One of the memories that Rear Admiral Do Minh Thai - former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Navy remembers most during the journey to bring overseas Vietnamese to visit Truong Sa is the story of former commando lieutenant Nguyen Ngoc Lap of the Republic of Vietnam regime who is currently living in the US. During that trip, Mr. Lap always carried a sense of hatred. However, an 'incident' happened that made this person change.
With the theme “Fatherland, Faith and Aspiration - The 10th time, overseas Vietnamese return to Truong Sa”, the meaningful voyage is the result of 11 years of active work by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (SCV) and the Navy Command. Two of the people who have made great contributions to these journeys since the early days are Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son - former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs , former Chairman of the SCV and Rear Admiral Do Minh Thai - former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Navy. These are also two special guests on ship 571 this time.
Inspire and harmonize
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Delegates of working group No. 4 presented books, stories, and candies to children on Truong Sa Lon island. Photo: Nguyen Minh |
Having been involved in the diplomatic front for decades, veteran diplomat Nguyen Thanh Son said that he was the one who came up with this idea in 2012, after many years of surveying, assessing the situation and studying the thoughts and aspirations of overseas Vietnamese. He said: “This is a very beneficial job for the cause of protecting national territorial sovereignty as well as serving very well in foreign information and propaganda about our East Sea through the Truong Sa route. That is why I boldly proposed this idea and made a recommendation to the Government. After listening to our presentation, the Prime Minister as well as the functional agencies of the Party and State fully supported and allowed the first pilot trip to be conducted in 2012.”
“The views of those who have extremist ideologies against us changed very clearly right after visiting Truong Sa because they witnessed the truth with their own eyes and no longer listened to distorted propaganda like before.”
Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Thanh Son
According to Mr. Son, one of the arguments he presented to the Government at that time was that the East Sea is our territorial waters. Bringing overseas Vietnamese to witness the work of protecting sovereignty being carried out firmly is living proof for them to see that the distorted arguments about "giving up the sea and selling land to foreign countries" are completely wrong. At the same time, it will also destroy the distortions about Vietnam's foreign policy as well as its policy on sovereignty over seas and islands.
“The first trip in 2012 was a surprise to hundreds of overseas Vietnamese from dozens of countries around the world who participated in the journey. They were amazed to see that we are building and protecting the sacred sovereignty over the territorial waters and territory of the Fatherland very well. After this trip, overseas Vietnamese had exhibitions displaying the first vivid images of how we still keep intact every meter of land on the island, every fathom of water in the territorial waters that Vietnam claims sovereignty over,” said Mr. Son.
Of the four trips to Truong Sa that former Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Son directly participated in, the 2014 trip (visiting 9 islands and 2 platforms) was considered by him to have a very profound meaning, both in terms of national solidarity and also demonstrating the tolerant and generous nature of the people in the country, the Party and the Government of Vietnam. During that year's voyage, many members of extremist anti-communist organizations and those who directly organized activities against the country were also invited to attend.
“One of the people who had hatred and fierce opposition was overseas Vietnamese Davis Duc in the US. After visiting Truong Sa Lon Island - the last island before returning to the mainland, at a meeting with officers and soldiers on the island, he emotionally said: In fact, this time I came back because I wanted to see if the Vietnamese Government was covering up or not, whether what I said was right or wrong... but now I want to stand in the ranks of officers and soldiers on the island, holding guns to firmly protect our territorial waters,” Mr. Son recalled.
unanimous
Deciding to cancel his trip to Morocco with friends and family to join this special journey, Rear Admiral Do Minh Thai said that this was a choice he was satisfied with for many reasons. Among them, there was a detail that he mentioned many times in the conversation with me: the first and 10th trip to Truong Sa to bring overseas Vietnamese to visit was also carried out by the ship named Truong Sa 571.
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Navy leaders and overseas Vietnamese talk with officers and soldiers of Len Dao submerged island. Photo: Nguyen Minh |
Enlisting at the age of 17, Mr. Thai participated in protecting the Truong Sa archipelago in the Navy uniform in 1989 - one year after the tragic event of March 14, 1988. Having devoted his entire military career to the task of protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands, the Navy general with a sharp mind and the academic title of Associate Professor - Doctor has always been concerned about consolidating and increasing the solid strength of the people and army of Truong Sa and the DK1 platform with many resources and measures.
According to Mr. Thai, after 1975, there was a gap in awareness and understanding between the overseas Vietnamese community and the domestic community about the situation of the country in general and the issue of sovereignty over the sea and islands in particular. This even happened domestically. He said: “The East Sea is one of the most complicated disputed areas in the world. The problem itself is difficult, so the awareness of each citizen about the issue of the sea and islands is also different. Some people have full awareness, some have a one-sided awareness. Therefore, when overseas Vietnamese go to Truong Sa, DK1, they will see what the country has done in recent years in the issue of affirming sovereignty, exercising sovereignty and protecting national sovereignty in the East Sea”.
One of the memories that Mr. Thai remembers most during the journey to bring overseas Vietnamese to visit Truong Sa is the story of former commando lieutenant Nguyen Ngoc Lap of the Republic of Vietnam regime who is living in the US. During that trip, Mr. Lap always carried a sense of hatred. However, an "incident" occurred that made this person convinced. The story is that near the end of the journey, Mr. Lap suffered from acute glomerulonephritis, when the ship was near Truong Sa island, a DHC-6 seaplane of the Navy Air Force flew from Cam Ranh to perform a mission. Mr. Thai (at that time a Colonel, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Navy) reported the situation to his superiors and suggested that Mr. Lap be flown back to the mainland for treatment and then continue flying to Ho Chi Minh City by civil aircraft...
“When the delegation returned to Ho Chi Minh City and met Mr. Lap there, he told me: “We are right to lose to you.” And when he returned to the US, Mr. Lap made statements that were extremely favorable to us in negotiating policies. If we are open, sincere, and willing to share with each other, we will understand each other better, and only when we are of one mind and heart can we do it,” Mr. Thai recalled.
(To be continued)
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