Building a regular Vietnamese UN peacekeeping force

Representatives of leaders of agencies and units under the Ministry of National Defense saw the delegation off. (Photo: Trong Duc/VNA)

On the morning of August 25, the Ministry of National Defense held an online conference to review experiences from participating in United Nations peacekeeping operations and announced the Decision to establish Level 2 Field Hospital No. 5.

Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, member of the Party Central Committee, member of the Central Military Commission, Deputy Minister of National Defense, Head of the Inter-sectoral Working Group, Head of the Ministry of National Defense's Steering Committee on participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations, chaired the conference.

Reporting on experience in participating in UN peacekeeping operations, Major General Hoang Kim Phung, Director of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department under the Ministry of National Defense, said that from June 2014 to August 2022, the Army sent 512 officers and professional soldiers to perform tasks at the South Sudan Mission, the Central African Republic, the Abyei region and the United Nations headquarters.

Vietnam's forces have been fulfilling their tasks well; have been recognized and supported by the Party, State and people; have been highly appreciated by the United Nations and the international community, and have actively contributed to Vietnam's success in becoming a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 term with a very high number of votes (192/193 votes in favor).

At the same time, the military forces participating in UN peacekeeping operations have demonstrated professionalism, discipline, international solidarity, and especially the ability to quickly adapt to harsh working environments at missions. Notably, in 2020, 4 officers of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department successfully passed the tests and were recruited by the United Nations.

Regarding individuals, from the first two Army officers to work as liaison officers at the South Sudan Mission in 2014, up to now, Vietnam has sent 76 officers to operate independently in the following positions: operations staff, training staff, equipment, intelligence analysis, military provisions, and military observer positions.

In terms of unit form, from October 2018 to now, Vietnam has deployed 4 Level 2 Field Hospitals to South Sudan. All hospitals have completed their tasks excellently, received high appreciation from the Mission commander, continued to affirm their professional capacity, high sense of responsibility, and are a reliable support for health care for United Nations staff in the area. Notably, in May 2022, Vietnam sent the first Engineering Team with 184 officers, professional soldiers and nearly 2,000 tons of equipment to the United Nations Interim Security Force Mission in Abyei (UNISFA).

Implementing the United Nations Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, over the past 8 years, Vietnam has sent a total of 74 female soldiers to participate in UN peacekeeping operations. In addition, since June 2018, the United Nations has recognized the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department as one of four International Training Centers in the region to conduct training under the Tripartite Partnership Program (Vietnam, the United Nations and Japan). From 2018 to 2020, Vietnam has organized 3 training courses for more than 100 international and domestic students on operating heavy engineering equipment.

According to Major General Hoang Kim Phung, the Ministry of National Defense has actively coordinated with the Ministry of Public Security to receive and train nearly 30 officers of the Ministry of Public Security in peacekeeping, helping to foster, train, and test dozens of officers before they go to overseas training and serve United Nations inspections. As a result, the Ministry of Public Security currently has 4 officers selected for deployment (1 officer at the United Nations Headquarters, 3 officers at the South Sudan Mission).

In order for Vietnam to continue to effectively participate in UN peacekeeping operations, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien emphasized that the work of advising the Party and State on directing, managing, commanding and operating forces at missions needs to be focused on, along with building and improving the capacity of the UN peacekeeping forces of the Army and Public Security to be increasingly disciplined, disciplined and highly professional.

The Ministry of National Defense will closely coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other ministries, departments and sectors to establish a National Coordination Center for participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations chaired by the Ministry of National Defense, thereby unifying the preparation work and improving the effectiveness of the deployment of forces participating in United Nations peacekeeping operations of the People's Army and the People's Public Security.

At the same time, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien suggested promoting, diversifying the content and improving the effectiveness of international cooperation on UN peacekeeping to attract external resources, especially from partners with many strengths in resources and training experience. Vietnam needs to proactively and actively participate in UN peacekeeping activities in regional and international multilateral mechanisms.

On this occasion, Major General Trinh Ngoc Giao, Deputy Director of the Military Department under the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, announced the decision of the Minister of National Defense on the establishment of Level 2 Field Hospital No. 5 under Military Hospital 175 to participate in United Nations peacekeeping operations.

According to VNA