Further research will be conducted to revise and supplement the draft law for better completion.

At the session, Senior General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Member of the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, and Deputy Minister of National Defense , explained and clarified some issues raised by members of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

General Nguyen Tan Cuong stated that the drafting committee will continue to study and revise the draft Law on the Management and Protection of National Defense Facilities and Military Zones to further improve it.

During the discussion, some members of the National Assembly Standing Committee expressed concern about the provisions in the draft law regarding the conversion of the purpose of use of national defense facilities and military zones.

After listening to comments from members of the National Assembly Standing Committee, Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong, on behalf of the Standing Committee of the Drafting Board - the Ministry of National Defense, expressed gratitude to the Government agencies, the National Assembly Committees, and the leaders of localities for their attention, support, and assistance in the drafting process of the Law on Management and Protection of National Defense Works and Military Zones; and stated that the drafting board will continue to study and make adjustments and additions to further improve the law.

Further clarifying the conversion of land use for national defense and military zones, Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong pointed out that there are currently obstacles arising in the implementation process.

"If the conversion of national defense land is normal, with a plan and no national defense facilities, then the decision is made by the local authorities, with the approval of the Ministry of National Defense. But if that land is not included in the plan or if there are national defense facilities on that land, then the decision is made by the Prime Minister," Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong said, pointing out the reality that there are national defense facilities and military zones that have not been handed over to local authorities for socio-economic development for many years, and in some cases, by the time the local authorities receive the facilities, they have already deteriorated and are no longer usable.

"This is a very difficult task because it involves public assets that need to be appraised, depreciated, and restructured for use... The initial draft presented two options, but the Government agreed to only present one option, which the Government has also submitted for convenience in the utilization process," said Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong.

Harmoniously combine the management and protection of national defense facilities and military zones with socio-economic development.

At the meeting, members of the National Assembly Standing Committee highly appreciated the National Assembly's Committee on National Defense and Security and the Ministry of National Defense for their meticulous preparation of the dossier and for seriously incorporating the opinions of National Assembly deputies.

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly also stated that this is a new law, an important political task for the entire Party, the entire people, the entire army, and the entire political system, not just a matter for the Ministry of National Defense alone.

According to Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh, because this is a new law, it needs to be thoroughly reviewed to effectively fulfill both tasks: managing and protecting national defense facilities and military zones, while also creating conditions to utilize the potential and advantages of each region and locality in socio-economic development.

Overview of the meeting.

While commending the drafting committee for their thorough preparation of the draft law, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh requested that the drafting committee continue to review the provisions in the draft law to ensure timeliness and prevent any obstacles during implementation.

Head of the Delegation Affairs Committee Nguyen Thi Thanh also highly appreciated the close cooperation between the verification agency - the National Defense and Security Committee - and the drafting agency - the Ministry of National Defense - throughout the past period in receiving, explaining, and revising the draft law; the process of receiving and explaining the opinions of National Assembly deputies was very serious and thorough.

Commenting on the protection regime for restricted areas and security zone protection areas in the draft law, Head of the Delegation Affairs Committee Nguyen Thi Thanh suggested that the regimes and protection measures applied to each national defense facility and military area should be thoroughly reviewed to ensure they are both consistent with the Constitution and aligned with the guiding principles for drafting the law as presented in the Government's submission: harmoniously combining the management and protection of national defense facilities and military areas with socio-economic development, and ensuring the legitimate rights and interests of the people.

Cases where defense facilities and military zones are converted to other uses (in the draft law) include:

a) Conversion of land use purposes within the Ministry of National Defence as required by military and national defence tasks;

b) When there is no longer a need for military or national defense purposes, the land should be converted for socio-economic development and to serve the needs of the people;

c) There is still a need for use in military and national defense tasks, but it falls within the scope of a socio-economic development project according to a plan approved by the competent authority, and the agency, organization, or investor implementing the project has a need for its use and the Ministry of National Defense agrees in writing to the conversion of the land use purpose during the project's investment approval process.

PHUONG ANH

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