Quân đội thực hiện nhiệm vụ kinh tế gắn với quốc phòng an ninh ở tây nguyên (1985 2013) tt tiếng anh

HUE UNIVERSITY HUE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION NGUYEN THUY TRANG THE ARMY’S ECONOMIC IMPLEMENTATION IN ASSOCIATION WITH NATIONAL DEFENSE AND SECURITY IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS (1985 - 2013) Major: Vietnamese History Code: 22 90 13 ABSTRACT OF DOCTORAL THESIS IN HISTORY HUE, 2020 The work was completed in: Department of History, Hue University of Education, Hue University Instructors: Assoc Prof - PhD Tran Ngoc Long PhD Nguyen Van Hoa Reviewer 1: Assoc Prof - PhD Dinh Quang Hai Reviewer 2: Assoc Prof - PhD Nguyen Van Thuong Reviewer 3: Assoc Prof - PhD Nguyen Van Dang The thesis will be defended at the grassroot thesis judging council at ……………………………………………… At hour date month year The dissertation can be found at Library of Hue University of Education - Hue University INTRODUCTION The reason for choosing topic The Vietnamese for People's Army right from its inception has been identified by the Party and Leader Ho Chi Minh as "Army for fighting, Army for working, Army for production" - these three mainly basic functions have still remained valid so far In particular, the army’s particiaption in production and economic construction is the succession and development of the policy of "building the country along with defending the country" and "the economy combining with national defense", which was formed early and existed throughout the history of the nation of Vietnam The reality has shown that, regardless of the circumstances, along with doing well the task of protecting the revolutionary achievements, the army is always proactive and actively participate in working and production, economic construction in many appropriate forms and measures, thereby, making an important contribution to the cause of national liberation, national construction and defense In the two resistance wars against French colonialism and American imperialism, the Army, besides the task of fighting for defending the Fatherland, always highlighted the sense of self-reliance for selfimprovement and actively increased production to improve life; participated in building a large northern rear, on-site logistics base in strategic regions, contributing to the successful implementation of two revolutionary strategies: the Socialist Revolution in the North, the people’s Democratic National Revolution in the South After the reunification of the country, the Army was a storm-troop, participated in restoring and healing the wounds of the war, and at the same time implemented economic construction programs and projects in combination with national defense nationwide, mainly in difficult areas, mountainous areas, border areas and islands Entering the period of implementing the renovation process, promoting the cause of industrialization - modernization, along with the task of training and preparing willing to combat, the Army was also trusted by Party and the State and assigned the task of participating in economic development associated with strengthening national defense and security in strategic areas The Central Highlands with its natural position, locating at the Indochinese junction, is always an extremely important strategic location of the country This land has many potentials and strengths for economic development, and there are many ethnic minorities This was once a strong base of the national liberation revolution, as well as a place for refuge and operation of many reactionary organizations Appreciating the importance of the Central Highlands, the Party, the State and the Army have made many strategic plans to turn the Central Highlands into a key, firm economic region in terms of national defense and security However, the current socio-economic situation in the Central Highlands still faces many difficulties compared to other areas and regions of the country This is also a politically sensitive area, where hostile forces often take advantage of poverty, ethnicity and religion to misrepresent the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies, and disunite great national unity, incite demonstrations, riots, demand for secession to establish the so-called " Montagnard Dega Association" Illegal religious activities and free migration in the area have been complicated In that context, the implementation of the socio-economic development strategy associated with the consolidation of national defense and security in the Central Highlands region has always been urgently set As early as 1973, after the Paris Agreement was signed, the liberation zone formed in the North Central Highlands, a number of military units locating in this area were ordered to hold on to their positions for doing task of economic development, building the on-site rear and assisting the key force in the southern liberation Since then, experiencing more than half a century of working and production, the military units that carried out economic development associated with national defense consolidation in the Central Highlands have been bringing prosperous life to thousands of ethnic households and people from all regions who came here to get set up, forming a strong economic-defense zone system along the boundery belt bordering Laos and Cambodia The presence of military forces undertaking the task of combining economy with national defense is of great significance to the development of all aspects of the Central Highlands The military’s process of participation in socio-economic development associated with the consolidation of national defense and security in the Central Highlands has provided valuable experiences and also raised many issues to be solved, from the awareness to the process of implementing the tasks Because of this meaning, I decided to select the matter of "The Army’s economic implementation in association with national defense and security in the Central Highlands (1985-2013)" as the topic of my doctoral thesis The topic