DECREE No. 02/1998/ND-CP OF JANUARY 6, 1998 DETAILING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A NUMBER OF ARTICLES OF THE ORDINANCE ON THE BORDER GUARD

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government of September 30, 1992;

Pursuant to the Ordinance on the Border Guard of March 28, 1997;

At the proposal of the Minister of Defense,

DECREES:

Chapter I

ORGANIZATION OF THE BORDER GUARD

Article 1.- The border guard is organized and uniformly commanded from the central level to the grassroots units and is placed under the management and command of the Ministry of Defense, including:

1. The Border Guard Command attached to the Ministry of Defense;

2. The Border Guard Commands of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government that have borderlines and/or coastlines (hereunder collectively referred to as the Provincial Border Guard Commands) and the Marine Border Guard Fleets which are attached to the Border Guard Command;

3. The border guard stations, the marine border guard squadrons, mobile units and border guard sub-regions (if any), which are attached to the Provincial Border Guard Commands.

Article 2.-

1. The Border Guard Command has a commander, deputy commanders, an assisting office, schools and attached units.

The Border Guard Command shall submit to the direct management and command of the Minister of Defense regarding the Border Guard work and the building of the Border Guard nationwide;

2. Each Provincial Border Guard Command or Marine Border Guard Fleet has a commander, deputy commanders, an assisting office and attached units.

The Provincial Border Guard Commands and the Marine Border Guard Fleets shall be under the direct command of the Border Guard Command regarding the border guard work and the building of units;

3. Each border guard station, marine border guard squadron, mobile unit and each border guard sub-region has a commander and deputy commanders.

Article 3.- The organizational structure, the official staff, equipment and concrete tasks of the Border Guard offices, units and schools shall be defined by the Minister of Defense.

Article 4.- To ensure the uniform command of the performance of military tasks, the Provincial/Municipal Border Guard Commands and Marine Border Guard Fleets shall submit to the command of the Military Zone commander, the commanders of the provincial/municipal military commands and the commanders of naval zones regarding the defense and combat tasks.

In every Military Zone there is a Border Guard office tasked to advise the Military Zone Commander on commanding and directing the Border Guard to perform the military training task and using the Border Guard for the defense and combat task in the territory of the Military Zone.

The relationship between the Border Guard Command and the Military Zone Command as well as the Naval Command and the relationship between the Provincial/Municipal Border Guard Commands, the Marine Border Guard Fleets and the provincial/municipal military commands, the Navy Zone Command shall be defined by the Ministry of Defense.

Chapter II

THE BORDER GUARD'S POWER TO DECIDE THE RESTRICTION OR TEMPORARY CESSATION OF ACTIVITIES IN BORDER AREAS AND CROSS-BORDER TRAVEL AND THE RELATION AND COORDINATION WITH THE BORDER PROTECTION FORCES AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES OF THE ADJACENT COUNTRIES

Article 5.- The border guard's power to decide the restriction or temporary cessation of activities, restriction or temporary cessation of cross-border travel in the following cases: threat to the sovereignty and security of the national border, enemy's infiltration or violent riots, hunting down dangerous criminals, protection of the people's lives and prevention of cross-border spread of epidemics, is specified as follows:

1. The power to decide the restriction or temporary cessation of activities in border areas:

a/ The head of the border guard station shall have the power to decide the restriction or temporary cessation of activities directly related to the above-mentioned cases for not more than 12 hours within the border area under the control of such border guard station and shall have to report it to the commander of the concerned provincial Border Guard Command and, at the same time, inform the concerned district and commune authorities and the agencies located in the border area.

b/ The commander of the Provincial Border Guard Command shall have the power to decide the restriction or temporary cessation of activities directly related to the above-mentioned cases for not more than 24 hours within the border area under the control of the province and shall have to immediately report it to the provincial People's Committee and the Border Guard Command.

2. The power to decide the restriction or temporary cessation of cross-border travel:

a/ At minor border gates or temporary cross-border paths, the head of the Border Guard station shall have the power to decide the restriction or temporary cessation of cross-border travel for not more than 6 hours; the chief commander of the Provincial Border Guard Command shall have the power to decide such restriction or temporary cessation for not more than 12 hours and immediately report it to the concerned provincial and district People's Committees and the Border Guard Command and at the same time inform it to the Border Guard station and the local authorities of the adjacent country.

b/ At the main border gates which are opened under the agreements signed between the two Governments, except for border gates opened for a third country's citizens, the commander of the Provincial Border Guard Command shall have the power to decide the restriction or temporary cessation of border-cross travel for not more than 6 hours and shall have to immediately report it to the concerned provincial People's Committee, the Border Guard Command and inform it the border guard station and the local authorities of the adjacent country thereof.

3. Before the expiry of the effective time of a decision on the restriction or temporary cessation of cross-border travel issued by the lower-level, if deeming it necessary to continue such restriction or temporary cessation, the immediate higher level shall have to issue a decision and inform the concerned agencies and the people thereof for implementation and, at the same time, inform the Ministry for Foreign Affairs thereof for coordination in settlement;

4. The competent decision-makers defined in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall take responsibility before law for their decisions. When the situation returns to normal, the level that has issued the restriction or temporary cessation decision shall have to inform the concerned agencies and the people thereof.

