soil, has become a shining symbol of the great national unity bloc.

Consolidating endogenous strength

To firmly safeguard territorial sovereignty and national border security in the new situation, the Party Committee, government, and armed forces, with the Border Guard of Dong Nai City serving as the core and specialized force, have consistently identified a fundamental lesson: the greatest strength comes from the people, while the “people’s heart-and-mind posture” has become a steel fortress and an endogenous strength for safeguarding the Fatherland’s border.

In recent times, Party committees, authorities, armed forces, and the city’s Border Guard have effectively implemented many practical policies and guidelines to promote socio-economic development in tandem with consolidating national defense and security in key areas. Assessing the strategic significance of building the “people’s heart-and-mind posture” – the “steel shield” safeguarding the Fatherland’s border in Dong Nai City – Major General Van Ngoc Que, Deputy Political Chief of the Vietnam Border Guard, emphasized, “Border protection is not only the task of the armed forces or the Border Guard but the shared responsibility of the entire political system and all the people. In a key area like Dong Nai – a city with a long borderline – the lesson of promoting the power of the people’s hearts is always of decisive value”.

Along with strengthening communications to build a “steel shield” to protect the Fatherland’s border, the Dong Nai City Border Guard is also implementing many effective and practical models. Most recently, the “From inland areas towards the border – joining hands for community welfare” model has seen the Border Guard coordinate with inland communes to support eight border communes, as well as border guard stations and posts, in firmly protecting the Fatherland’s frontier.

According to Major General Van Ngoc Que, when people truly regard the border as their homeland and sovereignty markers as their own, every plot to sow division or infringe upon national sovereignty is completely defeated. The Border Guard must always stay close to the people, understand the people, rely on the people, and work alongside the people in building a solid “border defense posture” and the “people’s heart-and-mind posture”.

The practical results achieved in firmly protecting Dong Nai City’s border in recent times have clearly demonstrated this. A series of patriotic emulation movements, self-management models for borderlines and markers, and the movement “All people participate in safeguarding national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and border security in the new situation” have been implemented in an increasingly substantive and effective manner, attracting enthusiastic participation of people from all walks of life. The people are not only the “eyes and ears” helping functional forces, particularly the Border Guard, detect complex incidents early and from afar, but also messengers of peace, strengthening solidarity and friendship between the military and the people and contributing to building peaceful, stable, and developing border areas.

Firm belief on the front line

The strength of the border’s “steel shield” in Dong Nai City is also forged through the close and flexible leadership of the Party committees and local authorities, the strength of the great national unity bloc, and the steadfast commitment of ethnic minority communities in the border region. Practical attention to the material and spiritual lives of people in the border areas has created a strong bond between the Party’s will and the people’s hearts on the front line of the Fatherland’s frontier.

Speaking about strategic orientations for improving people’s lives and protecting the border, Huynh Thi Hang, Deputy Secretary of the Dong Nai City Party Committee and Chairwoman of the City Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, emphasized that the City Party Committee consistently adheres to the principle that socio-economic development must go hand in hand with consolidating national defense and security. Dong Nai City is mobilizing resources to invest in infrastructure, building welfare projects, providing production capital support, and caring for ethnic minority households and families in difficult circumstances in the border areas.

“In reality, when people’s lives are improved and the border economy flourishes, that is the most solid foundation for building the all-people national defense posture. Only when the people are well-fed, adequately clothed, and at peace can the border be truly sustainable and develop stably,” affirmed Huynh Thi Hang.

The decisive attention and involvement of the political system and all the people, with the Border Guard serving as the core and specialized force, have built and consolidated firm trust and a profound sense of national self-respect in the hearts of the people, creating a “people’s heart-and-mind posture” to firmly protect the Fatherland’s frontier. Living near the borderline, every step taken by the people in their labor and production carries the significance of affirming national sovereignty.

Dieu Thi May, a long-time resident of the border area in Loc Tan Commune, said, “For generations, we have been attached to the mountains, the forests, and every sacred border marker of the Fatherland. With the care and assistance of the Party, the State, and the Border Guard soldiers in building houses and guiding us on how to make a living, our lives have changed and become more prosperous than before. Seeing the Border Guard soldiers patrol the border and inspect the markers day and night through wind and mist, we feel deeply for them and tell ourselves to remain steadfastly loyal to the Party and protect the borderlines and national border markers to the end.”

Dieu Thi May’s simple words also reflect the shared sentiment of tens of thousands of compatriots living in the city’s border region. The close-knit bond between the military and the people, “like fish and water,” has created a solid rampart formed by the people against every challenge.

Amid the vast expanse of sun and wind, Border Guard officers and soldiers have continued outreach efforts among the people and ethnic communities along the borderlines, encouraging them to maintain their trust and join hands in firmly protecting the Fatherland’s frontier. That “steel shield” is not built purely of bricks, stones, or weapons but is forged from ardent patriotism, iron will, and the close-knit and enduring solidarity between the military and the people, standing the test of time alongside the beautiful land of Vietnam.

By Nguyet Ha – Translated by Minh Hong, Thu Ha