has both scientific value and practical significance In terms of scientific significance, finding out this matter clarifies activities as well as achievements and limitations in the process that the army performs the task of economic development associated with national defense and security in the Central Highlands; affirming that the objective of the Army's participation in economic construction is not merely to business but to solidify the national defense-security position in strategic areas In terms of practical significance, through studying the process of army’s implementation of socio-economic development associated with national defense and security in the Central Highlands, some typical models and lessons learned will be drawn for serving the cause of economic construction and consolidation of the national defense security position in the Central Highlands and other key and strategic areas nationwide today in general Object and scope of the study 2.1 Object of the study Military units perform the task of economy construction combined with national defense and security in the Central Highlands region 2.2 Scope of the study - Regarding spacial aspect: The Central Highlands region, including Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Lam Dong provinces - Regarding temporal aspect: From 1985 (when the 15th Army Corps was officially established) until 2013 (when the model that military performed economic development in combination with national defense in the Central Highlands was initially completed) However, in order to ensure the logics of the matter, the thesis can mention the activities of some military units specializing in economic construction in the Central Highlands since 1973 - Regarding the content: The Army’s participation in production and economic construction has many types, however, the scope of the content of the thesis focuses on studying military units in charge of socio-economic development associated with national defense and security in the Central Highlands region, such as the 15th Army Corps, 16th Army Corps and a number of units under the management of the military zone and province unit 3.Objectives and tasks of the study 3.1 Objectives of the study To clarify the process of the Army implementing economic development associated with the consolidation of national defense and security in the Central Highlands (1985 - 2013), thereby contributing to confirming the soundness of the model To provide scientific arguments to contribute to making the policy of economic development associated with national defense and security in the Central Highlands and in border areas, islands, remote and disadvantaged areas throughout the country in general 3.2 Tasks of the study To achieve these objectives, the task of the thesis is defined: - To evaluate overview of research situation related to the topic - To clarify factors affecting the process of the Army's implementation of economic tasks associated with national defense and security in the Central Highlands To generalize the guidelines of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the State's policies on the army’s participation in economic development combined with the consolidation of national defense - To reproduce the process of the army implementing socio-economic development associated with the consolidation of national defense and security in the Central Highlands region through the stages of development from 1985 to 2013 - To identify typical models of economic development associated with national defense and security in the area - To provide comments, evaluate the achieved results and draw up a number of lessons learned about the military's implementation of socio-economic development associated with the consolidation of national defense and security in the Central Highlands region (1985 - 2013) Source of materials and methodology 4.1 Source of materials - Documents of the the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, directives of the Ministry of Defense, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Communist Party of 5th Military Region - Works, speeches and writings of the leaders of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the State and the Army - Documents archived at National Archives Center III, Archives of Ministry of Defense, Department of Economic Affairs - Ministry of Defense, 5th Military Region, Political Bureau of 7th Military Region, 15th Army Corps, 16th Army Corps… - The traditional history books of the units and localities - The dissertations and theses related to the topic - Recollections of historical witnesses - Results of Field research 4.2 Methodology To implement the thesis, doctoral applicant mainly used a combination of historical and logical methods In addition, in the research process, a number of other methods were applied such as: statistics, synthesis, generalization, comparison, analysis on the basis of studying textual materials, field surveys and contacts with historical witnesses to select and exploit reliable information 5 Contribution of the thesis The thesis is the first work to systematically and comprehensively study the process of the army’s participation in economic development associated with national defense and security in the Central Highlands (1985 - 2013) Thereby, it contributes to asserting the soundness, creativity and effectiveness of this model in the strategic areas of the Central Highlands The findings of the thesis contribute to supplementing and providing more profound awareness on the tradition of "the Army for Production" of the Vietnamese for People's Army; It is also a reference for those who are interested in learning about the army’sparticipation in production and economic construction in peacetime The thesis summarizes a number of valuable and practical lessons learnt, providing data that can be referenced in the process of making policy of economic development associated with national defense and security in the Central Highlands at present Layout