General Nguyen Tan Cuong - Member of the Party Central Committee, Member of the Central Military Commission, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, Deputy Minister of National Defense - emphasized that Vietnam implements the "4 no" defense policy, therefore not sending peacekeeping forces to participate in areas with armed conflicts.
According to General Nguyen Tan Cuong, from 2014 to present, Vietnam has sent a total of 1,083 officers and employees to join the United Nations peacekeeping force. Of which, the Ministry of National Defense has sent 1,067 soldiers.
The rate of Vietnamese female soldiers participating in this force is over 16%, much higher than the average of 6-7% of other countries. Although the United Nations does not make it mandatory, it always encourages countries to increase the participation of women.
"The people of the host country were very excited to see the Vietnamese peacekeeping team there, and sang songs about Vietnam, Uncle Ho... very emotionally" - the Deputy Minister of National Defense said and assessed that in addition to professional duties, Vietnamese officers and soldiers also actively participate in social activities, contributing to promoting the image of the country, culture and people of Vietnam.
General Nguyen Tan Cuong informed that, although initially did not have much experience, but from 2018 to the present, the Vietnam Peacekeeping Force has completed the assigned tasks. Deputy Secretary General and Military Advisor of the United Nations Secretary General had a letter of thanks to the Government of Vietnam to the 2nd Grade 2 Hospital.
Currently, 4 military officers and 2 Vietnamese police officers have been recruited to United Nations agencies and have been proposed to continue working after their terms. According to General Nguyen Tan Cuong, these positions must compete according to United Nations standards.
The leaders of the Ministry of National Defense assessed that although the number of participants was not large, the Vietnamese peacekeeping force contributed to enhancing the country's international position and prestige; making a great contribution to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland.
Vietnam has now mastered the training of officers participating in peacekeeping forces. During this process, Vietnam received support from many countries such as China, the UK, France, the US, Australia, etc.
Regarding policies, the General said that the salaries of officers and soldiers are paid directly by the United Nations into personal accounts. The United Nations also sent forces to periodically inspect and confirm the means and labor involved to calculate depreciation and payment to Vietnam.
However, according to the Deputy Minister of National Defense, the implementation of the task also faces many challenges such as complicated security situations with armed conflicts, ethnic groups, and religions; harsh weather conditions; complicated epidemics; people's lives in difficult areas, leading to many social evils...
A multicultural and multi-ethnic working environment also requires high professionalism, independent working ability and good foreign language proficiency. The commander must be decisive.
Therefore, General Nguyen Tan Cuong affirmed that it is necessary to promulgate the Law on Participating in United Nations peacekeeping forces. The draft law also proposes to add civil forces to diversify the participation.
"The draft law clearly stipulates which areas we participate in, the principles of participation... We implement the "4 no" national defense policy, so we do not send peacekeeping forces to participate in combat areas..." - General Nguyen Tan Cuong emphasized.
The General also noted that the contents that are not covered by national secrets or military secrets can be made public and widely communicated.
