Protecting the sovereignty and islands of the Fatherland: Part 1 - Towards Truong Sa

(Baonghean) - In the last days of April, a working delegation of the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Central Propaganda Department, the Military Logistics Department, the Ministry of National Defense, and officials and people from provinces across the country took a sea trip to Truong Sa. The trip aimed to grasp the real life situation as well as encourage officials, soldiers and people of Truong Sa island district and was an opportunity for delegates in the working delegation to make breakthrough proposals to promote economic and social development in conjunction with strengthening resistance, enhancing defense strength, and protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Vietnamese fatherland.

The calm sea season. Waves undulate, throwing white foam at the pier. From Cam Ranh Military Port, the military hospital ship HQ 561 carries a delegation of representatives from the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Central Propaganda Department, the Military Logistics Department, the Ministry of National Defense and brave reporters and journalists, sailing straight towards Truong Sa. From the deck, heading towards Cam Ranh Military Port, you can see with your own eyes the missile frigates, warships, and submarines of the Vietnam People's Navy proudly lying next to the piers with the national flags fluttering in the sun and sea breeze, as if to affirm that the Vietnamese navy is being modernized every day and is always ready to fight, protect the sea, islands and sky of Vietnam. When leaving the military port, the ship HQ 561 speeds up, every now and then, encountering a school of fish splashing among the foam. The schools of flying fish flying close to the water's surface, delighting those on the deck.

Navy soldiers prepare supplies before going to Truong Sa.

Cam Ranh military port seen from ship HQ 561.

In response to the curiosity of the group of tourists on the voyage to Truong Sa, Colonel Pham Van Quang, Head of the Propaganda Department (Navy Command) said that the waters of our Truong Sa archipelago are a fishing ground with many rare seafood species such as sea cucumbers, sea turtles, tuna, lobsters, seaweed, etc.; Along with mineral and oil resources of high economic value. With its location in the middle of the East Sea, Truong Sa archipelago has strengths in maritime services and fisheries for ships traveling and fishing in the area; at the same time, it is an attractive tourist destination at home and abroad.

In the next few decades, the volume of goods transported through the East Sea will double or triple the current level. At that time, the East Sea in general and the waters of the Truong Sa archipelago in particular will play a major role in international trade and Vietnam's waters will be an important bridge to develop international trade and expand exchanges with countries in the region and the world. In particular, when Thailand completes the construction of the KRA sea channel, the number of international ships passing through the East Sea will increase many times, creating conditions for Vietnam to gain more market share in international maritime transport. Colonel Quang said that with that prime location, the connection between the islands, island clusters, and island lines of the Truong Sa archipelago forms an important shield in front of the sea and the coastline of the South Central and Southern regions, protecting the eastern flank of the country, forming a system of outposts to prevent and repel encroachment activities of foreign ships.

Because of such an important position, generations of Vietnamese people have long marked the national sovereignty of the islands of the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos. And, for every Vietnamese person, everything related to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa is very close, sacred and proud. Captain Nguyen Van Cuong, Captain of the HQ 561 military hospital ship, proudly introduced that this is the only hospital ship in Southeast Asia today, launched in April 2012 at the 198 shipyard (Hai Phong) and handed over to Region 4 - Navy at the end of that year. The ship is 71 meters long, 13.5 meters wide, has a capacity of 5,000 horsepower, and is arranged with 32 rooms for 157 passengers.

In mid-March 2014, the ship was installed with a fin system to reduce rolling, reducing 2 levels of wind and waves. From March 28 to April 6, the ship HQ 561 participated in the Komodo exercise - a joint exercise between the navies of ASEAN countries and countries in the Pacific region. During this exercise, the ship HQ 561 performed civilian medical duties on the islands of the Indonesian Archipelago. The doctors and nurses on board examined and treated 200 local people. They performed surgeries and provided free medicine to the people on the archipelago. The engineering force on the ship also helped the people of Indonesia complete more than 200 meters of concrete road on the island,... Since its operation, in addition to its mission as a hospital ship, HQ 561 has also carried delegations and officers and soldiers to visit and work at Truong Sa archipelago and DK1 platform, contributing to bringing the sacred archipelago of the fatherland closer to the mainland.

While listening enthusiastically to stories about the military hospital ship as well as the outstanding achievements in the modernization of the Vietnamese navy, we heard the head of the delegation announce the itinerary of the trip with destinations such as Da Lon, Son Ca, Nam Yet, Da Tay, Truong Sa Lon, Co Lin, Da Lat, etc. Each name, each island point on the archipelago of the fatherland is very sacred and proud. On the journey to Truong Sa today, everyone carried within them excitement mixed with pride and emotion. Right on this historic route, 39 years ago, also around the end of April, when the Ho Chi Minh campaign was on the path to complete victory, the Vietnamese navy secretly, unexpectedly, and boldly sent special forces units and warships to coordinate with the troops of Military Region 5 to overcome the storms and advance to Truong Sa, liberating the islands from the hands of the puppet army.

In the delegation coming to Truong Sa this time, there were reporters who had set foot on Truong Sa 5 times, some had never been on a boat to the sea, but everyone felt lucky to have experienced it once more, to have come to the sacred land of the fatherland in the middle of the ocean. In their luggage when getting off the boat, almost everyone tried to bring as much love from their homeland and the mainland to the soldiers of Truong Sa. While Mr. Nguyen Van Thuc, Head of the Propaganda Department, representative of the Propaganda Department of Nghe An province, brought gifts from Nghe An province and phone cards to give to the soldiers of Truong Sa, comrade Nguyen Viet Truong, Deputy Head of the Propaganda Department of Ha Tinh Provincial Party Committee, brought more than 20 kg of Ha Tinh cu do specialties with the wish to "Contribute a very small part to help the soldiers feel the warmth of their homeland"; The actors in the shock art troupe of the Hau Giang Province Folk Song and Dance Troupe tried to bring as many props and performance equipment as possible and practiced day and night on the ship to bring their singing to the soldiers on the floating and submerged islands...

Comrade Hoang Ngoc Ha, Deputy Head of the Steering Committee for External Information Work, Central Propaganda Department, affirmed that each delegate in the delegation to Truong Sa brought with them feelings from their homeland, from the mainland to encourage the Vietnamese people in Truong Sa to work with peace of mind, overcome all difficulties and challenges, stand firm at the forefront, and successfully complete the task of firmly protecting the sovereignty of the sacred sea, islands, and continental shelf of the Fatherland. In particular, this trip is also an opportunity for delegates in the delegation to make breakthrough proposals to promote economic and social development in conjunction with strengthening resistance, enhancing defense strength, and protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland of Vietnam.

Nguyen Khoa