of the thesis In addition to the introduction, conclusion, references and annexes, the thesis consists of chapters: Chapter Overview of research situation Chapter The army implements economic development in combination with consolidation of national defense and security in the Central Highlands (1985 - 1998) Chapter The army accelerates economic development associated with national defense and security in the Central Highlands (1998 - 2013) Chapter Comments and some lessons learned Chapter OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH SITUATION 1.1 RESEARCH SITUATION RELATED TO THE TOPIC 1.1.1 Group of researches on the Army’s participation in economic construction in general Setting the foundation for the study of the combination of economics with national defense as well as the role of the army in participating in economic construction, is the Marxist - Leninist theory of war and the military (People's Army Publishing Hous, 1975) In many neighboring countries, where have conditions and characteristics of the people's war similar to Vietnam, the Army’s participation in economic construction and consolidation of national defense in peacetime is also paid attention to, researched, shown in the works: The role of the People's Liberation Army in China's economy and foreign affairs by Bondan O.Szuprowicz (People's Army Publishing House, 1977); Economic activities of the People's Liberation Army of China by A.Abadop (People's Army Publishing House, 1998); Developing Lao People's Army enterprises in the process of building market economy and international economic integration by Vongack Phanthavong (National Economics University, 2010)… Many researches on the combination of economic affairs and national defense mentioned the role of the Vietnamese for People's Army in perfomring this strategic task, including: The combination of economy with national defense in Vietnam (People's Army Publishing House, 1980) by Tran Xuan Truong and Nguyen Anh Bac; Issues of economic guarantee for national defense in our country at present (People's Army Publishing House, 1986) by Nguyen Duong and Nguyen Anh Bac; Combination of economy and national defense in our country at present (People's Army Publishing House, 2008) by Tran Trung Tin In addition, there are quite a lot of articles published in specialized magazines mentioning the Army’s participation in production and economic construction in Vietnam, typically: “Combination of economy with national defense for the country construction and defence in a new situation” in Communist Magazine, Vol 12 - 1992; "Production and construction of the military economy are inseparable from the revolution line of people's war of the Communist Party" by Dong Si Nguyen in National Economics magazine, Vol - 2012… The above mentioned works and articles have solved many theoretical issues about the army’s participation in production and economic construction in Vietnam However, the researches did not mention much about activities of the Army participating in socio-economic development, strengthening national defense and security in strategic areas and borders 1.1.2 Group of research works on economic - defense units of the Army Economic - Defense enterprises have been clarified by a number of works, such as: Vu Thanh Che with thesis of the Vietnamese for People's Army on the cause of building the national economy in the current situation (Political Academy, 1998); thesis of State Management for Economic - Defense Enterprises by Nguyen Xuan Phuc (National Economics University, 2012) The Economic - Defense Zone has become a topic taken into consideration with the following works: The Army’s participation in building socio-political bases in the Economic - National Defense Areas (Military Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences - Ministry of Defense, 2007); Development and investment in current economic-defense zones in Vietnam by Tran Manh Hung (National Economics University, 2008); National Defense Economic Delegation implements the current Party and State's national policies by Nguyen Xuan Dai (Political Academy, 2017)… There are many articles in specialized magazines providing more information on the construction of Economic - Defense zones such as: Ho Si Hau (2004), "Economic – National Defense Area, an internal source of the country, a core force to solve difficult socio-economic problems in strategic areas”, Journal of Military History, Vol 12; Do Manh Hung and Ta Minh Tuan (2011), "Discussion on the particulars of the EconomicNational Defense Area", Journal of National Defense Economics, Vol 2; Pham Toan Thang (2010), "Exchange on the model of combination of military enterprises with the Economic - Defense delegation" in the Journal of National Defense Economics, Vol 3… combined with national defense in the Central Highlands (1973 1985) 2.1.4.1 Takeover of the liberation area for both producing and fighting After the liberation army took control of the North Central Highlands, Corps 773 was established to produce logistics and to protect strategic areas Corps 773 took over, stabilized the area, for both producing and fighting against forces that undermined revolutionary achivements 2.1.4.2 Initial construction of economy combined with strengthening, maintaining national defense - security Military forces in the Central Highlands during this period formed the organizational foundation for the birth of the 15th Army Corps, and at the same time, created a number of favorable conditions affecting the implementation of the task of economic development associated with strengthening the national defense of military units locating in the North Central Highlands in the next period 2.2 THE 15TH ARMY CORPS WAS BORN, A BREAKTHROUGH IN ECONOMIC CONSTRUCTION COMBINED WITH NATIONAL DEFENSE AND SECURITY (1985 - 1998) 2.2.1 The establishment of the 15th Army Corps On February 20, 1985, the Central Highlands Economic Construction Troop was established with name of the 15th Army Corps This was the first unit in