Draft Law on People’s Air Defense presented and discussed

Contributing to perfecting the legal system on military and defense

Reporting on the draft Law on People’s Air Defense, Defense Minister General Phan Van Giang emphasized that over the past time, the Party and State have issued many guidelines and policies on building the whole people’s defense posture and people’s security posture. He also stressed that people’s air defense is part of the whole people’s defense and people’s warfare.

Defense Minister General Phan Van Giang speaks at the event.

Given the fact that combat plans for and prevention of airborne attacks have become important requirements that decide the success or failure on the battlefield in modern warfare, the defense chief stressed the need to continue building the people's air defense force in order to build comprehensively-strong whole people’s defense posture, promote the country's synergy to pro-actively prevent and effectively deal with situations related to air defense and security.

The Law on National Defense and other legal documents related to people's air defense tasks, management of unmanned, ultra-light flying vehicles just provide a principled framework, requiring a complete and comprehensive legal basis for people's air defense activities to meet the requirements of protecting the Fatherland in the new situation.

Gen. Giang added that many countries are paying attention to the management and protection of airspace at altitudes below 5,000m, especially in the current period when unmanned vehicles are being researched, manufactured, and deployed for military purposes as a new combat force with high efficiency. In addition, the illegal use of unmanned, ultra-light flying vehicles is on the rise, threatening national defense and security and overflight safety and security. Therefore, it is necessary to develop and promulgate the Law on People's Air Defense to perfect the legal system on people’s air defense, laying a legal basis for organizing and carrying out people’s air defense activities, ensuring air defense safety.

Gen. Phan Van Giang presents the draft Law on People’s Air Defense.

In building the law, the function, missions, and close relations among national air defense, army air defense, and people’s air defense forces in managing and protecting the airspace were defined.

According to Gen. Giang, the draft law included eight chapters and 54 articles with regulations on building and mobilizing people's air defense force, people's air defense activities, managing unmanned, ultra-light flying vehicles, resources, policies, equipment for people's air defense, among others.

Draft law verified

Verifying the draft Law on People’s Air Defense, the N.A. Committee for National Defense and Security agreed on the need to promulgate the law with political, legal and practical bases. The committee basically agreed with the name and scope of the law, saying that the draft law was compliant with the Party's policies and guidelines, consistent with the legal system, and compatible with relevant international treaties to which Vietnam is a member.

Sr. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong speaks at the group discussion.

The committee suggested supplementing regulations on coordination in people's air defense; organizing aviation clubs, considering use of public works, civil works, and dual-use works as people's air defense works and people's air defense battlefields in peacetime and wartime. In addition, the rights, obligations, responsibilities and policies of the State for relevant entities should be specified. Moreover, it required to fully complete the regulations on people's air defense and management of unmanned and ultra-light flying vehicles with reviewing on provisions of the draft law and the provisions of the Constitution and relevant laws to ensure feasibility.

In group discussion, N.A. deputies expressed high approval for the promulgation of the Law on People's Air Defense.

In his speech, Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Defense Minister Sr. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong, an N.A. deputy from Binh Duong, emphasized the role of people’s air defense in national construction and protection.

Regarding the unmanned and ultra-light flying vehicles, Gen. Cuong said that it was necessary to have specific legal regulations on this type of vehicles, including those on business registration, and flight registration.

Defense Minister Gen. Giang speaks at the group discussion.

For his part, Defense Minister Gen. Giang, an N.A deputy from Thai Nguyen, expressed thanks to N.A. deputies for their opinions on the draft law and said that the drafting agency would actively study them to perfect the draft law.

Translated by Mai Huong