The great solidarity between Vietnam and Cuba cannot be distorted.

When Vietnam launched a fundraising program to support Cuba on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, hostile, reactionary and opportunistic political forces immediately distorted and denied the nature of this humanitarian and sentimental activity. Not stopping there, they also took advantage of it to sabotage the foreign policies and guidelines of our Party and State. Exposing the plots of hostile forces is not only a political responsibility but also the sentiment and conscience of each person in preserving and developing the special solidarity between Vietnam and Cuba, and protecting the Party's foreign policies in the new situation.

Báo Quân đội Nhân dân•21/09/2025

A vicious attack on humanitarianism

Towards the 65th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Cuba diplomatic relations (1960-2025), the Central Committee of the Vietnam Red Cross Society was assigned by the Party, State and Vietnam Fatherland Front to preside over and coordinate with ministries, branches, agencies and units to organize a program to mobilize support for the Cuban people with the theme "65 years of Vietnam-Cuba friendship". The program has profound political and humanitarian significance, demonstrating Vietnam's steadfast and faithful love for the brotherly country of Cuba, especially in the context that the Cuban people are facing many difficulties due to embargo, natural disasters, epidemics, etc.

Not only stopping at material support activities, the program also carries a political -diplomatic message: Vietnam consistently adheres to its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, diversification, and loyal attachment to traditional friends. This is also a vivid demonstration of the vitality of the special Vietnam-Cuba relationship, a rare relationship in the history of international relations, founded by President Ho Chi Minh and leader Fidel Castro, and continuously nurtured by generations of leaders and people of the two countries.

However, immediately after the national campaign program was launched and throughout the past days, that noble gesture became the target of attacks by hostile, reactionary forces and political opportunists. They distorted, misrepresented, and denied the humane nature of the campaign program, thereby aiming to deny the independent, autonomous, and humane foreign policy of the Party, State, and people's diplomacy of Vietnam.

It is clear that it is not by chance that hostile and reactionary forces choose humane and humanitarian programs to sabotage. As an inherent attribute, the more humane and humanitarian Vietnam's programs and actions are, the more they will seek to smear them. They know clearly that the Vietnam-Cuba relationship is an exemplary symbol of pure international solidarity. Therefore, if they erode trust in that symbol, they will achieve a dual goal: both dividing the people from the Party and weakening and damaging Vietnam's foreign policy.

In recent anti-government campaigns, they have used familiar but more sophisticated tricks: cropping and editing images of fundraising events to promote “coercion and formality”; fabricating fake data and maliciously comparing them with some domestic difficulties to sow discontent and skepticism; swapping concepts, turning voluntary donations into “mandatory” ones; more dangerously, they have taken advantage of cyberspace, creating “digital herds”, making public opinion misunderstand that the majority of people oppose the fundraising program. All of these aim to sow seeds of skepticism, promote selfishness, and undermine people’s trust in the Party, the State and the Vietnam Fatherland Front.

Launching ceremony of the campaign to support the Cuban people. Photo: VGP

From attacking a specific fundraising activity, they expanded to denying the nature of the Vietnam-Cuba relationship, considering it a "legacy that does not need to be maintained". By using the stereotyped words of "showing off, buying fame", their plot is to deny our Party's independent, autonomous, multilateral and humane foreign policy. Thereby, they aim to erode the spirit of great national unity and pure international solidarity. By distorting the Vietnam-Cuba solidarity relationship, the opposing forces deny Vietnam's role and position in the international arena, isolating Vietnam from its traditional partners and friends. Obviously, their deep plot is to create a "void of trust", promote "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" in society, gradually destroying the Party's ideological foundation.

"Steel shield" against distorted arguments

To see through the reactionary nature of the destructive arguments of hostile forces, reactionaries and political opportunists, we need to firmly grasp and deeply understand the special solidarity relationship between the two Parties, two States and peoples of Vietnam and Cuba throughout 65 years of history. Formed early, stemming from conscience, pure international sentiment and the tradition of friendship and humanity of the two peoples, that relationship has overcome the challenges of war, geographical distance and the harshness of the embargo policy, becoming an immortal symbol of comradeship.

In the perspective of Marxism-Leninism, international solidarity is a fundamental principle, expressed in the smooth combination of true patriotism with noble proletarian internationalism. That thought was absorbed and developed by President Ho Chi Minh into a consistent motto: "Helping friends is helping ourselves". He affirmed: "Vietnam and Cuba are thousands of miles apart, but the hearts of the people of our two countries are very close to each other like brothers in one family" ^(*) , sharing the same aspiration for independence, freedom and the path to socialism. From the flames of war to building peace, from historic visits to specific projects and works, that pure international spirit has become the solid foundation of a loyal and steadfast relationship. Thanks to that, each fundraising activity today is not a single event but a link between history and the present, between yesterday and today of a great flow - the flow of great solidarity between Vietnam and Cuba.

