Discussing Vietnam - China relations again

(Baonghean) - Let's discuss again because we have talked and written too much about the Vietnam - China relationship (abbreviated as Vietnam - China relationship). On average, from 1979 to now, every day there is an article by Vietnamese and international officials, scholars, and journalists about the Vietnam - China relationship. Thus, there have been more than ten thousand articles directly and indirectly arguing about the Vietnam - China relationship. This is an extremely large topic, as large as the East Sea that never dries up and is suitable for those who have the desire to explore, discover, and discover.

1. Three in one

When talking about Vietnam-China relations, Vietnamese and Chinese leaders and scholars often affirm: 1. Vietnam and China are two neighboring countries; 2. Vietnam and China are both led by the Communist Party and develop in the direction of socialism.

I think that such a concept is only partly correct: Vietnam and China are two neighboring countries with “mountains connected to mountains, rivers connected to rivers” and seas connected to seas. That is partly correct. If we assume that the ruling party in China is the communist party, even though for 93 years (since 1921) they have still claimed to be so, and that China is developing in a socialist direction, it is a misconception, politically childish, and even a mistake in principle and direction (this issue will be explained in section 3).

In addition to the neighborly relationship, Vietnam and China have two other relationships: 1. The relationship between a small country (Vietnam) and a big country (China) and 2. The grievances in the past 2,500 years of history.

For more than 5,000 years (since mankind had written language), all big countries have had the intention and action of oppressing and subduing small countries, forcing small countries, first of all neighboring small countries, to be dependent on them (to become vassals). Big countries only differ in the methods and tricks they use to subdue neighboring small countries.

Over 4,000 years of history, among the great countries that have existed and are existing, the Chinese empire in the past and China today often used the most brutal tricks to conquer small countries, including Vietnam. Therefore, how to deal with China to protect independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity is the red thread running through and the most difficult issue in the entire foreign policy of Vietnam today and forever.

Over the past 2,500 years, according to Ambassador Chu Cong Phung, China has invaded Vietnam 21 times. Of these, the Yin Dynasty once, the Qin Dynasty once, the Han Dynasty four times, the Liang Dynasty three times, the Song Dynasty twice, the Yuan Dynasty three times, the Ming Dynasty once, the Qing Dynasty once. In 64 years (1949 - 2014), the People's Republic of China invaded Vietnam four times with live troops and hot weapons in 1956, 1974, 1988, 1979, and once invaded Vietnam legally: On June 21, 2012, China established Sansha City (in Hainan Province) to occupy both Hoang Sa and Truong Sa of Vietnam (1).

In general, under feudalism, on average, the Chinese empire invaded Vietnam every 150 years. Since the “communist comrades” took power in Beijing (1949), China invaded Vietnam every 13 years. It seems that for nearly 3,000 years under feudalism, the Vietnamese people lived in relative peace next to the Chinese empire. But under the “communist comrades” in power in Beijing, the Vietnamese people always lived in a state of anxiety, nervousness, and tension in response to the invasions and aggressive actions of the “good comrades” from the North!

Thus, Vietnam - China is the confluence of 3 relationships: 1. Neighborhood; 2. Small country - big country; 3. Historical grievances. That makes the Vietnam - China relationship the most complex international relationship in the contemporary world.

2. China says and does

Using the noun “China” here is incorrect. The Chinese Communist Party? The Chinese State? The Chinese People? The Chinese leadership? It is also incorrect to say “the Chinese leadership”. There are many Chinese leaders, up to hundreds of people, but almost all national power is held and determined by only one person: From 1949 to 1976 it was Mao Zedong, from 1978 to 1992 it was Deng Xiaoping; from 1992 to 2002 it was Jiang Zemin, from 2002 to 2012 it was Hu Jintao and from 2013 (possibly until 2022) it is Xi Jinping. To save time and paper, instead of talking about the people holding the highest power in China, let’s write it as China (China says and does).

2.1. What have they been saying?

Those in power in Zhongnanhai, from Mao Zedong to Deng Xiaoping and their successors such as Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, Xi Jinping (and perhaps even the 6th, 7th, etc. generations of leaders later) often show off their “smiling faces” and preach good things to sway the “gullible” people, including leaders and politicians of many countries. They always say: China develops peacefully; China respects the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of countries, especially neighboring countries; China strictly abides by the United Nations Charter, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and international institutions and laws; China does not threaten to use force and does not use force to resolve disputes and disagreements, and does not interfere in the internal affairs of countries; China pledges to resolve border, territorial, and maritime disputes with other countries through peaceful negotiations and consultations based on international law. Until they are resolved, China will not take aggressive actions, complicate matters, or cause tension with the disputing parties. Beijing's authorities always take the lead in using beautiful words in international communication.

