­ Major contents of Viet Nam's National Security Strategy

Below are major contents of the National Security Strategy:

GUIDING VIEWPOINTS AND OBJECTIVES

1. Guiding viewpoints

National security protection shall be placed under the absolute, direct, and comprehensive leadership of the Party, and the unified management of the State. It is a vital and regular task of the entire Party, people, and armed forces; heads of party committees and local administrations shall bear primary and ultimate responsibility for handling security issues within their assigned sectors and jurisdictions; the People's Public Security forces shall play the core role.

Maintaining national security is a prerequisite for peace, stability, rapid and sustainable development, and the overall improvement of the people's living standards; security must contribute to creating new resources and impetuses for development; development serves as the foundation for sustainable security; security is for development. The capacity for national security protection shall be strengthened in tandem with maintaining and enhancing national defense capabilities.

Security in the new era entails not only protecting the Party, the State, the people, the regime, institutions, and national sovereignty, but also extends to protecting the constituent elements of national development capacity, ensuring the stable operation of the entire economic, social, and technological systems. It requires proactively identifying, forecasting, and managing risks early and throughout the development process. Enhancing national autonomy and resilience is a paramount requirement in safeguarding national security. All development strategies must contribute to strengthening national defense and security capabilities; security shall never be traded off for economic growth.

Implement comprehensive, holistic, proactive, inclusive, and generative security. Among these, regime security is vital; cultural-ideological security and information-communication security serve as particularly critical foundations for consolidating public trust and maintaining social consensus; economic security, energy security, environmental security, water security, and food security constitute the bedrock; cyber-security, data security, and technology security are at the core; and human security is the ultimate objective.

Closely integrate hard power and soft power, steadfast principles and flexible methods, placing national interests above all else, with internal strength acting as the decisive factor and external resources playing an important role. Synchronize national security protection with economic, cultural, social, environmental, and diplomatic development to leverage soft power, thereby creating new posture and strength for the nation. Integrate security considerations from the outset into every policy, sector, and development phase; treat security as a vital criterion in selecting development models, formulating policies, and organizing implementation. Firmly combat, prevent, and strictly handle acts and subjects infringing upon national security in accordance with Party regulations and State laws. Transnational organized crime is explicitly defined as a national security issue.

National security protection in the new era closely combines traditional and modern measures; balance "construction" and "prevention", taking "construction" as fundamental and "prevention" as a regular task; shift from "domain-based protection" to "systemic protection"; transition from "individual risk management" to "risk interaction governance"; move from "preventing occurrences at all costs" to "keeping risks below control thresholds, preventing crises from spreading and turning into strategic losses", seizing all conditions to transform "threats" into "opportunities". Firmly guarantee security at the grassroots level, addressing all root causes of insecurity and disorder early to prevent accumulation and escalation into "hotspots". Strive to promote cooperation and reduce disagreements and conflicts to achieve the highest benefits for the cause of national construction and defense.

2. Objectives

a) General Objective:

Firmly safeguard revolutionary achievements, protect and maximize national interests; protect the Party, State, people, and the socialist regime; protect and lay the foundation for the successful implementation of the cause of renewal, industrialization, and modernization, as well as strategic targets and guidelines of the Party. Protect the national culture, prestige, and international standing; firmly safeguard national security, human security, regime security, institutional security, and security across all domains and spaces; prevent and push back early internal factors causing political instability, as well as threats originating from cyberspace, outer space, low-altitude space, and maritime/oceanic space. Proactively respond to composite threats, non-traditional security challenges, and emerging forms of security infringement; mitigate crisis risks; counter and defeat all subversive schemes and activities of hostile forces. Thereby, contribute to building a disciplined, safe, civilized, harmonious, and thriving society, strengthening public confidence, preserving socio-political stability, enhancing contributions to regional and global peace, and successfully executing the task of building and defending the Socialist Fatherland of Viet Nam.

b) Specific Objectives:

Protect and firmly consolidate the ideological foundation, the core leadership and ruling role, and the fighting capacity of the Party, alongside the strength of the socialist regime. Ensure the absolute security and safety of leaders and key personnel; strengthen the protection of strategic-level cadres and high-quality human resources, particularly in economic, scientific, and technological sectors.

Organize security protection across all development sectors and spaces under the principle of "security extends wherever development reaches". Elevate the protection of human security, internal political security, economic security, worker security, cyber-security, digital infrastructure security, data security, and border security. Strengthen the protection of legitimate interests of Vietnamese organizations and nationals abroad.