charge of combining the economy with the national defense at the level of troops since the country's reunification 2.2.3 Overcoming difficulties and stabilizing organizational structure, quickly going into production in combination with strengthening national defense and securit It can be seen that, with constant effort, the 15th Army Corps has awakened a border area with great potential for development These achievements stem from the innovation in the awareness of the th 15 Army Corps on the performance of the task of economic construction in combination with the consolidation of national defense - of the army: taking the business efficiency improvement to directly impact the planning and population-social development activities, thereby forming 14 a popular battle, preserving national defense and security in strategic areas The birth of the 16th Army Corps, the second main Economic - Defense unit in the Central Highlands region, is not simply an increase in the force and production capacity of the army, but is important to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty for the local people, improve the capacity to defend and build a national defense position in the sensitive border areas of the South Central Highlands From here, the Economic - Defense zones were formed, the army’s economic construction activities combined with national defense in the Central Highlands and the whole country generally entered a new stage of development 15 Chapter THE ARMY ACCELERATES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATED WITH NATIONAL DEFENSE AND SECURITY IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS (1998 - 2013) 3.1 ECONOMIC - DEFENSE UNITS HAVE DEVELOPED AND EXPANDED THEIR AREAS FOR PERFORMANCE OF THEIR TASKS (1998 - 2005) 3.1.1 Economic - Defense zones were formed Units entered the stage of accelerating the development of economicdefense zones with the top goal of helping people eliminate hunger and alleviate poverty, solving issues of population, ethnicity and religion in political hotspots, strengthening national defense at the border between Laos and Cambodia 3.1.2 Units strengthen economic development and stabilize localities in economic-defense zones This is a period of stepping up the implementation of agricultural settlement, hunger eradication and poverty alleviation, raising the living of laborers, companies and regiments, focusing on developing household economy as a prop for people to establish their businesses combined with the right propaganda activities, so the areas of the management units are stable, the political enlightenment awareness of workers and ethnic minorities is increasingly enhanced 3.2 ECONOMIC - DEFENSE UNITS IMPROVE THE PROPAGANDA, STABILIZE AND DEVELOP PRODUCTION (2005 - 2013) 3.2.1 Changes in the management and organization mechanism of military units combining economy with national defense in the Central Highlands Economic – National Defense units in the Central Highlands region have had some changes in management, business management model The system of Economic - Defense zones formed along the border from Kon Tum to Dak Nong and continues to be expanded, in order to solve socio-political 16 issues in the area and develop forces preserving security of the areas, continuing migration to settle in “white areas” inland to the border 3.2.2 Resolving obstacles for economic development, continuing to maintain national defense and security in the area In the period of 2005 - 2013, the Economic – National Defense units in the Central Highlands basically completed the organization and method of implementing the contents of the assigned tasks The stable economicdefense zone system in the Central Highlands is a factor that positively influences the socio-economic situation, political security of the locality in particular and the economic strategy combined with national defense throughout the country in general 3.3 SOME MODELS OF ORGANIZATION AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATED WITH NATIONAL DEFENSE AND SECURITY IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS 3.3.1 Model of the Troops - Corporation The operational organization of this model highlights the following: Regarding organizational structure, at the Troops level Corporation, the units built a unified apparatus in terms of military and production to undertake the tasks in parallel in the fields of economy and national defense Regarding production organization, the Economic - National Defense units in the Central Highlands region made concentrated production combined with household economic development Particularly, in the 15th Army Corps, a production model has been formed: Corporation - Company - Production team - Household This model creates a strong attachment between the collective economy and the household economy In terms of type, the units are both military enterprises and economic - defense troops From this model, the Economic – National Defense units in the Central Highlands are gradually changing their perceptions about the content of combining socio-economic development with the 17 consolidation of national defense and security in strategic areas and boundaries, islands and remote areas 3.3.2 Central Highlands Economic – National Defense Zone The common point of the Economic - Defense zones is economic development in remote areas, borders, island areas with rugged terrain, harsh climate, underdeveloped infrastructure, where is the main living area of ethnic minorities The areas of economic-defense zones are also strategic locations for national defense and politically sensitive The land used for construction of the Economic-National Defense Zone must be bare land, bare hills, and impoverished forests Economic - Defense zone was created in close attachment with the local people, including local people and migrants Economic - Defense zones in the whole country are invested and onwned by the Ministry of Defense, economic - defense units are military units directly stationed in the area assigned