Communist-ruled Vietnam has stepped up attempts to tame the internet announcing a new, 10,000-strong military Cyberwarfare unit.

The cyber unit, named Force 47, is already in operation in several sectors, Tuoi Tre newspaper quoted Lt. Gen. Nguyen Trong Nghia, deputy head of the military's political department, as saying at a conference of the Central Propaganda Department on Monday in the commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City.

"In every hour, minute, and second we must be ready to fight proactively against the wrong views," the paper quoted the general as saying.

Vietnam has stepped up calls for closer watch over social networks and for the removal of content that it deems offensive, but there has been little sign of it silencing criticism when the companies providing the platforms are global.

Its neighbor China, in contrast, allows only local internet companies operating under strict rules.

The number of staff compares with the 6,000 reportedly employed by North Korea. However, the general’s comments suggest its force may be focused largely on domestic internet users whereas North Korea is internationally focused because the internet is not available to the public at large.

In August, Vietnam's president said the country needed to pay greater attention to controlling "news sites and blogs with bad and dangerous content."

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