Conduct security diplomacy and international integration at a new height. Leverage the pioneering role of security cooperation to consolidate and deepen strategic trust between Viet Nam and its partners, harness external resources, identify potential opportunities, and expand cooperation across other domains. Enhance capabilities to defend security from external fronts; build Viet Nam into a partner of peace, stability, cooperation, and development.

Build a modern, multi-layered, interconnected, and comprehensive all-people security system and posture across all spaces and domains, grounded on a solid "people's-heart" posture closely linked with the all-people national defense posture. Raise vigilance and mobilize full societal participation in national security protection. Strive for a sharp reduction in crime, control and reduce particularly severe accidents, aiming toward a society free of crime, accidents, social evils, and negative phenomena—one that is truly civilized and happy. Harness patriotism into a resource to reinforce social consensus, supporting regime security and national development.

Enhance security protection capabilities to sufficiently respond to all traditional and non-traditional security challenges, crisis situations, composite threats, and novel forms of security infringements. Achieve strategic autonomy in security, building a self-reliant, self-sustained, dual-use, and modern defense and security industries.

By 2030: Complete modern, citizen-centric national governance reforms; perfect the legal framework, national security assurance mechanisms, risk monitoring and early warning systems; build a revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern people's Public Security force and specialized national security bodies; complete quantum-resistant cryptographic transformation for critical digital infrastructures; establish national sovereign networks; and protect communication networks and data systems using quantum-resistant cryptography.

By 2045: Comprehensively develop the capacity of the national security system; national security shall be firmly protected early and from afar across all fields and spaces, becoming a major resource and driving force for development; human security protection shall rank among the top in the region and the world, creating a foundation for the successful construction of a socialist society. The people's Public Security, serving as the core force alongside other forces, shall possess sufficient capacity to prevent, push back, and resolve all security risks and challenges, respond to crises, composite threats, and new forms of security infringements, confirming its vital role in maintaining peace and stability regionally and globally.

III. TASKS AND SOLUTIONS

1. Strengthen Party leadership and enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of State management over national security protection in the new era

Continually refine the mechanisms for the Party's absolute, direct, and comprehensive leadership over national security protection. Improve the state management efficiency of state agencies in conjunction with the operational efficacy of two-tiered local administrations, ensuring strict adherence to Constitutional and legal provisions on national security; concurrently, integrate security requirements in formulation of all socio-economic, cultural, environmental, and diplomatic strategies, planning, policies, processes, and development projects.

Party committees and authorities at all levels, from central to local, shall focus on directing, inspecting, and supervising the implementation and concrete execution of the National Security Strategy tailored to their assigned sectors and territories. Explicitly define the political and legal responsibilities of party committees, heads of agencies, political-social organizations, mass unions, and cadres and party members in performing national security tasks.

2. Firmly protect regime security and institutional security; prevent passivity and surprises under any circumstances

Protecting regime security is a vital, strategic task of the nation. Focus on safeguarding the leadership role, ideological foundation, and strength of the Party and State; protect the Party and State's leadership over the socialist-oriented market economy; safeguard the Party's comprehensive, direct leadership in lawmaking and law enforcement, as well as its absolute, direct leadership over the armed forces and public security.

Organize the absolute safety and security of leaders and key personnel; strengthen multi-layered, proactive, and comprehensive protection of strategic-level cadres and elite personnel, especially in science, technology, and economics. Maintain full readiness to guarantee Party leadership under all circumstances, particularly in crisis situations. Regularly review, prevent, and eradicate all embryonic risks and threats to regime and institutional security; decisively combat and counter all subversive schemes and activities that threaten the stability of the regime.

Build robust, synchronized, transparent, and adaptive institutions capable of preventing and addressing risks arising from corruption, power abuse, conflicts of interest, and international impacts, preventing them from escalating into crises. Decisively implement constitutional and legal protection measures; block activities by hostile forces and criminal elements aimed at influencing institutions, policies, and legislation. Intensify anti-corruption, anti-waste, and anti-negativity efforts; elevate inspection and supervisory effectiveness to promptly detect and strictly handle violations, degradation, "self-evolution", and "self-transformation".

Innovate mass mobilization and information-education work to unleash the public's role in safeguarding regime security and the Party, ensuring that citizens proactively identify and provide information regarding acts or signs of infringement against regime security.

3. Elevate strategic forecasting capacity; proactively push back risks and challenges to protect security early and from afar

Steadfastly adhere to the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multi-lateralization, and diversification; remain committed to the principle of "not taking sides" and the "four no's" defense policy, ensuring strategic balance in international relations.

