On the occasion of the whole country's jubilant celebration of the 35th anniversary of the liberation of the South, the National Political Publishing House introduced to readers the book
Vietnam's Resistance War Against America: The Impact of International Factorsby author Nguyen Khac Huynh.Author Nguyen Khac Huynh is a veteran diplomat who participated in the Paris negotiations on Vietnam, a prestigious diplomatic historian. Combining theoretical knowledge with practical experience, exploiting many sources of documents at home and abroad, especially notes in his own files, the book has given readers a general view, a deep analysis and many little-known documents about Vietnamese diplomacy during the resistance war to save the country. Putting the issue of the Vietnam War in the context of the Cold War on a global scale, the book has analyzed the international situation in the struggle between the two factions, the political line and the adjustment of foreign policies of each side in the process of fierce and fierce struggle. It can be seen here the dramatic movement in the relationship between the three countries of the Soviet Union - China - the United States in the solution to the Vietnam War. The author analyzed each pair of Soviet-Chinese, Soviet-American, American-Chinese relations and then looked at the overall US-Soviet-Chinese triangle. From there, he pointed out the similarities and differences between the two great socialist countries on the Vietnam issue in the strategic calculation between, on the one hand, supporting the common fight against imperialism, headed by the US; on the other hand, opposing each other to promote their own prestige and influence in the national liberation movement and the world revolutionary movement. The Sino-Soviet conflict developed to the point of confrontation, even bloody conflict, so that both sides sought compromise with the main opponent of socialism, the US imperialists. And the Vietnam issue was raised by US President Nixon to Beijing in the discussion on the Taiwan issue and raised with Moscow on the issue of the US-Soviet Summit. From that general context, the author analyzed the influence of major countries on the Vietnamese resistance war and at the same time highlighted the independent and autonomous line in the foreign policy of our Party and State.
Vietnam's political mettle and diplomatic experience are clearly and consistently demonstrated in the negotiations with the US in Paris. The author guides readers from the initial diplomatic activities in the years 1965-1967 to the decisive blow of Mau Than 1968 that forced the US to propose negotiations. The book devotes many pages to analyzing the cautious and clever steps in the process of fighting the enemy, the proactive attitude towards the reactions of the socialist allies, the adjustment of strategy to reach the October 1972 Agreement and the responses to the brutal US attack in the "Christmas Eve bombing" at the end of December of that year. With vivid sources of documents, the author has answered many “Why” questions - why after Mau Than, Johnson had to propose negotiations, why the negotiations dragged on, why we “showed our cards” to reach the October 1972 agreement, why the Saigon government “tripped” Nixon, what was the purpose of the US dropping B52 bombs on Hanoi, why Nixon had to declare a halt to bombing to return to the negotiation round… The author’s answers have provided readers with many convincing arguments that clarify the opponent’s convoluted explanations. Of course, with the brilliant victory of the Vietnamese revolution, the author also did not forget to mention the support of the people of the world, from the countries waging the national liberation struggle to the people, intellectuals as well as politicians in capitalist countries and right in the United States. All of the above have created international factors that contributed significantly to the victory of the resistance war to save the country and unify the Fatherland. The above work by diplomat Nguyen Khac Huynh is an important contribution to the study of Vietnamese diplomatic history, a precious gift to readers in the joyful days of victory.