Historical reality has also affirmed that the Vietnam-Cuba relationship is a priceless asset, a sacred heritage that needs to be protected, preserved and passed on to future generations. As early as December 1960, Cuba was the first Western Hemisphere country to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam. Only 3 years later, the Cuban Committee for Solidarity with South Vietnam was established (1963), demonstrating strong and timely support in the context of our people entering the fierce stage of the resistance war against the US to save the country. From Havana Square to every factory and school, the spirit of "all for Vietnam" spread throughout the Caribbean island nation, leaving a deep impression in the hearts of the people of the two countries.

In particular, on January 2, 1966, during a rally at José Martí Revolution Square in Havana, to celebrate the 7th anniversary of the success of the Cuban Revolution (January 1, 1959 / January 1, 1966) and to welcome the Asia-Africa-Latin America Solidarity Conference, leader Fidel Castro affirmed: "For Vietnam, Cuba is ready to sacrifice its blood!". These immortal words expressed the kinship, the spirit of sacrifice and sharing of the Cuban people towards their comrades and brothers in Vietnam, forever engraved in time and space about a great friendship in human history.

Not only the spirit, the peak of that solidarity was the historic visit in September 1973, when Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro came to Quang Tri. The image of a head of state, regardless of danger, going to the fierce battlefield to encourage our cadres, soldiers and people in the long march to liberate the nation and unify the country is an unforgettable memory of the Cuban comrade and brother in the hearts of the Vietnamese people.

During the difficult years, Cuban experts and workers were present at many key projects, from Truong Son Road, Dong Hoi Friendship Hospital, Thang Loi Hotel to factories and essential infrastructures across Vietnam. Those drops of sweat and effort contributed significantly to helping our country recover quickly after the war. At the same time, Cuba was the leading country in mobilizing Latin American countries to support Vietnam to become a member of the United Nations in 1977. In return, Vietnam always shared difficulties with Cuba, from food to medical equipment, from technology to technical transfer, demonstrating the steadfast brotherhood.

Today, the relationship between the two countries continues to be consolidated, upgraded, and expanded comprehensively in many fields, such as: National defense, security, justice, science and technology, construction, culture, sports and people-to-people exchange; promoting cooperation programs in each sector, field, as well as between political and social organizations of the two countries. First Secretary, President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel affirmed: "The Vietnam-Cuba relationship is a beautiful symbol of comradeship and loyal friendship". General Secretary To Lam also emphasized: The loyal friendship and special cooperation between the two countries is a priceless asset that the two countries need to preserve, promote and pass on to future generations. The Party, State and people of Vietnam always consider solidarity and support for Cuba as the conscience and responsibility of communists and all Vietnamese people. This is the proud and honorable continuation of the special relationship, rare in the world.

Therefore, we must see more clearly the reactionary nature of hostile forces. Arguments like “Vietnam is still poor, so we should not help Cuba” are absurd, because the donation program is completely voluntary and does not affect the social security budget. On the contrary, from this noble gesture, Vietnam becomes a model of a loyal and steadfast friend to traditional friends.

The distortion and slander that the fundraising activities are "for show", "to serve group interests"... are destructive and baseless allegations, because the entire fundraising program is public, transparent, and supervised by the Vietnam Fatherland Front and functional agencies.

To say that donating and supporting Cuba is “buying the reputation of foreign relations” is a blatant slander. Because the Vietnam-Cuba relationship is not a formal relationship but the result of 65 years of sharing joys and sorrows, being closely attached to each other, sharing joys and sorrows. Initial results show that as of September 5, less than a month after the launching ceremony, there have been nearly 2 million participants with a donation value of more than 400 billion VND. This is a vivid demonstration of the sentiments of the Vietnamese people towards their friends in the Caribbean island nation.

The more we dissect, the more we see that those arguments are just weak, baseless echoes, self-denying the historical and present truth. Conspiracies to sabotage and tricks of distortion cannot erase the great solidarity between Vietnam and Cuba because it was forged with blood, sweat, tears, and the steadfast loyalty of the two Parties, two States, and two peoples. Fighting and refuting wrong and hostile views that distort fundraising activities in particular and the Vietnam-Cuba relationship in general is not only a basic and urgent requirement but also the responsibility, sentiment, and conscience of every Vietnamese and Cuban person.

NGUYEN HUY - THANH DUY

(*) Ho Chi Minh, Complete Works, vol. 15, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2011, p. 179