Continuously enhance proactive diplomatic capabilities; prepare diplomatic, legal, and external communication toolkits to maintain activeness on matters concerning national interests. Formulate concrete solutions to leverage the resources of the overseas Vietnamese community for national security protection. Enhance national strategic autonomy and resilience, embedding Viet Nam firmly into key global supply chains to form indirect conflict-prevention mechanisms.

Establish a modern information collection, analysis, and processing system that integrates multi-sectoral and multi-layered data, equipped to detect early structural shifts in the global environment and forecast security risks. Build strategic national reserve regions featuring high-quality development and elevated security standards; maintain reserves for key manufacturing sectors; ensure the maintenance, recovery, and development of core national capabilities to act as safe zones during crises.

4. Proactively detect, prevent, and timely address emerging complex security and order factors from the grassroots level across all sectors and regions

Elevate counter-espionage operations, expanding focus from political, military, and diplomatic spheres to technology, critical infrastructure, and scientific research. Heighten vigilance and mobilize cadres, party members, and the public to detect and report acts showing signs of national security infringement; extend trade secret and confidentiality protections to economic, technological, and critical infrastructure domains.

Strictly enforce Party regulations and State laws regarding internal protection and internal political security. Refine regulations to bolster internal political security, protecting secret and critical departments, as well as cadres who directly advise on Party policies and State laws. Enact strict control mechanisms governing smart mobile device usage among key and confidential units. Strengthen cyber-security, data security, and information security measures across state agencies and overseas Vietnamese representative offices; secure technological products and devices posing security risks. Regularly audit and patch security vulnerabilities within critical Party and State databases and information systems. Establish and fortify technical safety zones and technical standards for key political, security, and defense installations.

Consolidate regional security postures, focusing on strategic regions, borders, and islands adapted to new realities to avoid passivity or surprise. Enhance anti-terrorism capabilities; modernize immigration management, maintaining strict control over border gates, airports, and trails to prevent reactionary and criminal elements from infiltrating the country.

Ensure religious and ethnic security, as well as grassroots security under the "four on-the-spot" principle. Continue implementing projects and plans to counter reactionary, secessionist, and autonomous incitement. Proactively prepare response plans for abnormal security situations, especially against external shocks or subversive riots and terrorism orchestrated by hostile elements.

5. Guarantee security in emerging spaces and sectors; proactively respond to novel forms of security infringements and crisis situations

Prioritize investments in security infrastructure and national cybersecurity system robust enough to defend critical technical and information infrastructures, safeguarding digital sovereignty, data sovereignty, and cross-border data flows. Develop proactive cyber-attack and defense capabilities; construct an internal Internet network protected by quantum-resistant cryptography, establishing a sovereign national network. Promulgate regulations on security in artificial intelligence (AI) research, development, and application, ensuring lifecycle AI governance with security integrated by design. Construct a national early warning system for online fraud and an anti-fraud operations center; establish emergency asset freezing and investigation mechanisms upon detecting suspicious fraudulent acts to mitigate damage.

Formulate resource mobilization mechanisms and effective coordination models among security, military, and civilian forces to tackle cyber threats. Maximize the role of the National Cybersecurity Steering Committee and specialized coordination bodies to maintain constant readiness against cyber warfare; specialized cybersecurity bodies shall be responsible for securing critical digital infrastructure as prescribed by law.

Build and fortify data security assurance capabilities. Criteria for data domains shall be established to protect national interests and security. Invest in quantum-resistant cryptography and mandate its application across e-Government systems, finance, banking, and critical infrastructures. Build quantum-resistant cybersecurity capabilities to protect digital sovereignty and infrastructures. Modernize cipher operations to fulfill cybersecurity and data security demands amid national digital transformation.

Formulate a Strategy for Security Protection in Emerging Spaces (outer space, low-altitude space, subterranean, maritime, and oceanic domains). Review and classify critical infrastructure within each space. Incorporate security protection in emerging spaces into national programs, strategies, and master plans. Research the establishment of a national inter-agency coordination mechanism for emerging spaces, clearly delineating roles among ministries, local authorities, and enterprises.

Strengthen cultural-ideological security; proactively counter and push back cognitive and information warfare. Enhance education on patriotism, socialism, and revolutionary ideals as core components of national defense, security, and civic education across all academic levels. Focus on educating and equipping society with evidence-based self-defense and critical thinking skills against toxic and false information. Ensure official media consistency and guarantee public access to accurate, reliable information. Build a National Digital Media Strategy.

