|
Vietnam The Legal-Constitutional Basis of the Military
The 1980 Constitution establishes the legal basis for PAVN in
Section IV (Articles 50 through 52), titled Defense of the
Socialist Homeland. Supervision of the armed forces is vested in
the Council of State
(see The System of Government
, ch. 4). The
Council of State, newly formed under the 1980 Constitution,
assumes the equivalent authority of the previous National
Assembly Standing Committee in that it can declare war and
mobilize the country if the assembly is not in session. The
Council chairman (Truong Chinh in 1987), according to the
Constitution, concurrently chairs the National Defense Council
(NDC)--retained from the 1959 constitution--and serves as
commander in chief of PAVN. The latter function, however, is
ceremonial. Under the Constitution, the role of the NDC is "to
mobilize all forces and potentials of the country to defend the
homeland." It thus is made explicitly responsible for what is the
National Assembly's implicit duty, mobilization in the broadest
sense. By comparison with the previous constitution, the 1980
document gives the
National Assembly (see Glossary) legal
authority with respect to PAVN that is perhaps broader but is
less clearly defined. For example, "The National Assembly has the
duty and power . . . to decide on matters of war and peace," but
its chairmanship (under Nguyen Huu Tho in 1987) is a merely
nominal position.
The highest operational authority over PAVN is exercised by
the Council of Ministers, equivalent to a cabinet, which is
responsible for "organizing national defense activities and
building the people's armed forces." In 1987 the chairman of the
Council of Ministers was Premier Pham Van Dong.
Basic national defense policy is fixed by the NDC, then
transmitted first to the Ministry of National Defense and second
to the PAVN High Command. As is common throughout the Vietnam
ruling apparat, there is a great deal of overlap because of "two
hat" (or concurrent) assignments. The chairman of the NDC is the
president of the State Council; the vice chairman is the prime
minister. NDC members include the VCP secretary general, the
chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee, the PAVN
chief of staff, the minister of national defense, the minister of
foreign affairs, the minister of interior, and the chairman of
the State Planning Commission. In time of war, the NDC acts as a
supreme headquarters for mobilizational purposes and is vested
with the authority to command all manpower and other resources in
the country
(see
fig. 17).
Data as of December 1987
|
