During the war against the French and the US, the Can Gio district formed an important base, strategically located because it was located close to the sea, near Saigon, with a dangerous terrain with immense jungle. , the rivers are crammed. In 1965, the US massively sent troops and means of war into South Vietnam. Long Tau River becomes the lifeline for military transport from the East Sea to the inner city of Saigon. In this situation, assessing the area of ​​Sac forest as an important strategic place, on April 15, 1966, the Regional Command of the Region decided to establish the special military zone of Sac forest (codename T10, later changed. The name of Doan 10 Special Forces of Sac Forest) with the main task of the strategic waterway on the Long Tau river, destroying the enemy’s treasures and yards and protecting the pedal for our supply forces. in the harsh conditions of the war zone on the water, in the “backyard” position of the enemy, the special forces of the Sac forest were built with the motto of clinging to the people, clinging to the ground, clinging to the terrain to build a heart-warming position. people; At the same time, perform the mission by all means to fight the enemy on the rivers to destroy the enemy’s supply for Saigon. Can Gio has many beautiful scenes for a long time like a fairy falling in a long sleep. One of the most famous battles that took place when the 10th Corps was first formed was the Battle of Victory ship in August 1966. The US brought Victory ship to carry about 100 tanks, armored vehicles, 2 helicopters, 20 tons of food, food … to supply to an American division, preparing for the first dry season campaign 1966 – 1967 In the river, enemy ships patrol continuously, in the sky, airplanes, and on the dense commandos. To fight, the special special forces soldiers of Sac forest have to soak in the water, bury themselves camouflage in the mud. On the morning of August 23, 1966, when the Victory ship passed, two mines of the soldier of the 10th Division blew up the ship with a tonnage of more than 10,000 tons and sunk into the riverbed with weapons. and full of creativity, during the war against the US, Group 10 forest Sac eliminated 6,200 enemy enemies, sank and burned 356 combat ships, sank 13 transport ships from 8,000 to 13,000 tons, shot down 145 Other transport ships shot down 29 helicopters, burned 110,000 tons of bombs, 250 million liters of oil and gas of the enemy … US General W. Westmoreland, Commander in Chief of the US Expeditionary Force in South Vietnam must admit, American soldiers had encountered “a strange fight in a strange war”. Can Gio was once a revolutionary base, with many glorious feats. Future seaside city After the liberation, the Can Gio area is where thousands of young volunteers have devoted their youth to building foundations for development. However, in the following years, Can Gio was still unable to make a breakthrough due to the limitations of topography, infrastructure and manpower. A clear, specific and feasible development strategy has not been outlined. Not until recently, when the Ho Chi Minh City government issued 4 decisions approving the detailed planning tasks of 1 project at the scale of 1/500 with subdivisions A, B, C, D, E with a total area of ​​more than 2,870 ha and total investment up to 10 billion USD; the project’s population scale is 228,000 people, with 8,887 million tourists / year; The project’s products are mainly urban product lines (apartments, shops, villas …) and some resort products (condotels), in order to turn Can Gio into a coastal city with a harmonious development. Modern planning combined with a friendly natural environment. As soon as the idea of ​​the city leaders was put in place, many urban planners proposed solutions for development. In which, there are big ideas such as forming “Vung Tau – Can Gio – Go Cong sea urban chain” in Can Gio bay, creating “front” of the sea to welcome opportunities to develop high value-added marine economy. and international maritime transactions, as a springboard for Ho Chi Minh City to become a gateway city more strongly connecting with the region and the world. Right now, there are many optimistic views about the future of Can Gio, when comparing this area with the world famous coastal cities such as Shenzhen (China), Miami (USA), Rotterdam ( Netherlands), Marseille (France), Dubai (UAE), Singapore and Yokohama (Japan) … In the future, when it becomes a marine tourism city, Can Gio is expected to be an attractive destination for tourists from 5 continents. Proposals for a “giant” sea reclamation project have also been made, aimed at protecting the Can Gio Biosphere Reserve. Asserting that rotating the axis to the sea and considering the sea as the “front” of the country is absolutely correct, urbanist Dr. Nguyen Minh Hoa said that the proposal to bring Can Gio straight to “Can Gio city” without going up. District, becoming a modern city with tourism – service – seaport function in a chain of urban centers of international stature is necessary. However, it should be noted, with nearly 80% of the area of ​​Can Gio being forest, so it is considered the “lung” of the city, contributing to climate regulation, preventing hot wind, making the atmosphere cool. . The total area of ​​Can Gio mangrove biosphere reserve is 75,740ha, of which the core zone is 4,721ha, the buffer zone is 41,139ha and the transitional zone is 29,880ha. In 2000, UNESCO recognized Can Gio as “World Biosphere Reserve” and became the property not only of Vietnam but also of the world. Because it is a particularly “sensitive” area, UNESCO and international experts recommend special caution when developing this area. Can Gio is a valuable biosphere reserve as a shield for the environment of Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast. Moreover, Can Gio district has about 70,000 people. According to calculations, after the projects come into effect, this land will have a static and dynamic population increasing to nearly 10 million people (of which about 9 million guests). travel). With so many people and their activities in production, activities, entertainment, festivals … will definitely cause an impact on the environment and will damage mangroves as well as more or less. affected plants and animals. Therefore, the development of the marine economy and the protection of the “armor layer” for Ho Chi Minh City is a difficult problem between hot growth and “favorable”.

