Lessons worth remembering 70 years on

Soldiers escort coffins containing the remains of Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyrs at the Taoxian international airport in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning province, Sept 16, 2022. [Photo by Chen Song/China Daily]

This is an editorial from China Daily.

On July 27, 1953, military commanders from the Chinese People's Volunteers force, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's Army and the United States (on behalf of the "United Nations Command") signed the Korean Armistice Agreement, putting an end to "all acts of armed force" on the Korean Peninsula.

Seventy years on, representatives of China, the DPRK and Russia gathered in Pyongyang to mark the 70th anniversary of the armistice. For China, the DPRK and Russia, whose predecessor the Soviet Union played an important supporting role behind the Chinese and DPRK forces during the war, there are many things worth remembering as they commemorate the occasion.

The foremost lesson is about the importance of solidarity. Solidarity helped them resist the aggression of the US-led forces back then and it can help them counter the pressure the US and its allies are putting on all of them today.

In China, the occasion is also being commemorated as a milestone establishing the country's status as a major country, and an example that a weaker country armed with an unwavering fighting spirit may not yield to the very strong.

Thus the intrepid fighting spirit demonstrated by the Chinese People's Volunteers force has commanded the limelight.

Remembering the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea is essentially to cherish peace and to solemnly declare to the world the Chinese people's desire for a peaceful environment for development.

With the US persisting with its Cold War mentality, power politics and bullying behaviors, commemorating the armistice reiterates the message delivered by then premier Zhou Enlai to the US on Sept 30, 1950, that "The Chinese people love peace, but in order to defend peace, they have never been and will never be afraid to resist a war of aggression."

That is why the People's Liberation Army is resolved to carry on the fighting spirit of the Chinese People's Volunteers force and upgrade its preparedness amid the worsening security environment, and the country at large is displaying similar perseverance as it comes under escalating external pressure and threats.

Beyond and above everything, on this occasion, peace-loving people and nations must not ignore the simple truth that the armistice 70 years ago only stopped the fighting. In the absence of a permanent settlement, the Korean Peninsula technically remains in a state of war.

As hostility intensifies and escalates among various parties, and with the US upgrading its military deployments in the region and increasing the pressure on the DPRK, the Korean Peninsula is once again becoming a powder keg.

It has never been so important and imperative for all the parties involved to review the lessons of that war, and apply meaningful crisis management.