On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the 45th anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam-Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, the People’s Army Newspaper would like to introduce a series of articles reviewing the special relationship between Vietnam and Laos.
Vietnam and Laos officially established the diplomatic relations on September 5, 1962 and signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation on July 18, 1977. These were remarkable milestones marking the development steps in the history of the Vietnam-Laos special relationship, affirming the close connection of the two peoples in the struggle for national liberation and the Fatherland’s construction and defense cause.
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President Ho Chi Minh receives Lao President Kaysone Phomvihane in 1966. |
Tradition of close attachment
Vietnam and Laos are two neighboring countries. There is a Vietnamese proverb describing neighborliness saying “standing side by side even when there is no light” while the Lao people call Vietnamese people “bankay huonkhieng” (villages and houses closed to each other). Lao poet Vilay Keomany in his poem “A twin brother” also wrote that “You're over there. I'm on this side/We share a great Truong Son Mountain Range.”
The traditional relationship between the two peoples was established and nurtured through thousands years of the national construction and defense cause, especially since the birth and sound leadership of the Communist Party of Indochina (later the Communist Party of Vietnam) and the Lao People's Revolutionary Party.
The sound leadership of the Communist Party of Indochina guided the Vietnamese and Lao people to strongly promote the spirits of independence, self-reliance, and strength of each people, and at the same time to strengthen close attachment between the two countries in the struggle for independence and freedom.
According to Lao Ambassador to Vietnam Sengphet Houngboungnuang, Vietnam and Laos have traditions of close attachment and mutual support through many decades. They stood side by side in the fight again foreign invaders and gradually gained victories, contributing to giving the birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945, and helping the Lao people reach independence on October 12, 1945 under the leadership of the Lao Issara.
These events helped uphold solidarity and mutual support between the two countries to become a special combat alliance. Right after gaining the independence, the two governments signed an agreement on the Vietnam-Laos cooperation and support and formed the Laos-Vietnam joint army to protect each country’s independence. They were initial documents that created legal establishment for the collaboration and solidarity to fight again the common enemy.
During the national resistance war against American invaders, the special combat alliance between the two countries continued to be reinforced and developed significantly. After important victories of the Lao revolution in politics, military and diplomacy, the signing of the Geneva Accords on Laos in 1962 opened a new development period for the Vietnamese and Lao revolutions. Thanks to these conditions, the two countries have officially established diplomatic relations on September 5, 1962.
This event, as assessed by Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung, marked an important milestone in the history of Vietnam-Laos relations. He repeated Prince Souphanouvong’s statement at a meeting with the Laos People’s Army, saying that Laos has more friends after establishing diplomatic relations with other countries, but Vietnam is the only one who will live, die, and share a trench with the Lao people. Since then, under the leadership of the two parties, the Vietnamese and Lao peoples have always tried their best to support each other and stood side by side in the fight against their common enemies, Ambassador Nguyen Ba Hung emphasized in an interview with a reporter from the People's Army Newspaper.
The Vietnam-Laos special combat alliance in the fight against common enemies in the 1945-1975 period was not in each country’s interests but also an international obligation, as stated by President Ho Chi Minh: “Helping friend is helping yourself.”
The success of the combat alliance created a firm foundation for the development of the special solidarity between the two countries in the new period of history.
In line with changes of time
After the two countries were liberated completely in 1975, the Vietnam-Laos relations stepped to a new page. It shifted from the combat alliance to the comprehensive cooperation between two independent countries. During the period, both countries had to deal with post-war consequences. Their economies were mainly agrarian with low level of cultivation and productivity while their leaderships’ capabilities were limited, Ambassador Nguyen Ba Hung said.
The international situations changed complicatedly while the hostile forces at home and abroad tried to separate two countries. In particular, after the Vietnamese military and experts withdrew in early 1976 according to the agreement between the two parties and the two governments, the reactionary forces in Laos, with the support of international hostile forces, were active in rebellion in many places, causing risks of political instability in Laos.
The situation posed a requirement to develop and tighten the Vietnam-Laos special relations in line with the changes of the times, Ambassador Nguyen Ba Hung affirmed.
Therefore, the two countries signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation on July 18, 1977 on the occasion of the official visit of a high-raking delegation of the Vietnamese Party and Government to Laos.
According to the treaty, the two sides pledged to make their utmost to protect and develop the Vietnam-Laos special relations, increasingly enhance trust and solidarity, long-term cooperation and mutual supports in all aspects in the spirit of proletarian internationalism and on the basis of complete equality, mutual respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and each other's legitimate interests, and non-interference in each other's internal affairs.
It was a comprehensive treaty with a long-term strategic view, which created political and legal foundation to reinforce and strengthen the solidarity and special relations between Vietnam and Laos.
Also, the signing of the treaty was an important historical milestone to mark a new chapter in the bilateral ties between Vietnam and Laos. It displayed international spirit of the two countries towards the goal of building the socialism and promoting positive influence in the region, Ambassador Nguyen Ba Hung concluded.
(To be continued…)
Translated by Trung Thanh