Thai Nguyen (VNA) – Military Zone 1 armed forces need to constantlyuphold the Party’s military-defence guidelines and policy, as well as theirduties to defend the country in the new circumstances, National AssemblyChairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said.

The leader visited the High Command of the Military Zone 1 in northernThai Nguyen province on December 21, on the occasion of the 74th founding anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army and the 29th anniversary of All-people Defence Festival.

The Military Zone 1 was established on October 16, 1945, covering the northeasternprovinces of Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, and Lang Son.

“In any circumstances, the Military Zone 1 armed forces have alwaysshowed their loyalty to the Party, State and people… and exerted their maximalefforts to successfully accomplish assigned tasks,” the NA leader said.

In the anti-French resistance war, the Military Zone 1 provided a keyrevolutionary base for the Party Central Committee, the Government andPresident Ho Chi Minh. Its forces joined in major campaigns to put an end tothe domination of the French colonialists in Vietnam and the Indochina.

Nearly 30,000 young people from the zone went to fight in battlefields in thesouth in the anti-US resistance war. Armed forces and people from 25 ethnicgroups in the zone fought bravely to firmly defend the homeland’s sovereigntyand territorial integrity in the border war, Ngan said.

As regional and global situations are developing complicatedly, the MilitaryZone 1 needs to fully grasp the 12th Party Congress Resolution andthe 12th Party Central Committee resolutions and conclusions, boostideology education, strengthen officers and soldiers’ trust in the Party’sleadership, and reinforce its forces in terms of political firmness and combatcapacity, she said.

The leader asked the armed forces there to work closely with localgovernments to consolidate the people’s defence and people’s security toproactively foil hostile forces’ sabotage plots to solidly safeguard thecountry’s border sovereignty, the Party, the State, and the socialist regime.

The forces need to realize the Party’s viewpoint on combining defence, securityand economic affairs to develop effective economic-defence areas to helpimprove the living conditions of local people, especially those in borderareas.

They also need to join in carrying out mass mobilization, buildingstrong local political systems, helping local people escape from poverty andbuild new-style rural areas, thus contributing to strengthening the greatnational unity bloc, she added.

Chairwoman Ngan expressed her hope that officers and soldiers in the MilitaryZone 1 will stay united to soundly accomplish all tasks assigned by the Party,State, the Army and people.-VNA