Major General Tran Duc Thuan: Modern defense must start with digital power

The draft Document of the 14th Congress expands the thinking of protecting the Fatherland by adding “foreign affairs and international integration” to the group of key tasks; continue to emphasize building national defense, people’s security and a strong people’s heart posture; At the same time, shift to an approach that closely links national defense and security with socio-economic development, science and technology, environmental protection and digital transformation.

VnExpress interviewed Major General Tran Duc Thuan, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly’s National Defense, Security and Foreign Affairs Committee, about this content.

– Dear Major General, the draft Document of the 14th Congress adds many new requirements such as modern defense industry, technological autonomy or protecting sovereignty in cyberspace. In your opinion, what are the turning points?

– I think there are two things that really stand out. First of all, the “strategic autonomy” thinking this time is set at a higher level and is clearly demonstrated through orientations such as technological autonomy, developing dual-use defense and security industries or increasing localization of important systems. In the context of major country competition expanding to core technology, cyber security, artificial intelligence and even outer space, we can only ensure security if we proactively develop core capabilities, avoiding falling into a position of dependence.

The second point is the inclusion of the task of protecting national sovereignty in cyberspace in the draft document. This is a very important step in developing thinking. Cyberspace is now a truly sovereign space, standing next to the land, sea, sky and universe. Cyber ​​attacks, data interference or cognitive warfare will directly impact socio-political stability. The addition of this content is extremely necessary and consistent with the trend of non-traditional security as well as modern warfare.

– The national defense and security industry is identified as a pillar to ensure strategic autonomy. So which technology should Vietnam prioritize to create effective deterrence?

– With limited resources, we need to focus on 4 core competency groups. The first is modern missile and air defense and air force technology. This is the field that creates direct deterrence, especially sensor technology, target indication, and high-precision navigation.

Next is national cyber warfare and cyber defense capabilities. Attack and defense simulation systems, malware analysis technology, and critical digital infrastructure protection. At the same time, the Army and Police must also focus on mastering new material technology, UAVs, and self-propelled vehicles. Reconnaissance UAVs, armed UAVs, suicide UAVs, unmanned vehicles at sea. This is the trend of modern warfare, low cost but highly effective.

In addition, dual-use technologies such as microchips, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, positioning, and navigation must also be focused on synchronous deployment, not only serving national defense but also the economy, thereby forming a sustainable dual-use industrial ecosystem.

– The draft sets the goal of building a lean, compact and strong Army and Police force. In the context of multi-domain combat, in your opinion, what are the requirements for force arrangement criteria?

– During the past term, the Army and Police have well implemented the lean policy. But to meet the requirements of protecting the Fatherland in the new situation, further arrangements still need to be made. Lean must go hand in hand with automation and digitalization; Not only reducing quantity but focusing on improving quality and organizing more flexibly on the basis of big data and artificial intelligence. At the same time, specialized forces for multi-domain warfare need to be clearly formed, such as cyber warfare, electronic warfare, space warfare at a level appropriate to Vietnam’s conditions, and non-traditional defense forces in disaster, biological or environmental situations.

Another requirement is to adjust the organization towards dual-use so that technical, logistics or industrial units can serve both combat tasks and socio-economic development. And finally, improve the ability to coordinate troops on a digital platform, because in modern warfare, speed and accuracy are the decisive factors.

– The all-people national defense and people’s security posture is facing many non-traditional risks. In your opinion, how should the coordination mechanism between forces be adjusted to operate more effectively?

– In recent times, coordination has been generally effective, especially in storm and flood prevention, drought or network security. But to better meet new requirements, I think it is necessary to improve the legal framework on civil defense and non-traditional security, clearly defining roles and authorities in each type of situation such as extreme natural disasters, epidemics, cyber attacks or energy and food crises.

The state needs to have a policy to build a non-traditional security operations center connecting from central to local levels, integrating digital maps, population data, environmental resources and disaster warning systems to ensure quick and accurate response. Along with that is improving the capacity of people and businesses, because the all-people national defense posture is only strong when people have basic knowledge about cyber defense, natural disaster prevention, biosecurity, and businesses fulfill their responsibilities with supply chains and critical infrastructure.

– In the period 2026-2030, what should the National Defense – Security section of the document emphasize to be close to the new context, sir?

– The draft document mentioned is relatively comprehensive. However, in the context of the strong development of the 4.0 technology revolution, it is necessary to emphasize the task of protecting digital sovereignty and national data security. The more digitized, the greater the risk of cyber attacks, data leaks, and information manipulation, so this issue must be considered a strategic national security issue.

In addition, as strategic competition between major countries becomes increasingly fierce, we need to continue our foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization and promote defense and security diplomacy in a balanced, reliable and substantive direction. Completing the regional defense and national civil defense models is also very important, especially when the two-level local government model is being implemented.

Each locality needs to have a specific defense plan, from coastal and border areas to large urban areas or key industrial zones. And of course, the role of science and technology must be given due importance, because it is impossible to build a modern defense without technologies such as artificial intelligence, aerospace, sensors, new materials or semiconductors.