General Phan Van Giang: In air defense, people clearly identify 'enemy' and 'us'

On the afternoon of October 30, the National Assembly discussed a number of contents with different opinions in the draft Law on People's Air Defense.

Delegate Nguyen Van Huy (Thai Binh) said that the draft law stipulates the organization of people's air defense forces in enterprises.

He said that this regulation is only suitable for factories, plants, businesses, and large national energy projects, because these are targets that could be attacked by the enemy in the early stages of the war.

For other businesses, the above regulation is not really suitable. Because, the company's personnel will have to perform both militia and air defense tasks. These tasks take up a certain amount of time, making it difficult for workers to focus on their professional tasks.

Delegate Nguyen Van Huy. Photo: National Assembly

Commenting on the wording, delegate Le Xuan Than (Khanh Hoa) said the draft law states: "Training for combat readiness, combat prevention, and resistance to enemy infiltration and air attacks."

Mr. Than said that the word "enemy" is the language of national defense and politics, the words "enemy - us" are too familiar, but when put into legal documents, the word "behavior" should be used - the act of attack, the act of violating national sovereignty, the act of violating airspace and the act of infiltrating positions that need protection.

According to the delegate of Khanh Hoa province, when using the word "behavior", it is clear with legislative language and everyone understands; if using the word "enemy", it must be explained what "enemy" is, although everyone understands that "enemy" is not "us".

Delegate Le Xuan Than. Photo: National Assembly

Explaining later, General Phan Van Giang, Minister of National Defense, said that there was no determination of military purposes for large or small businesses. For factories, enterprises, and workshops, if attacking them was of important significance, they would be attacked and destroyed, "not just because they were big, we would attack them."

Regarding the use of the word “enemy” or the word “behavior”, General Phan Van Giang emphasized that this is a relatively narrow specialized law and “we clearly analyze the enemy and ourselves”, while “behavior” is not clear; when there is an infringement, it is clearly an action, not a behavior.

“I really hope the delegates will share this with me. One is one, two is two,” said the Minister.

General Phan Van Giang, Minister of National Defense, explains. Photo: National Assembly

The draft law clearly states that the task of the people's air defense is to coordinate with the national air defense force and the army air defense force to be ready for combat, to fight, prevent and fight against enemy air attacks and to manage and protect the airspace at an altitude of less than 5,000m. Some delegates suggested that it is necessary to further regulate the management scope above 5,000m.

Explaining this issue, General Phan Van Giang stated that the current 5,000m altitude range has been equipped with 37mm cannons for the militia and self-defense forces, which have been used since the anti-American war. The double-barreled cannon can fire at a height of 5,000m from the position of the battlefield, with some battlefields being hundreds of meters higher.

The Minister of Defense said that there are many means of observation, the air defense and air force alone have dozens of types of radars and waves to determine height and distance and will detect immediately. The targets of the air defense positions must also be calculated to have the ability to attack, defend, hold and retreat.

Proposal to open training program on unmanned aerial vehicles

Delegate Le Quan (Director of Hanoi National University) said that in educational and training institutions, "unmanned devices" are an important research direction.

First-year students of Hanoi National University in Hoa Lac have begun practicing assembling, operating, and controlling equipment. Therefore, Mr. Quan believes that there should be a legal corridor related to research and training in this field.

The world has training majors and codes related to pilots – people who operate equipment. Mr. Quan sees training and development for licensing not only as short-term but also as a long-term training program.

He raised the question that currently, licensing is under the authority of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense, but should universities be allowed to open majors in training?

Defense Minister: Modern war equipment today may become obsolete tomorrow

General Phan Van Giang, Minister of National Defense, emphasized that “modern means of war today may be obsolete tomorrow.” Therefore, the draft Law on People’s Air Defense does not mention detailed concepts, because “the more detailed, the more lacking.”

General Nguyen Tan Cuong: Drones pose a potential threat to the National Defense Forces

The draft Law on People's Air Defense stipulates 4 cases in which competent authorities are allowed to temporarily detain, seize, and suppress unmanned aircraft and ultralight aircraft.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/dai-tuong-phan-van-giang-trong-phong-khong-nhan-dan-xac-dinh-ro-dich-va-ta-2337220.html