Thayer Consultancy Background Briefing:

ABN # 65 648 097 123

Vietnam: Law on Militia and
Self-Defence Forces
Carlyle A. Thayer
October 30, 2009

[client name deleted] 
Question: The Law on Militia is before the National Assembly and will pass in the next few days. The 
director of the National Assembly’s Defence and Security Committee has requested an additional 100 
million VND for the defense budget. Do you think it will pass and does it have any significance?  

ANSWER:  The Law on Militia and Self‐Defence Forces is slated to be passed. The significance to me 
is that in the past self‐defence forces were an integral part of state‐owned enterprises. When these 
were  privatised/equitised  a  problem  arose:  how  can  you  form  self‐defence  forces  in  a  private 
enterprise? Who would fund them? In other words, the development of a market economy overtook 
the  requirements  on  the  statute  books.  The  2004  Ordinance  on  Militia  and  Self‐Defence  Forces 
specifies that self‐defence forces will be organized in non‐state enterprises. I believe the present draft 
contains a provision for the organization of self‐defence forces in private enterprises employing more 
than  fifty  workers.  The  1996  and  2004  Ordinances  on  Militia  and  Self‐Defence  Forces  included 
provision for self‐defence forces located in maritime areas. 
Vietnam's defence budget is a secret and any information on it is news. Generally the trend has been 
for Vietnam’s defence spending to rise in absolute terms (in US$); while, at the same time, declining 
as a proportion of GDP (see table below).  
 2

Vietnam Defence Budget as percent of GDP, 2001‐07 
(in billion U.S. dollars) 
Year  VPA Size  Defence Budget  GDP DB as % of GDP 
(DB) 

2001  484,000  2.6 33 7.9 

2002  484,000  2.9 34 8.5 

2003  484,000  3.2 39 8.2 

2004  484,000  3.17 45.4 7.0 

2005  455,000  3.15 52.2 6.0 

2006  455,000  3.43 61.1 5.6 

2007  455,000  3.73 71.2 5.2 

Source: International Institute of Strategic Studies, The Military Balance (2000‐01 to 2007‐08). 
 
The chart below compares estimates by Australia's Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO) and the 
International Institute of Strategic Studies of recent defence funding. 
 
Chart 1 Vietnam’s Defence Funding, 2001‐2007 
(in billion U.S. dollars) 
4

3.5

2.5

2 DIO

1.5 IISS

0.5

0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
 
Source: Defence Intelligence Organisation, Defence Economic Trends in the Asia‐Pacific, (2008), and 
International Institute of Strategic Studies, Military Balance (2001‐02 to 2007‐08). 

Increasing the defence budget by 100 million dong would not add appreciably to defence’s coffers. In 
2007, Vietnam’s defence budget was around 60 trillion dong. 
 
 Thayer Consultancy Background Briefing:
ABN # 65 648 097 123
Draft Law on Militia and Self-
Defence Forces
Carlyle A. Thayer
April 4, 2009

[client name deleted]

QUESTION: Could you please comment on the following:
Vietnam Net 25 Mar: 14:14' 25/03/2009 (GMT+7) Lawmakers debate law on self-defence
forces
VietNamNet Bridge – The National Assembly Standing Committee yesterday discussed the
draft Law on Militiamen and Self Defence Forces. According to Minister of National Defence
Phung Quang Thanh, the law would aim to build strong militiamen and self defence forces,
and to ensure that every Party cell, organisation and locality would have these units.
The draft law also had a regulation to build militias and self defence forces in enterprises.
According to the draft law, enterprises that had political organisations (such as a Party cell)
should have their own militiamen and self defence forces.
Enterprises that have at least 50 workers of age suitable to be militiamen and self defence
members must establish their own militias and self defence forces.
Enterprises that operate at sea should establish self-defence forces if they have at least 25
workers who are of age.
But Minister Thanh said the number of private enterprises with Party cells would be small. "If
we force only the enterprises that have Party cells or other political organisations to establish
militias and self defence forces, a large number of workers in other enterprises will not have
to fulfil these duties, and it will be unfair," said Thanh. "Conversely, if we organise self
defence forces for all types of enterprises, we can have social fairness, but it will be difficult to
manage and command these forces."
Head of the NA's Law Committee Nguyen Van Thuan said these forces would have weapons,
so he was concerned over who would manage these weapons, as militiamen and self
defence forces in foreign-investment enterprises would also have firearms.
Head of the NA's Finance and Budget Committee Ha Van Hien said that to ensure justice,
militiamen and self defence forces should be organised throughout all enterprises, but they
should not have weapons.
The NA Standing Committee also discussed the subjects, functions and tasks of these forces
in peaceful times.
According to the draft law, the law will be applied to all foreign organisations and individuals
who reside and operate legally in Viet Nam. But NA deputy chairwoman Tong Thi Phong said
that the law would be issued in peaceful times, so these people should not be included in the
law. Chairman of the NA's Nationalities Council Ksor Phuoc said that these forces should be
given tasks to prevent natural calamities, like commune police. "Most of the participants
agreed with the draft law on the age of the forces' members. For militias, men should be
between 18 and 45 years old, and women between 18 and 40. As for self defence forces,
men up to 50 years old and women up to 45 years old would be eligible to become members.
 2

The draft Law will be proposed to the NA for discussion at the next NA session to be held in
early May.
ANSWER: In recent years Vietnam has moved steadily to promulgate a raft of legislation
pertaining to the defence establishment and the people’s armed forces (as the military, militia,
reserves) are collectively known. Last year I spoke with a Senior Colonel from Vietnam. He
alerted me to an interesting conundrum faced by Vietnamese defence officials. Prior to the
market economy, militia and self-defence forces were organised in all enterprises, factories
etc. But with privatisation a gap appeared and foreign owned enterprises did not support
these forces. The legislation you are referring to is an attempt to take a messy situation left
over from history and bring it into line with current realities. As you can see there are a
number of knotty policy issues to be resolved. Several years earlier Vietnam decreed that all
joint ventures and foreign owned enterprises should have a party cell. In reality this has
proven difficult in a market economy. These cells provide the backbone for the militia and self-
defence forces. The militia and self-defence forces number in the millions and are one
component of Vietnam’s “all people’s national defence” structure.

There is nothing startling about the current legislation and nor do I see any hidden agenda. As
noted above, this represents the latest step in Vietnam’s attempt to develop appropriate
legislation for its defence and security establishment.