to be responsible for managing all aspects The model of Economic - Defense area in the Central Highlands has some differences compared to other places: Firstly, in the Central Highlands, there are Economic - Defense Zones built on a large scale Secondly, the units directly building the Economic - Defense zone in the Central Highlands are Economic - Defense enterprises Thirdly, the production methods in the Economic - Defense zones in the Central Highlands are quite diverse and flexible towards the overall efficiency Economic-national defense zone is a form newly appearing in the process of combining economic with national defense in our country, a typical model unique in the Vietnamese for People's Army 3.3.3 Model of "Attachment" 3.3.3.1 “Attachment of the units and local government” The strategy of economic development combined with strengthening national defense in the Central Highlands requires many forces to 18 participate and coordinate, in which the army and the local government play a very important role The model of "attachment" together with other propaganda policies set by economic - defense units in the Central Highlands not only further strengthens the relationship with the local authorities, but also to maintain the achievements of working and production, construction of areas of the unit 3.3.3.2 “Attachment of production group and teams to hamlets, villages” Through this model, besides helping each other to produce together, work together, mobilize ethnic minorities to receive contracts from the Economic - Defense units, production teams and mass organizations contributed to eliminating the situation of "no party, no union" in the hamlets and villages, building a solid political base of the Economic National Defense units in the area; helping the government apparatus from commune to hamlet and village step by step be strengthened, advanced in operations, the executing method has been renewed, more flexible, timely captured and solved all problems of the local people 3.3.3.3 “Attachment of households” Thus, stemming from the aspirations, the direct needs of households living in the same residential areas, the "household attachment " model has become a form of "good propaganda" leanrt and conducted by many units This activity has brought about practical effects in all aspects of politics - society, economy and security – national defense 19 Chapter COMMENTS AND SOME LESSONS LEARNED 4.1 COMMENTS 4.1.1 Achievement Firstly, the production activities of the Economic - Defense units have been increasingly effective, meeting the task of economic development associated with the consolidation of national defense in strategic areas Secondly, the units have planned and relocated the points and residential clusters in combination with building a relatively synchronous infrastructure system, well serving the essential needs of the local people in the border areas, creating new rural faces on remote areas and revolutionary base areas Thirdly, through production activities, propaganda, the units have improved all aspects of the material and spiritual life of ethnic minorities on the border belt Fourthly, through propaganda, the Economic - Defense units have become a bridge linking the Party and the local people in remote areas, strengthening the confidence of the local people in the Party's lines and policies, creating position of national defense and security on the border route 20 Fifthly, the maintenance of Economic - Defense units in the Central Highlands has created a solid foundation for building, strengthening potentials, defense and security - border protection position Sixthly, economic and defense units in the Central Highlands have found many effective methods to perform their duties, contributing to affirming the soundness in terms of policy of the Party and the State when allowing the Army participate in production, economic construction 4.1.2 Limitations Firstly, some strategic areas have been strengthened in terms of security and national defense but still weak in economy, not yet promoting their potential strengths Secondly, the process of performing the tasks of Economy - National Defense in some units showed signs of hurrying and burning the stage Thirdly, the coordination with local authorities in many places is still unanimous, especially the issue of land allocation to deploy construction and expansion of Economic - Defense projects 4.2 SOME LESSONS LEARNT 4.2.1 Right awareness on the task of economic development associated with strengthening the national defense of the Vietnamese for People's Army in the new period On the basis of thoroughly grasping the Resolution of the Party Congress at all levels, the terms, the leaders and commanders at all levels are required the dynamism, creativity, dare to think, dare to and dare to take responsibility for building production plans and contracting policies that bring practical effects, not only to ensure the lives of workers but also create a spirit of excitement, enthusiasm in working and dedicating to the collective 4.2.2 Promotion of the synergy of mass organizations in the area to successfully implement the tasks assigned Along with maintaining stable production, the Economic - Defense units must regularly take care to ensure the improvement of life for cadres, soldiers and workers, and determine that "economic growth must be associated with improvement of living standards for workers” 21 4.2.3 Strengthening the propaganda, attachment with the Party committees, authorities and local people; promoting the role of village patriarchs in economic development associated with strengthening the political system in the area Public propaganda in economic – national defense zones in the Central Highlands has created an important basis to promote socio-economic development in the province, contributing to raising political awareness and strengthening the confidence of the local people; strengthening national unity and unity of the army and local people; proactively and effectively