Excerpt from Resolution of the 12 Plenum of the Party Central Committee On the New Situation and Our New Responsibilities

Resolution of the 12 Plenum of the Party Central Committee (Third Congress) On the New Situation and Our New Responsibilities (Excerpt), December 1965

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4. In this war against the Americans to save the nation, we must firmly maintain the formula of relying primarily on our own strength while at the same time making every possible effort to win international sympathy, support, and assistance, because this is an important factor that will contribute to our people’s ultimate victory. Our people’s struggle against the Americans to save the nation is a just cause aimed at liberating our nation. At the same time our struggle also protects the cause of socialism and makes an extremely important contribution to the revolutionary struggle of the peoples of the world against U.S.-led imperialism and to the struggle by the people of the world to achieve peace, national independence, democracy, and socialism. We must make the greatest possible efforts to secure the sympathy and support of the socialist countries, of Asian, African, and Latin American nations, and of the people of the world, including even the American people.

The task of expanding and strengthening the international popular front opposed to American imperialist aggression and in support of the just struggle of the Vietnamese people is a subject of great importance. This front must include all progressive elements throughout the world and be based firmly on the support of the nations in the socialist camp.

In order to win widespread sympathy and support, in parallel with our military struggle we must intensify our political and diplomatic struggle to help strengthen solidarity within the socialist camp, always maintaining the initiative and holding high the banner of independence and peace. If we fully achieve these goals and follow this formula completely, our people will certainly succeed in defeating the American imperialist aggressors and their treasonous lackeys. In the end, the great people’s war fought by the entire Vietnamese nation is certain to defeat the American war of aggression.

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6. Intensify our diplomatic struggle, aggressively working to win the support and assistance of the socialist camp and of the people of the world.

Our revolution is a part of the international revolutionary movement, and our people’s resistance war against the Americans to save the nation is directly linked to the national liberation movements of Asia, Africa, and Latin American, to the defense of the socialist camp, and to the defense of world peace. We must therefore strive to win the support and assistance of the socialist camp and of the people of the world, because such support and assistance will be an important factor in contributing to our success.

Our current diplomatic activities are primarily aimed at gaining greater support and assistance from the socialist camp and from the people of the world for our people’s struggle to resist the Americans to save the nation. We need to strive to expand and strengthen the united front of the world’s people to oppose the American imperialist aggressors and to support our people’s just struggle.

Currently, even though the American imperialists are clumsy, confused, and on the defensive both militarily and politically, they are still stubborn and are plotting to intensify and expand their war of aggression against our country. For that reason the conditions are not yet ripe for a political solution to the problem of Vietnam. Only after the American imperialist will to commit aggression has been crushed, and only after the South Vietnamese people’s goals of independence, peace, democracy, and neutrality have been guaranteed, will negotiations to resolve the Vietnam problem be possible.

During the course of our battle against the Americans to save our nation, we have had to firmly maintain our strategic resolve while at the same time utilizing clever political and diplomatic struggle tactics to support the military struggle. We have aggressively attacked the enemy and raised high the banner of independence and peace in order to win wide support from world public opinion and to further isolate the American imperialists.

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