At the top of the wave

For generations, the homeland's sea and islands have been an inseparable part of the hearts of millions of Vietnamese people. The S-shaped land has a coastline of 3,260 km stretching from North to South along the East - Southeast and Southwest coasts. Vietnam's sea area has more than 3,000 large and small islands and two offshore archipelagos, Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, hold important geostrategic positions. During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh advised: "In the past, we only had night and forest, today we have day, sky and sea. Our coastline is long and beautiful, we must know how to preserve it". Following his teachings, generations of Vietnamese people have continued to build, preserve and firmly protect every inch of land, sky, sea and sacred islands of the Fatherland.

At those places at the top of the waves, there are soldiers who stick to the sea day and night, protecting the country's sovereignty. Vietnam.vn would like to send you the photo collection "At the top of the waves" by author Nguyen Thi Hang taken in the sea of Ba Ria - Vung Tau. The photo collection was submitted by the author to the Photo and Video Contest "Happy Vietnam", organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Only when setting foot on each island of the Fatherland, each person partly knows the difficulties and hardships of the island soldiers, then can understand more the hardships, difficulties, sacrifices and dedication of the officers and soldiers who are day and night sticking to the islands, guarding the sovereignty here. Thereby, the sacred values of sovereignty; the sea and islands are an inseparable sacred flesh and blood of Vietnam, of the Fatherland, more than ever, seeping into the blood of each citizen. Therefore, we feel more precious, respectful and grateful for the previous generations of fathers and brothers who had to shed so much blood and bones for the sovereignty of the sea and islands, the homeland. Besides, we admire the solidarity, joint efforts to overcome difficulties, determination to build and protect the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the army and people on the islands.

On remote islands, in the middle of the vast ocean, the task of guarding the sovereignty of the sea and islands is a great honor, pride and responsibility that the Party, State and People have entrusted to the soldiers of the Vietnam People's Army. They are not discouraged or wavering in the face of difficulties and hardships, always upholding their steadfast, resilient and indomitable will in the cause of protecting the sea and islands of the Fatherland. Moreover, they see this as an opportunity for the youth to "Forge their will" on remote islands. These are the words shared by officers and soldiers who are performing their duties on each island point in Vietnam.