“Vietnam closely follows the situation in Afghanistan. As a member of the non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Vietnam calls on all involved parties to refrain from violence, ensure security, order, essential infrastructures, the lives and properties of Afghanistan people as well as foreigners in the country, especially women and children,” Hang said, adding that necessary attention should also be focused on humanitarian aid access.
The deputy foreign spokesperson has not given a definite answer on whether or not Vietnam recognises the Taliban forces, which have captured the capital city of Kabul earlier this week and effectively took control of the country in such a short time after US forces withdrew.
The subsequent chaotic scenes of evacuation and many people attempting to flee the country at Kabul airport have drawn comparison to the final days of the US-backed Saigon regime when it surrendered to the People’s Army of Vietnam in April 1975, marking the end of the 20-year-long war and reunification of the country.
In responses to the juxtaposition of the two situations which international press have been keen to call history repeating itself, the Vietnamese spokesperson said “with the historic victory in the spring of 1975, the army and people of Vietnam have triumphed in the resistance war through courage and endurance, fully liberating the south of Vietnam, reunifying the country, and opening up a new chapter for the Vietnamese people: a new era of independence, freedom, peace, in which the entire people can partake in the building and development of the nation.”
Hang said Vietnam’s victory in the righteous war has “brought confidence, elation, admiration from progressives and peace-loving people across the world,” stressing that “the historic meaning of the victory is indisputable.”