China's huge media apparatus (thousands of newspapers, hundreds of radio and television stations, networks, online newspapers, etc.) has been widely promoting (both domestically and internationally) the idea of ​​peaceful development as "beautiful" as roses, "sweet" as honey, and as gentle as the footsteps of a hare! Chinese politicians, officials, and scholars take advantage of all bilateral, multilateral, and international forums to speak out endlessly about the peaceful, friendly, and amicable ideas of the Chinese Party and State.

That is a bold statement, a firm commitment, a promise of those in power in Beijing for the past 65 years (since 1949).

2.2. And how did they do it?

- In 1956, China used a large naval force to occupy several islands east of the Hoang Sa archipelago of Vietnam (administered by the Republic of Vietnam - Saigon).

- January 19, 1974, China mobilized dozens of warships to invade the Hoang Sa archipelago of Vietnam (administered by the Republic of Vietnam - Saigon), 74 soldiers of the Republic of Vietnam heroically sacrificed their lives.

- February 17, 1979, China mobilized 9 army corps divided into two wings to cross the border to invade Vietnam along the entire northern border. The Guangxi army wing was commanded by Xu Shiyou, including Army Corps No. 41, 42, 43, 54 and 55 (lacking Division 149); the Yunnan army wing was commanded by Yang Dezhi, including Army Corps No. 11, 13, 14, Division 149 and border guards and militia, with a total of nearly 600,000 troops.

Vietnamese soldiers in Lang Son in 1979.- Internet photo

During the war of aggression against Vietnam (from February 17, 1979 to March 16, 1979), China used 1.06 million artillery shells; 23.8 thousand tons of ammunition; 55 million sharp bullets and killed tens of thousands of innocent Vietnamese people (2).

- On March 14, 1988, China mobilized a large naval force to occupy 6 islands of Vietnam in the Truong Sa archipelago (at the end of 1988, China occupied 1 more island of Vietnam in the Truong Sa archipelago). In the (unequal) war to protect Truong Sa, 64 officers and soldiers of the Vietnam People's Navy fought bravely and heroically sacrificed (2 Vietnamese warships were sunk). On March 15, 1988, China prevented and did not allow the Soviet Red Cross ship to reach the scene of the war to rescue the wounded and recover the bodies of the dead (China was more cruel than France and the US in the wars of 1945 - 1954 and 1955 - 1975).

Hundreds of times, Chinese ships have rammed into Vietnamese fishing boats, dozens of times brutally killing dozens of Vietnamese fishermen while they were fishing in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

- On June 21, 2012, China established Sansha City (in Hainan province) to occupy both Hoang Sa and Truong Sa of Vietnam. This is an extremely dangerous legal invasion of China against Vietnam.

- From May 1, 2014 to July 15, 2014, China simultaneously carried out 3 actions: 1. Towing the HD-981 drilling rig to explore in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone. With this action, China blatantly violated the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS - 1982), violated the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea DOC 2002, violated the 3 joint statements of China - Vietnam in 2011, June 2013 and October 2013. In these 3 joint statements, Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang pledged to cooperate with Vietnam to resolve disputes in the East Sea through peaceful negotiations on the basis of international law, and until resolved, not to make anything more complicated, not to change the status quo...). 2. Threatening to use force and directly using force: Hundreds of times Chinese ships have rammed into Vietnamese Fisheries Surveillance ships, Coast Guard ships and fishing boats, causing dozens of ships to be damaged (some sink) and dozens of Vietnamese people to be injured. By threatening to use force and directly using force, China has grossly violated Article 2 of the United Nations Charter and has been condemned by the international community. 3. The third action is deception, slander, and black-and-white reversal. At the end of June 2014, China sent the Secretary-General of the United Nations a document and requested it to be circulated among 193 members, in which it accused Vietnam of having rammed Chinese ships 1,547 times! At the United Nations headquarters in New York, dozens of reporters and officials from various countries asked the Chinese delegation to show images of Vietnamese ships ramming Chinese ships. Chinese officials bowed their heads and avoided them!

On this planet, who dares to deceive more than 8 billion people and defy the opposition of the international community like China?

When putting what the Chinese authorities have said (section 2.1 above) next to what they have done (section 2.2), although not yet fully listing all of China's wrongdoings, anyone, without having to be highly educated but only having honesty and self-respect, will immediately make the comment: The Chinese authorities always "say one thing and do another". This problem is inherent in the Beijing authorities. Only when we reject the basic principle: Practice is the criterion of truth and accept words as the criterion of truth, then we will believe what the Chinese leaders say!

(To be continued)

Major generalLe Van Cuong

(Former Director of the Institute for Strategic and Scientific Studies - Ministry of Public Security)

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1. Dr. Dinh Hoang Thang: “PR DOWN” solution - Post-drilling rig.

2. Lawyer Hien Luong: “A thousand years old mirror still reflects” - “Elderly People” Magazine No. 6 (70) July 2014.