Published: New Age, No. 10, March 1979
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Sam Richards and Paul Saba
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The Chinese action in Viet Nam is not an invasion as has been claimed. People’s China’s consistent policy has been not to attack others but to counterattack if attacked. After months of incessant and increasingly brazen acts of Vietnamese aggression which created an intolerable situation for Chinese border people, China has been forced to launch a limited counterattack to defend its own frontiers, the livelihood of its people and its socialist modernisation programme.
A Chinese statement pointed out, “We do not want a single inch of territory, but neither will we tolerate incursions into Chinese territory: The statement pointed out that after counterattacking the aggressors the Chinese troops would return to safeguarding their own frontier. What a contrast to the actions of the Vietnamese leaders who launched unprovoked aggression against socialist Kampuchea to install a puppet regime propped up by Vietnamese bayonets.
“New Age” fully supports the Just counterattack against Soviet ’backed’ Vietnamese aggression and we salute the heroic border force of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. China has every right to use armed force to defend its territory and security after having given the Vietnamese revisionists repeated warnings and offered them a way out.
China has consistently stood for peaceful, good neighbourly relations with the countries bordering it.
As a genuine socialist country, China has absolutely no expansionist ambitions. In particular, a recent Central Committee meeting of the Communist Party of China decided that all efforts should be concentrated on comprehensive socialist modernization. But, however much China may desire peace, it must hit back at aggression or provocation from the social imperialists or their agents because to allow aggressors to go unchecked (to appease them) only leads them to gather momentum and thus increases tension and the danger of war.
By firmly counterattacking and refusing to be bullied, China has dealt a blow at the swashbuckling activities of Viet Nam which form a major part of the Soviet strategy for world domination.
Some honest people are worried that the firm stand taken by China could lead to a world war. Whilst the Soviet Union may intervene this is unlikely, because it is not yet ready for all-out war; and only by checking it everywhere and all along the line can the peoples of the world prevent it from ever being ready. The road to peace is not that of lying down and allowing the Russian imperialists to bulldoze over one country after another. This would be to make the same mistake that the Western powers made in allowing Hitler to expand in the 1930s.
Thus China’s action is an important step to safeguard world peace and helps to expose those in the West who, like British Premier Chamberlain in the 1930s, stand for appeasing the aggressive fascist imperialist power. The Chinese counter attack therefore helps to safeguard the national independence of all countries and sets an example to those directly facing soviet aggression.
Both the Chinese counterattack and the resistance of the Kampuchean Revolutionary Army and guerrilla are just struggles which are hitting the Kremlin Tsars hard and are consolidating the international united front against Soviet hegemonism. Also, like all just struggles they objectively support and assist one another – the Vietnamese have now been forced to withdraw some of their crack units from Kampuchea (just after they had been rushed in) which has allowed the Kampuchean people to consolidate some important gains.
Revisionist propagandists are now working overtime to present Viet Nam as once again the victim of aggression. They cynically play upon the respect Viet Nam enjoyed from progressive People at the time when it fought against aggression. But facts are stubborn things. Today it is clearly the swollen-headed, swashbuckling brigands in Hanoi who have brutally invaded and attempted to occupy independent socialist Kampuchea, occupied Laos and subverted the Laotian revolution are threatening Thailand, creating border incidents with China and persecuting ethnic Chinese and other national minorities in Viet Nam.
Puffed up with Soviet backing the Hanoi rulers thought others would just lie down and allow themselves to be trampled upon. The Kampuchean and Chinese peoples are now teaching them a few sharp lessons, and in time the heroic people of Viet Nam will teach these renegades a few more.
* Total support for the People’ Republic of China and Democratic Kampuchea!
* Down with Soviet-Vietnamese aggression!
* Only resistance can smash Soviet warmongering!