July 27th is the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement. On this day, all parties concerned commemorate this special day in different ways. Time flies, 50 years have passed, and the Cold War has long since ended, but today's Korean Peninsula is still a cross-strait confrontation. It is precisely because of this that this day has also attracted more attention and reflection.
The Korean War has always been a hot topic at home and abroad. Since the reform and opening up, especially after the declassification of the "red files" of the former Soviet Union in the 1990s, the discussion on the Korean War in domestic academic circles has become increasingly heated. Some truths are gradually stripped away and become clear, and people's reflection tends to deepen. However, based on the evaluation of China's gains and losses in the war, some people even denied the necessity of fighting against the DPRK that year, and their views were too biased.
Admittedly, to some extent, China was dragged into the Korean War. Sending troops to North Korea is the last strategic choice. The decision of the Central Committee to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea was well thought out, after all, it was related to the safety of new China. China's war against the DPRK is not only moral, but also has the intention of defending the country.
It is an objective fact that China paid great sacrifices and costs in the Korean War. Indeed, after this war, Sino-US relations became even colder, which greatly delayed the improvement of bilateral relations. However, none of this can erase China's gains in this war, let alone be a reason to deny its participation in Korea. After all, what you gain will be lost. On issues involving national security, we should not look back and forth, thinking about it and being afraid of losing it.
There is a popular view that without the Korean War, the problem of Taiwan Province Province would have been solved long ago. The reason is that the Chiang dynasty was crumbling at that time, the Truman administration had decided to give up Taiwan Province province, and the People's Liberation Army would certainly win Taiwan Province province in one fell swoop. In this regard, the author does not want to completely deny this possibility, but it needs to be pointed out that it is not easy to cross the Taiwan Province Strait in the middle when the People's Liberation Army is still searching for the remnants of the Kuomintang and the naval forces of New China are very limited. In fact, in June 1949 10, the East China Field Army lost in the liberation of Kinmen Island. In the United States, the Truman administration was only extremely disappointed with Chiang Kai-shek's government, so it made an internal decision to abandon Chiang Kai-shek. Now people draw a conclusion based on the diplomatic archives later declassified by the US government. It is difficult for the outside world to know exactly the tone of the US side when the cold war atmosphere was strong. Moreover, under the background of the Cold War, it is still unknown whether the United States will really give up Taiwan Province Province once Chinese mainland wants to liberate Taiwan Province Province, when the United States believes that capitalism is "expanding abroad" and the domestic anti-capitalism atmosphere is extremely strong.
In a purely military sense, China and the United States actually tied, but politically and strategically, China undoubtedly won. Volunteers rushed the American troops who committed wild crimes in the north from Yalu River to the "38th parallel" and forced the US to sign an armistice agreement. Today, the lament of US military commander Clark that "the armistice agreement was not signed in the case of victory for the first time" is still in my ears.
The victory of the Korean War ensured the security of China's heavy industry base-Northeast China, kept the US troops south of the "38th parallel" and gave us a buffer zone, thus reducing the direct infiltration of hostile forces into China, relieving the security pressure and changing the security environment in China to a certain extent.
The victory of the Korean War demonstrated the national strength and military strength, and greatly enhanced China's international status. China was extremely weak in modern times. Since the Opium War, except for the eight-year war of resistance, almost every war was defeated and land compensation was ceded. On the Korean battlefield, South China's army fought the 16 "United Nations Army" led by the United States, forcing the most powerful United States to accept the end of the armistice. At that time, some western military strategists marveled that China had become a first-class military power overnight.
The victory of the Korean War objectively greatly inspired the self-confidence of the people of the whole country, enhanced the cohesion of the people of all ethnic groups in China, and inspired the broad masses of people's passion for defending and building a new China.
The Korean War dealt a heavy blow to American arrogance and contributed to the stability of the Asia-Pacific region. When the United States later dealt with the security problems around China, it had to consider China's reaction. After the fighting on the Korean battlefield, both China and the United States tried their best to avoid confrontation, including the Taiwan Strait issue. This has undoubtedly had a profound and subtle impact on maintaining stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
It is necessary and beneficial to reflect on history, but we must be calm and objective. On the gain and loss of China's participation in the war, we should stand at a historical height, but we should also consider the historical environment at that time, so as to make a fair evaluation. Thinking of the hard-won victory of the Korean War and the hardships and hardships of fighting in Korea in those years, we should remember those martyrs who shed blood in foreign countries with reverence today.
Authors: American Institute of China Academy of Social Sciences.