Major Lê Văn Cương, former director of the Strategic Studies Institute under the Ministry of Public Security. — Photo baoquocte.vn

Major Lê Văn Cương, former director of the Strategic Studies Institute under the Ministry of Public Security, talks to the Việt Nam Government Portal about the importance of Việt Nam having strong national defence and security

What are your comments on the country’s achievements in national defence and security from 2016-2020?

In the five-year period under review, our national defence and security have been well maintained and consolidated. Under the leadership of the Party and Government, the Vietnamese People’s Army and the public security forces have done their best to protect the nation’s independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity for the interests of the nation and the Party, the State, the people and the socialist regime.

In my opinion, Việt Nam’s achievements in the field of national security and defence in the last five years are a manifestation of the good work in Party building and rectification while maintaining national economic development and consolidating and expanding the country’s diplomatic activities.

Will you explain the three missions of Party in the current term?

The three missions are Party rectification, Party building and the fight against corruption and embezzlement.

The Party Central Committee adopted three resolutions on the tasks of Party building and rectification and the responsibility of all Party members, particularly Politburo members, members of the Party Secretariat and members of the Party Central Committee.

Notably, in the last tenure, more than 100 senior Party officials were disciplined.

In the past five years, Việt Nam’s economy has faced many challenges, both from the outside and inside the country, yet we still achieved a high and stable economic growth rate. In addition, Việt Nam became a member of new free trade agreements like the CPTPP and the EVFTA.

In the diplomatic field, in the five-year period, Việt Nam has also gained many notable achievements. Việt Nam is one of the few countries in the world to achieve a relatively high economic growth rate and become a member of quite a few new world trade agreements.

These notable achievements have testified that Party building, national economic development and the achievements the country has gained in its diplomatic activities have helped all Vietnamese people, from rank and file or Party members or not, consolidate their confidence in the Party's leadership.

What are the challenges Việt Nam is facing in the field of national defence and security in the coming years?

To ensure the national security and socio-political stability, Việt Nam should continue the task of Party building and rectification.

As we all know that in Asia-Pacific, the Southeast Asian region holds a very important position in maintaining peace, stability, security in both the sea and the air space in the East Sea. And at present, the East Sea is facing many big challenges and the ASEAN plays a very important role.

In such a context, we have to hold high our national interests in maintaining national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. We still have to hold high our role in keeping a peaceful and stable environment for our national development.

We still have to expand our co-operation with other countries in the fields of national defence and security. Another task that we still have to do is to co-operate with other countries to settle conflicts in both the region and elsewhere in the world.

Last but not least, we have to be proactive to push back any non-traditional security threats, particularly the missions of saving people’s lives in natural disasters or in pandemics. — VNS