Fascinating history In April 1975, our army liberated the islands along the Central Coast and South Central Coast; invaded and liberated most of the islands in the Spratlys occupied by the puppet troops. In the photo: Navy Special Forces Army Corps 126 liberated An Bang island belonging to Truong Sa archipelago, on April 28, 1975. Photo: VNA broadcast On April 4, 1975, General and Commander-in-Chief Vo Nguyen Giap sent a special telegram to the Navy and Military Region 5 assigned the task of liberating the Spratly archipelago held by the Saigon puppet army. The telegram stated: “According to the instructions of the Politburo, the Standing Committee of the Military Commission assigns tasks to the Military Zone Committee, the Military Region, the High Command of the 5th Military Region and the High Command of the Navy to urgently study the plan. war and carry out all preparations so that when the opportunity arises, the Spratly Islands will be promptly liberated, considering it a very important task ”. Colonel Hoang Chien No (born 1952), former Political Chief, Military Command of Dak Doa district, Gia Lai province recounted: in 1975, I was 23 years old, holding the position of lieutenant – lieutenant Captain of Battalion 2, Company 5, Regiment 95, Military Region 5. After completing the mission of liberating Khanh Hoa, on the evening of April 10, I followed fishermen’s fishing boats from Nha Trang to the island. Travel time is exactly 4 days 3 nights to the West Song Tu Island. Our forces at that time pretended to be fishermen on a fishing boat, so during the movement they were not detected by the enemy. “Around 3 am, April 14, the directions were brought by rubber boats to bring troops close to Song Tu Tay Island. At 4:30, after hearing the gunshots in the west of the island, they all opened fire to attack. To our nose on duty, comrade Dinh Quoc Lap (former platoon leader of Battalion 2, Company 5, Regiment 95, Military Region 5) shot a B41 at the enemy’s bunker and attacked in many directions. for the enemy to panic and panic. The enemy fought back weakly, quickly surrendered, our troops destroyed and captured 33 enemies. At 5:30 a.m. on the same day, we lifted the flag of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam onto the flagpole on the island, asserting the sovereignty of the Fatherland, ”recalled Colonel Hoang Chien No. Sergeant Master Dinh Quoc Lap, who directly participated in the battle to liberate Song Tu Tay and was admitted to the Party on the island, said on April 24, the weather on the island is very beautiful, under the row of green coconuts on Song Tu Tay Island, with with the Party flag hanging at the trunk of the coconut tree, I was accepted and accepted into the ranks of the Communist Party of Vietnam, in the presence of my comrades who stood shoulder to shoulder.
