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| General Chansamone Chanyalath, Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister (Photo: VNA) |
The Dien Bien Phu Victory on May 7, 1954, was a triumph of not only the Vietnamese people but also the peoples of Laos and Cambodia who allied to fight against a common enemy to liberate the nations, affirmed General Chansamone Chanyalath, Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister.
In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency in Vientiane on the occasion of the victory’s 70th anniversary, the official said that this victory stamped out the will of invasion of old-style colonialism, forcing the French government to sign the 1954 Geneva Accords on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Indochina, and recognising independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
During the Dien Bien Phu campaign, the Lao side not only created favourable conditions for the Vietnamese side, but Lao armed units operating in the North also coordinated to attack French troops in the border areas of the two countries and inside Lao territory, thus contributing to the victory of Dien Bien Phu.
For Laos, this triumph is important to the Laos-Vietnam special solidarity and combatant alliance, and also a result of coordination and mutual support to defeat a common enemy.
After the Geneva Accords, new-style imperialism jumped in to substitute old-style colonialism by invading Laos and Vietnam. Vietnamese volunteers and experts continued to unite and stand side by side with Lao officers, soldiers and people to fight and shatter the invasion ambition of the imperialists and their henchmen, winning many victories in the campaigns of Luang Namtha province (1962), Nambak (1968), Meuang Soui, Kukiet and Lam Son 719 (1971), and Xieng Khouang - Plain of Jars.
To support Vietnamese soldiers in completing the historic mission of liberating the South and reunifying the country, the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and the Central Committee of the Lao Patriotic Front also created favourable conditions to open the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Laos to transport personnel and military supplies for many years, thereby making an important contribution to the common victory of the two peoples of Laos and Vietnam, Chansamone Chanyalath said.
On April 30, 1975, the south of Vietnam was completely liberated. In coordination with the victory of the Vietnamese people, Laos launched an uprising campaign to seize power nationwide on August 23, 1975, abolishing the old monarchy and establishing the new regime of the Lao People's Democratic Republic on December 2, 1975.
The Lao Deputy PM went on to say that in the context of complex and unpredictable changes in the international and regional situations, the two countries need to strengthen and deepen their great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation.
It is necessary to maintain education for the young and future generations to have a deep understanding of the history of the time-tested relations so that they will continue to preserve, cultivate, and promote this relationship, he added./.