5. The restriction or temporary cessation of activities at international border gates shall be decided by the Prime Minister.

Article 6.- The relationship or coordination between the Vietnamese Border Guard and the border protection force as well as the local authorities of the adjacent country in implementing international agreements on borders, building the borders of peace and friendship, combating and preventing any act detrimental to the border relations between the countries with a common borderline is specified as follows:

1. The head of the border guard station shall be permitted to establish relations with the adjacent country's border protection force and the local authorities in the border area and join negotiation delegations as designated by the competent level;

2. The commander of the Provincial Border Guard Command shall be permitted to establish relations with the border protection force and the authorities of the border province and take part in the provincial-level delegations for negotiations on the national border-related issues;

3. The commander of the Border Guard Command shall be permitted to establish relations with the adjacent country's Border Guard force and take part in negotiation delegations as designated by the Minister of Defense or the Prime Minister.

Chapter III

COORDINATION IN PERFORMING THE BORDER GUARD WORK

Article 7.- The Ministry of Defense shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the ministries and branches in the management and protection of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and national security and order on land, islands, sea and at the border gates.

Article 8.-

1. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall coordinate with the Ministry of Defense in providing guidance and training in foreign relation activities for the Border Guard so that the latter can fulfill its foreign relation work in border areas, settle cases involving foreigners and implement international agreements which Vietnam has signed or acceded to;

2. The Government Continental Shelf Commission shall have to provide guidance for the border guard on laws and international agreements on the management and safeguarding of the national borderline and the system of national border marks;

3. The Ministry of the Interior shall provide guidance for the border guard to fulfill the task of safeguarding the national security, social order and safety in the border areas.

Article 9.- The People's Committees of various levels shall based themselves on their tasks and powers prescribed by law and on and the Defense Ministry's direction to direct the performance of the task of managing and safeguarding the national borders as well as building the border guard force.

Article 10.- With regard to the issues related to the management and safeguarding of the national border security and order, the development of the political, cultural and social base, the planning and building of border gates, the construction of population clusters in the land border areas, at border gates, on islands and marine areas, and the issues related to the building and operation of the border guard, the commander of the Border Guard Command shall be permitted to directly work with the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Government Continental Shelf Commission and the ministries and branches involved in the border guard work, and the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government for discussion and solution and, at the same time, report them to the Ministry of Defense.

Chapter IV

REGIME AND POLICY TOWARDS THE BORDER GUARD

Article 11.- In the annual State budget plans, the Government shall give priority to investment in the construction of barracks, power and clean water supply works; means of transport and audio-visual equipment for the border guard stations, posts and mobile units, and the construction of border-patrol paths.

Article 12.-

1. While performing the task of managing and protecting the border areas and islands, the border guard officers and men shall be entitled to a border or island protection responsibility allowance, which is 0.3 time of the minimum salary level for salaried personnel or of the second-private rank allowance for non-commissioned officers and men;

2. Officers, professional military personnel and defense employees and officials serving in the border guard, who have been working in border highland areas and offshore islands for five consecutive years or more shall be eligible for a monthly seniority allowance at three levels: 0.2, 0.3 or 0.4 time of their minimum salary:

a/ From five to under 10 years: 0.2;

b/ From ten years to under 15 years: 0.3.

c/ 15 years or more: 0.4.

Article 13.- Border guard officers and men who die while performing the task of safeguarding border or islands in areas with special difficulties and hardships shall be considered for recognition as martyrs; if wounded and losing 21% or more of their working acity, they shall be considered for recognition as war invalids; if suffering from diseases and losing 61% or more of their working acity, they shall be considered as recognition as diseased soldiers in accordance with the Ordinance on Preferential Treatment for Revolutionaries, Martyrs and Martyrs' Families, War Invalids and Diseased Soldiers, War Resistance Activists and People with Meritorious Contributions to the Revolution.

The Ministry of Defense shall base itself on the nature and task of each border or island line and in consultation with the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to determine areas where the border guard faces special difficulties and hardships in order to strictly implement the policy towards martyrs, war invalids and diseased soldiers in accordance with this Article.

Article 14.- The State Institute for Commendation and Reward shall, together with the Ministry of Defense, study and submit to the Government the regime and forms or commendation and reward for border guard officers and soldiers who have been involved in the border or island protection for a long time.

Article 15.- Every year, the border guard shall give priority to the recruitment of young people of ethnic minorities and families that have permanently settled in the border areas or islands so as to train them for a long service in the Border Guard..

To assign the Ministry of Defense to study and organize a border guard school for young cadets so as to meet the requirement of the above-mentioned task.

Article 16.- Officers, professional military personnel and defense employees and officials serving in the border guard who bring their families to settle down in highland areas or islands shall be assigned land by the local authorities of the place where they settle and enjoy the subsidies like the households that come to build new economic zones or move to islands; the local authorities of such places shall manage and assist them in finding jobs and creating conditions for them to soon stabilize their families' lives.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 17.- This Decree takes effect 15 days after its signing; the earlier provisions which are contrary to this Decree are now annulled.

Article 18.- The Minister of Defense and the concerned ministers shall guide the implementation of this Decree.

Article 19.- The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall have to implement this Decree.

On behalf of the Government

The Prime Minister

PHAN VAN KHAI