“As the first soldier admitted on Song Tu Tay Island, at that time I was only 20 years old, it is an honor, great happiness, not a moment I forget,” said Senior Sergeant Dinh Quoc Lap. Song Tu Tay was lost, the enemy’s defenses on the Spratlys were threatened. Taking the opportunity, at 0:30 on April 25, we used two ships 673 and 641 to carry forces from Song Tu Tay Island to Son Ca Island. When 2 nautical miles from Son Ca island, this force was divided into 3 cape, preparing to land on the island. At 1:30, our army finished landing and began to reconnaissance the island. At 2:30, we opened fire to attack and destroy the enemy. Suddenly hit, the enemy resisted weakly, then ran away in panic, surrendered. At 3 o’clock on April 25, our army completely liberated Son Ca island, destroyed and captured 25 enemies, confiscated their weapons and all their equipment. After our “lightning speed” victory at Song Tu Tay and Son Ca islands, the enemy’s defenses on the islands were seriously threatened. The enemy troops on Nam Yet island panicked and fought back weakly. At the moment of chance, our forces quickly liberated the island. At 10:30 a.m. on April 27, our army completely took control of Nam Yet Island. After hearing that our army liberated Song Tu Tay, Son Ca, Nam Yet islands, the enemy troops on Sinh Ton island had wavered in panic and retreated from the morning of April 27, so our forces landed smoothly. At exactly 10:20 on April 28, we completely own the island. At 9:00 am on April 29, 1975, the last combat detachment of the 126th Commando Brigade landed to control Truong Sa island. Since then, Truong Sa island in particular and Truong Sa archipelago in general entered a new historical period, a period of battle building and maturity. Build and maintain national sovereignty The Naval Region 4 Command (Cam Ranh city, Khanh Hoa province) inspects units throughout the Region for combat readiness. Photo: VNA broadcast Truong Sa has a part of the island in Khanh Hoa province, by the Navy forces stationed in Region 4 (Cam Ranh, Khanh Hoa) to protect the strategic island waters. Over the past years, promoting the liberation of the Spratly archipelago, the Party Committee and the High Command of the Naval Region 4 have led and directed the units to promote education and grasp thoroughly for the army to grasp the situation of the mission. ; clearly identifying partners, objects and conspiracies, tricks and activities that infringe foreign sovereignty; the Party’s and State’s directing ideas, mottos and policies to deal with maritime issues. Along with that, the Naval Region 4 always attaches great importance to educating the army on the nation’s tradition of fighting the enemy and defending the country, especially the victory of liberating the Spratly archipelago. According to the Political Chairman of the 4th Naval Regional Command, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Tran Manh Chien, for the task of training, combat readiness of the unit. Agencies and units have focused on training cadres, especially those at the level of ships, companies, squadrons, battalions and the like in tactics, techniques, and command organization qualifications to improve high capacity to respond and handle complex situations that may occur. The units, especially the island block and the ship block actively trained proficient in tactics from platoon to battalion level; actively mastering new and modern technical weapons and equipment while increasing mobility training, synergies and training in complicated weather conditions … Along with that, in order to strengthen the building of the defense posture of the entire people, the solid “battle posture of the people”, the sea-coast-island connection, the Naval Region 4 maintains strict regime, order and system. ready to fight; actively organize exercises, drills, thereby supplementing and adjusting combat plans in accordance with the practical situation; promptly advise and propose to the Party Committee, the High Command of the Military Service to handle situations at sea well, not to be passive or unexpected. Chairman of the People’s Committee of Truong Sa island district, Khanh Hoa province Le Dinh Hai shared that the victory of liberating islands in the Spratly archipelago of Military Region 5, the People’s Navy of Vietnam has become a historic milestone. , is a great contribution to the Great Victory in Spring 1975. Promoting the spirit of victory to liberate the Spratly archipelago, officials, soldiers, people on the islands of the Spratly archipelago today always overcome difficulties. actively study, practice, strive to rise, be ready to fight, act as a fulcrum to firmly protect the sovereignty over the sacred seas and islands of the country. Today’s life on Song Tu Tay Island, one of the islands in the Spratly archipelago has had many innovations, said Mr. Thai Minh Khai, a householder living on Song Tu Tay Island, Truong Sa archipelago, said The heart of the Party, State and command of Khanh Hoa province, Song Tu Tay island and the hard work of the family, life here has been stabilized. The family wishes to continue living on the island and strives to train together with officials and soldiers on the island to build and firmly protect the sovereignty of the country. According to Vice Chairman of People’s Committee Song Tu Tay Nguyen The Hung Linh, the households here have stabilized their lives, actively participating in social activities, community activities on the island such as: environmental sanitation in the area. living areas, marine areas, livestock and poultry husbandry, solidarity, love, support, coordinate well with the authorities and soldiers and soldiers on the island to perform work, activities, contribute to creating peaceful island and country.