Reuters news agency on May 7 carried an article titled "Vietnam celebrates 70th anniversary of historic Dien Bien Phu victory". The newspaper stated that veterans, senior leaders and diplomats gathered in Dien Bien Phu to attend the event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory over French colonialism.
"Undeterred by persistent rain, tens of thousands of people gathered at Dien Bien Phu's main stadium to watch military parades and art shows, as well as listen to speeches broadcast on national television," Reuters wrote.
On May 7, Vietnam celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory.
The news agency commented that the historic Dien Bien Phu battle is considered one of the greatest battles of the 20th century. The French defeat led to the signing of the Geneva Accords in 1954.
Reuters also quoted Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's statement that the Dien Bien Phu victory was a victory for all colonial countries in the world at that time and Vietnam will strive for a new Dien Bien Phu victory on the economic front.
Professor Carl Thayer, an Australian expert who has spent many years studying Vietnam, told Reuters: "One lesson from the Dien Bien Phu campaign is that Vietnam must clearly define its national interests and pursue these interests strategically. Vietnam has systematized this approach with bamboo diplomacy, resolute and unyielding on basic principles, but flexible in the ways and means to achieve its strategic goals."
Several other news agencies reported that French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu attended the event; at the same time, he reviewed important milestones, as well as historical events, describing the atmosphere at the celebration.
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu attended the event, marking the first time a senior French official has visited the former battlefield and attended the anniversary ceremony in Dien Bien Phu.
Mr. Jean-Yves Guinard (92 years old), one of three French veterans who returned to Dien Bien Phu to attend the anniversary, said that he "still has a strong attachment" to Vietnam. French news agencies also reported that all three French veterans visited the Dien Bien Phu Historical Victory Museum and were welcomed by local people.
Also on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory, press agencies from Laos, Spain, and Mexico all published articles praising the Dien Bien Phu Victory.
Pasaxon, the mouthpiece of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, published an article on May 7 titled "The Historical Significance of the Dien Bien Phu Victory". The article stated that the Dien Bien Phu victory was the pinnacle, the most comprehensive, fierce, and severe test of strength in the national salvation mission of the Vietnamese People's Army against old-style colonialism and the intervention and aid of new-style imperialism.
Lao News Agency published an article on the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory.
The editorial affirmed that all the great victories on the battlefield of the three countries of Laos - Vietnam - Cambodia forced the enemy into a stalemate and became increasingly weaker. The more the people of the three Indochinese countries fought, the stronger the revolutionary forces became and gained the initiative, growing in both quantity and quality. The spirit of solidarity and fighting alliance among the three Indochinese countries became increasingly tightened.
The newspaper Unidad y Lucha (Unity and Struggle), the mouthpiece of the Spanish People's Communist Party (PCPE), published an article "70 years after the Battle of Dien Bien Phu" praising the "resounding victory that shook the world" of the Vietnamese army and people.
Mexico's Voces Del Periodista newspaper affirmed: "After 70 years, the echoes of the Dien Bien Phu victory still resound like an immortal heroic epic of the 20th century."
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