preventing conspiracy and the tactics of hostile forces, contributing to strengthening the national defense - security position in the area 4.2.4 Proactively and flexibly in production and business to improve the overall economic - political - cultural - social and national defense and security efficiency When evaluating the efficiency of the task performance of the 15th and 16th Army Corps, it is not really complete and objective to only considering the economic efficiency but putting in the overall concept of economy associated with national defense to see that production and business efficiency of the 15th and 16th Army Corps has greatly affected the strategic area of the Central Highlands Therefore, being constantly flexible and proactive in economic development to improve the efficiency of combination of politics, society, security and national defense is a practical lesson in current situation for the performance of tasks of economic development associated with national defense and security 22 CONSCLUSION The impoverished but potential-rich Central Highlands is a particularly important strategic area in the cause of national construction and defense Recognizing that, in the process of leading the renovation process, the Vietnamese Communist Party and the State had paid much attention to turning the Central Highlands into a bright spot for implementing the strategy of combining economy with defense of the whole country Since the Anti-American Resistance War for National Salvation has not ended, the the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Ministry of Defense have established and maintained a standing army force in the Central Highlands region for both production and fighting, building rear in place to prepare for the completion of the South liberation when opportunities arise It was this force that was the basis and premise for the establishment of later Economic - Defense units Military forces specializing in production and economic construction have accompanied the local people in place in efforts to overcome the 23 consequences of war after the liberation day, forming new economic zones and promoting the potential strength of the Central Highlands for the cause of the country development In 1985, in response to practical demands, the Central Highlands Economic Construction Army Corps (15th Army Corps) was established, with the task of developing economy associated with national defense in the Central Highlands region The birth of the 15th Army Corps has put the development process of military forces specializing in economic construction into a new page Along with the process of rearranging and reorganizing military units engaged in economic production throughout the country, many units with different scales and times such as the 16th Army Corps, the Economic - Defense units at levels of Military zones and provinces were successively established in the Central Highlands These units, together with the 15th Army Corps, have developed economic-defense zones, of which economic-defense zones have production tasks associated with enterprises Receiving the attention and direction of the Party, the State, the Ministry of Defense, the facilitation of local authorities at all levels, with the efforts to overcome difficulties of soldiers, laborers, the Economy - National Defense units had successfully fulfilled the socio-economic development tasks associated with the consolidation of national defense and security in the Central Highlands, contributing to the realization of the Party's guidelines and policies and the policies of the State and Army for local people of all ethnic groups in the Central Highlands The presence of Military - Economic units nearly a third of the last century has contributed to changing the eco-socio appreance and maintaining national defense and security in strategic areas of the Central Highlands Promoting the leading role of state-owned enterprises, the Economic – National Defense units have created the initial basis for land, accommodation and employment for workers and local people Since then, services are provided and workers, especially ethnic minorities are iguided on the spot to receive contracted land for planting trees and developing 24 household economy The operating area of the Economic-National Defense units has attracted thousands of workers from many rural areas of the country, contributing to the implementation of the labor adjustment program, population distribution for construction of new economic area With these achievements, the Economic - Defense units have contributed to a fundamental change in the economic structure in the Central Highlands, especially has changed the production habit of the local people in the communes in remote areas, helping local people for settlement and attachment and getting rich by rubber and coffee trees The process that the army performs the task of economic development associated with the consolidation of national defense in the Central Highlands has established many economic and defense zones in which the people have fully met the essential needs of material and spiritual life; contributing to building a new countryside in mountainous and border areas It is noteworthy that despite of building a civilized and progressive life, the featured cultural traits characterized ethnic identities in the Central Highlands continue to be preserved and promoted Moreover, in the course of task performance, economic – national defense units have created a great change in people's awareness in the area, reinforcing local people's confidence in the leadership of Party, State The position of national defense and people's security has been firmly established in the strategic areas of the Central Highlands Here, it is the local people, not everyone else, who has become a solid force of protection for the fruits of production and the "pstable life" of their collective, families and individuals Along with the implementation of the socio-economic development