Party General Secretary and Secretary of the Central Military Commission Tô Lâm shakes hands with military officers attending the 80th Anniversary of the Traditional Day of the Military Zone 9 on December 8 in Cần Thơ City. VNA/VNS Photo

CẦN THƠ —Military Zone 9 must continue to build and strengthen an all-people defence posture closely linked with the people’s security network, firmly consolidating defensive zones to maintain a proactive position against sabotage by hostile forces and to safeguard peace, stability and national sovereignty.

The Party General Secretary and Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Tô Lâm, delivered the message at a ceremony in Cần Thơ City on December 8 marking the 80th anniversary of the Traditional Day of Military Zone 9 (December 10, 1945–2025).

The Party leader said that throughout eight decades of building, fighting, winning and growing, the armed forces of Military Zone 9 had consistently shown the fine qualities and proud traditions of the heroic Việt Nam People’s Army.

The Party leader stressed that the tasks of protecting the Fatherland and building the Army, including Military Zone 9, now demand ever higher standards.

Military Zone 9 is a major command of the Vietnam People's Army, responsible for defending the Mekong River Delta region of Vietnam, encompassing cities like Can Tho and surrounding provinces like Hau Giang, Vinh Long, Dong Thap, Kien Giang, Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Tien Giang, and Tra Vinh.

To meet their responsibilities as an operational–strategic unit of the Ministry of National Defence on the country’s critical southwestern axis, he called for the zone to thoroughly grasp President Hồ Chí Minh’s military thought and the Party’s military and defence guidelines, particularly the Strategy for Safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation and the breakthroughs set out in the Resolution of the 11th Party Congress of Military Zone 9 and the 12th Party Congress of the Army.

The military zone needs to improve overall quality and combat strength; maintain close solidarity with Party committees, authorities and the people in localities; firmly understand and accurately forecast developments; and perform high-quality strategic advisory work for the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence, Lâm said.

The General Secretary urged the military zone to focus on building the armed forces to be revolutionary, regular, elite and modern, with political building as the foundation for improving overall quality and combat strength; renewing and enhancing the quality of combat training; and fostering bravery, physical strength and technical-tactical proficiency.

He emphasised mastering weapons and equipment, especially new and modern systems, ensuring readiness to fight and win in all conditions, all situations and new forms of warfare.

In the current development context, with new situations and tasks, particular attention should be paid to improving scientific and technological capacity among troops in training and combat readiness; ensuring substantive training, substantive practice, substantive scenarios to be capable of fighting and winning in every circumstance, the General Secretary said.

He highlighted the need to consistently perform effective mass mobilisation work, strengthen the bond between the military and the people, build a firm people’s defence posture; closely link national defence and security consolidation with socio-economic development, effectively implement defence-economic projects in the region; and perform policy work well while actively participating in social welfare activities.

Delivering the commemorative speech, Lieutenant General Nguyễn Xuân Dắt, Commander of Military Zone 9, said that over 80 years, the region’s armed forces had overcome hardships, sacrifices, fought, won and developed across the region, writing an immortal epic of revolutionary heroism.

From 1976, after the merger with Military Zone 8, the armed forces together with the people of the Mekong Delta embarked on healing the wounds of war, building the country, resolutely safeguarding every sacred inch of land and fighting and winning in the war to defend the southwestern border, with the motto 'helping friends is helping ourselves,' exemplifying a spirit of pure, loyal and righteous internationalism.

As a revolutionary force closely tied to the people, Military Zone 9 has always played an active role with other forces in disaster response, search and rescue, epidemic prevention and control; and carried out policy work, gratitude activities and social support effectively, said Dắt.

Military Zone 9 has also effectively conducted defence diplomacy with the Royal Cambodian Army and the Kingdom of Cambodia; co-ordinated with Ministry of National Defence forces in defence diplomacy, especially with ASEAN countries; firmly grasped related developments; proactively provided strategic advice; and handled issues concerning borders and seas with firmness and prudence; and countered all plots aimed at sabotaging or undermining relations between Việt Nam, Cambodia and ASEAN countries, said the Lieutenant General.

The 80th anniversary is a historic milestone and motivation for the region’s armed forces to continue advancing and achieving new accomplishments and victories, writing further glorious pages of tradition, he said.

On this occasion, Party General Secretary Tô Lâm awarded the title 'Hero of the People’s Armed Forces' to the armed forces of Military Zone 9, acknowledging their immense contributions to the revolutionary cause of the Party, the State and the people. VNS