Saturday, May 13, 1972
Peking Assails U.S. Acts
HONG KONG (UPI) --The Chinese government strongly condemned U.S. President Richard Nixon's move to seal off North Vietnam's sources of war supplies and declared that China would "resolutely support and assist" the Vietnamese Communist "till final victory."The Chinese condemnation came in a formal government statement, which followed an earlier commentator's article in the People"s Daily, official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party. The statement was issued Thursday and broadcast by the New China News Agency (NCNA) early Friday.Nixon's order for the mining of North Vietnam's ports and for stepped-up bombing of other supply routes "is a new grave step taken by the United States in its war of aggression against Vietnam," the statement said."This act of war escalation by U.S. imperialism seriously encroaches upon the territory and sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, grossly violates the freedom of international navigation and trade and wantonly tramples upon the charter of the United Nations and public law. It is a provocation not only against the Vietnamese people but also against the people of the whole world. The Chinese government and people express their utmost indignation and strongly condemn it."The Chinese expressed full support for a North Vietnamese government statement issued Wednesday which called the American action an "insolent challenge" to Hanoi's Communist allies and other countries as well."The Chinese government and people resolutely support the solemn and just stand taken by the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in its statement of May 10," the statement said. "The Chinese government reaffirms that "the 700 million Chinese people provide a powerful backing for the Vietnamese people; the vast expanse of China's territory is their reliable rear area.""Peking Assails U.S. Acts", by (UPI), published in the Pacific Stars and Stripes Saturday, May 13, 1972 and reprinted from European and Pacific Stars and Stripes, a Department of Defense publication copyright, 2002 European and Pacific Stars and Stripes.