First Published: The Forge, Vol. 4, No. 7, February 23, 1979
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Malcolm and Paul Saba
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Socialist China’s counterattack against Vietnam is a just and correct answer to the non-stop border provocations and aggression by Vietnam.
China is legitimately defending its borders with armed force, exactly as it warned Hanoi it would do if the Vietnamese border intrusions continued.
China decided that it could sit back no longer and allow Vietnamese troops to cross its border, lay mines and murder Chinese troops and civilians. Faced with provocation, China’s position has always been: “We will not attack unless we are attacked – if attacked we will certainly counterattack.”
China wants peace with its neighbours. As a socialist country it has no interest in war, especially at a time when it is devoting all its energies to modernization. But in a world where imperialism and aggression exist, when attacked,China has no choice but to answer back and teach the aggressors a lesson.
China’s counterattack is a solid blow against Vietnamese expansion in Southeast Asia and the Soviet Union’s war preparations. The armed force of the people is the only thing the imperialists and revisionists like Hanoi and Moscow understand.
But some people are asking if China’s action does not increase the danger of war. A look at history, however, shows that the world’s people are not going to stop the present Soviet offensive by sitting down and letting them invade one country after another. The bully only gets more aggressive if not opposed.
In this way China’s actions unmask the appeasement policies practised by the leaders of some Western countries who are avoiding conflict and giving one concession after another to the hungry Soviet superpower. Instead of avoiding war these policies have only encouraged Moscow to push forward with its attacks and war preparations. This is exactly what happened in the 1930s when concessions to Hitler gave the German fascists a big boost.
The Chinese counterattack and the struggle of the Kampuchean people are strong forces for holding back the new czars and in building the world united front against hegemonism. China’s example is especially important to countries who are directly threatened by Soviet attacks.
As China stands up to the real war mongers, Hanoi and Moscow’s propagandists have been working overtime in an effort to portray Vietnam as “an innocent victim” of China’s attacks. And many people who supported Vietnam for years against US imperialism have been taken in by these lies.
Vietnam is no longer the victim of the US war of aggression.Since 1975 the Vietnamese leaders have sold out the interests of the Vietnamese people to the Soviet Union in exchange for bombs, tanks and missiles. Vietnam’s leaders have abandoned the struggle for socialism and are letting the people starve while invading Kampuchea, occupying Laos and attacking China.
Today Vietnam is the “Cuba of the East” and the true aggressor in Southeast Asia.
In Canada the pro-Moscow “Communist” Party of Canada has been organizing support for Vietnam’s aggressions and leading the attack on China.
All kinds of opportunists like the group In Struggle and the Bains’ gang – “CPCML” – have added their voices to the attack. These groups, which at one time hid beneath a cover of support for China, are now parroting the propaganda put out by the CPC.
The true task of Canadian workers and anti-imperialists is to unmask these agents of Moscow and Hanoi and to build support for socialist China and the people of Kampuchea. In this way we can contribute to holding back the danger of war and strengthening the struggle against hegemonism.