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Asia Times Online :: State secrets revealed in Vietnam
One afternoon in mid-December, Colonel Tran Dang Thanh shared his views on foreign affairs with an audience of deans and professors drawn from Hanoi's many universities. Like all Vietnamese Communist Party business, Thanh's comments were considered state secrets. However, unbeknownst to Thanh, who teaches at Vietnam's top military college, someone in the audience was wired. A full text was soon uploaded to the Internet and went viral.
The occasion was a meeting of senior Party cadre who administer or teach at colleges and universities in the capital area, and who double as functionaries charged with propaganda and training. They had been convened to hear Thanh lecture on the situation in the South China Sea.
The occasion was a meeting of senior Party cadre who administer or teach at colleges and universities in the capital area, and who double as functionaries charged with propaganda and training. They had been convened to hear Thanh lecture on the situation in the South China Sea.
On the United States: "To tell the truth, the US is implementing a two-faced policy. One face uses Vietnam as an advanced force to block China. The other face employs every means to destroy the long-standing solidarity between the people of Vietnam and the people of China. ... The Americans really want to set up a naval base at Cam Ranh Bay, one of the three best harbors in the world. ... The Americans are pushing a strategy of 'peaceful change' [of the Vietnamese regime] and they seek to implement it through 'educational cooperation' with us."
"They never have and never will treat us well. If they're nice here, if they praise us there, support us in the South China Sea, it's because they're trying to use a small fish to catch a big one."
On Russia: "Resurgent, with an economy powered by endless reserves of oil and gas and cutting edge defense industries, what does Russia want of us?... It is intent on returning to East Asia. In the past, Russia gave strong support to our army and navy. Now through us, they see a way back to the region. The Russians have a high opinion of Vietnam. They see us as loyal and faithful. ... and like the Americans, they really want us to rent Cam Ranh Bay to them. ... which of course we're not going to do."
On Iran: "There are 1.1 billion Muslims between us and Europe. They are warrior peoples... who want to remold the world according to Allah's plan. Now the Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to pursue its nuclear development plan to secure a peaceful environment. I won't go into whether Iran is building nuclear weapons or not... but certainly the Iranians have enough strength to defend their interests."
On North Korea: "Its people are economically poor, but overflowing with love of country, like us Vietnamese in the 1960s and '70s. They're on a war footing. They launch rockets ... and get respect. Whatever the North Koreans say, they do. They're also determined to become a nuclear nation. They cause the big countries to lose sleep worrying about their rockets. That's something we need to study."
On China: "We must never forget that they've invaded us over and over, yet we also must always remember that China made great sacrifices to supply us in our wars against France and the US. We must not seem ungrateful for that."
it must also give top priority to preserving a peaceful environment, he argued. This was not an easy task, indeed a contradictory one, and the key to accomplishing it is preserving solidarity between the people of Vietnam and the people of China.
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