strategy, ensuring national defense and security in the Central Highlands of the Party and the State, the presence of Economic - Defense units in this land has contributed to failure to conspire of reactionary forces that uses the strategy of "Peace evolution" to cause instability, to oppose the regime, firmly defend the territorial integrity of the Vietnamese Fatherland, enhance National defense capacity on border areas The process of Army’s participation in economic development associated with national defense in the Central Highlands has summarized 25 a number of experiences, contributing to embellishing the tradition of the Vietnamese for People's Army - an army of combat, work and production and image "Soldiers of Uncle Ho" in peacetime That process also provides the necessary data, contributing to the implementation of the strategy of combining economy with national defense in strategic areas throughout the country in general and the Central Highlands in particular The Economic - Defense model of the 15th Army Corps, 16th Army Corps and other units in the Central Highlands has been replicated in many strategic areas of the country With the results achieved from the awareness of the soundness of economy and defense, the Economic - Defense units of the military have created a foundation of material facilities, population, armed forces, ensuring stable socio-economic strategies and relatively firm security-defense consolidation in the locality, contributing to bringing this potential-rich Central Highlands region the stable and sustainable development of It is the achievement of a whole process of step by step building and developing of each cadre, soldier, employee, worker at the Economic - Defense units in the Central Highlands On the other hand, the Economic - Defense units in the Central Highlands have also created many models of flexible and diversified task performance Thereby, the internal strength of the army is promoted, taking full advantage of the potentials of natural conditions, population and society in the area for participation in economic development associated with strengthening national defense in the strategic area of Central Highlands From the process of implementing the task of economic development associated with the consolidation of national defense and security in the Central Highlands as well as the results gained, it’s shown that the experience in organizing production and business, in population - society development, public propaganda, the construction of the locality, the proper awareness on the concept of economy associated with the national defense has been applied creatively in accordance with the characteristics and situation of the locality in each historical period This has great significance not only for the Economic - National Defense units but also is valuable 26 lessons for the Party, the State and the military to orient the economic development associated with the national defense in key and strategic areas nation-wide effectively, contributing to firmly consolidating the defense security position, promoting the cause of building a richer and wealthier country The process of the Army implementing economic development in combination with national defense and security in the Central Highlands has affirmed the soundness of the policy on the army’s participation in production and economic construction in association with national defense and security of the Party in the new revolution period The model of combining economy with national defense that military units implemented in the Central Highlands has met the practical requirements of the task of building and defending the country in the new situation, contributing to criticizing the incorrect, superficial perceptions which suppose that the army does business ineffectively, the army should not business, the army doing the economy reduces fighting power and combat readiness ; at the same time, it contributed to the failure of reactionary forces to non-politicize the Vietnamese for People's Army Participation in production, economic construction is a political task, a function of the traditional nature of the Vietnamese for People's Army, and an important military front for improving the skill and spirit, discipline and strength, contributing to the national construction and defense Properly taking full use of the strengths of military discipline, promoting a positive role in working and production, the Economic - Defense units of the army have come to remote and border areas, where only the "Uncle Ho's Soldier" can come and become a key force for socio-economic construction and development, hunger eradication and poverty reduction, facilitating thousands of households to settle down for long term, to build and consolidate the economic-defense zones, forming a special strategic arrangement along the border from the North to the South 27 LIST OF PUBLISHED WORKS RELATED TO THE THESIS Nguyen Thuy Trang (2015), "From the policy of " sending soldiers in agriculture - sending troops in agriculture" to the strategy of "combining economy with national defense", Journal of Military History, Vol 12 (182) Nguyen Thuy Trang (2018), Economic-Defense Zones in the Central Highlands, school-level science topic, Hue University of Education Nguyen Thuy Trang (2019), "Model of Economic - Defense zone in the Central Highlands", Journal of Hue University of Science, Vol 127, No 6A ... 1980) by Tran Xuan Truong and Nguyen Anh Bac; Issues of economic guarantee for national defense in our country at present (People's Army Publishing House, 1986) by Nguyen Duong and Nguyen Anh Bac;... workers and ethnic minorities is increasingly enhanced 3.2 ECONOMIC - DEFENSE UNITS IMPROVE THE PROPAGANDA, STABILIZE AND DEVELOP PRODUCTION (2005 - 2013) 3.2.1 Changes in the management and organization... place for refuge and operation of many reactionary organizations Appreciating the importance of the Central Highlands, the Party, the State and the Army have made many strategic plans to turn the