Proactively manage crisis situations. Establish a Crisis Coordination Center model; design swift crisis response procedures, including Emergency Response Forces and civilian-security-military cooperation mechanisms; guarantee secure, seamless communications for leadership and key confidential organs; Implement post-crisis domestic recovery solutions and enhance overall societal resilience against hybrid, non-traditional threats. Build a flexible, responsive national security governance mechanism capable of optimizing and adapting to emerging crisis situations and security trends.

6. Safeguard economic, energy, and water security; create breakthroughs in environmental security; proactively prevent economic crises and respond to trade wars

Focus on consolidating core national security elements within economic sectors, laying the groundwork to boost strategic autonomy, preserve macroeconomic stability, and avert economic crises. Enhance financial-monetary security; resolve backlogged projects thoroughly. Build a National Reserve Strategy for crisis response, drawing participation from state and private enterprises, combining physical reserves, emergency procurement capabilities, and coordination mechanisms.

Innovate the national development model and enhance economic resilience; develop the state economy as an anchor for security and economic sovereignty, the private economy as the primary driver, and science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation as key momentum drivers. Issue policies promoting added value and consumption of domestic goods; diversify supply sources proactively and selectively; strengthen security over technology and data within strategic sectors.

Shift energy security mindsets and measures from "sufficient supply" to "safe, stable, autonomous, and sustainable". Enhance energy system flexibility and resilience, reducing dependence on imported fuels; bolster protection for energy infrastructure, storage, logistics, and operational platforms; strictly control technology dependence within energy supply chains. Prioritize research and development of advanced nuclear technology and multi-purpose Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).

Establish management and response mechanisms for resource depletion; optimize land usage for national development while preserving land for agriculture and the environment; protect water and food security; strictly manage the extraction and export of rare earths; research new material technologies to reduce reliance on natural building resources. Sustainable and effective exploitation of marine and island resources shall be aligned with national defense, security, and sovereignty protection; enact superior mechanisms and legal frameworks to foster space and low-altitude economies, as well as the aerospace industry. Establish a national database on mineral resources and strategic mineral reserves for efficient management, protection, and utilization.

Improve the enforcement efficiency of signed trade agreements. Continually expand and create intertwined economic interests, fostering cooperation with partners based on international law and mutual benefit. Build a worker security posture, mobilizing the political system to care for the working class and raise their living standards.

7. Elevate human security efficacy; transform the power of public consensus into the pillar of the National Security Strategy

Formulate and refine a national strategic framework on human security as a baseline to coordinate related policies. Clearly identify priority areas and development strategies requiring the institutionalization of human security, leverage science and technology, and achieve breakthroughs in building a culture of legal compliance and social order.

Strengthen human security protection against non-traditional and cyber challenges. Prioritize investments in adaptive infrastructure and flexible social protection mechanisms. Sustainably reduce crime; minimize traffic, fire, and explosion accidents; strictly control food and pharmaceutical safety, occupational safety, and environmental pollution; develop national social media platforms; strictly penalize acts violating human security and cultural security in cyberspace.

Perfect the social security system toward substantive efficacy, expanding coverage to ensure all citizens access basic social services and support, prioritizing vulnerable groups. Increase budget allocations for social welfare, pensions, and human investment policies.

8. Conduct security diplomacy and international integration at a new height, contributing to national construction and development

Expand balanced and flexible security cooperation; foster substantive collaboration with key partners. Maintain regular, effective security dialogue channels; actively participate in regional and international security mechanisms and forums, prioritizing non-traditional security cooperation.

Leverage defense, security, intelligence, and police cooperation mechanisms to establish a leading and coordinating role in conflict prevention dialogues, regional crisis control. Study and propose measures to bolster ASEAN's response capacity to regional security challenges.

Proactively consult and coordinate with ASEAN member states to propose joint initiatives establishing regional security mechanisms for emerging security issues. Promote ASEAN codes, standards, and norms regarding AI governance, cyberspace, digital transformation, and cross-border data sharing, alongside human-centric standards for scientific and technological development.

Step up the deployment of military, public security, and civilian personnel to international peacekeeping missions and multilateral cooperation mechanisms. Expand international cooperation in combating crime, particularly transnational organized crime and cybercrime. Perfect the international legal framework to protect the interests, security, and safety of the overseas Vietnamese community. Maximize external resources and partner support to bolster national security capabilities and develop the security industry./.