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A World Restored

ENCHIRIDION

Waliur Rahman
****As a member of the Security Council, Bangladesh then played a friendly but important role in helping the Security Council adopt unanimously a ceasefire, that brought benefits to both China and Vietnam,
IN a largely unnoticed de velopment China and Vietnam have recently,agreed to restore the rail roads connecting Beijing with Hanoi. The link was disrupted following the brief but bloody border skirmishes in 1979.
The decision of the Chinese government to restore the rail-link with Vietnam, sometime friend and sometime adversary, again demonstrates the Ggmatic policy that is guid-the present foreign and economic policy objective* of the Chinese government. The Vietnamese leaders have also shown extra ordinary sense of realism in redirecting their economy frdm a largely com-
mand and control appa ratchick towarda free entrepreneurship and market economy None of these countries may admit publicly but Adam Smith's ghost must be working quietly but steadily in the boardrooms of these two countries, in -nudging them forward in embracing the gnomes of free-market economy : It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker that we
expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We. address ourselves, not -to their hunjanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.'
China has again proved that in international relations there Is no permanent friend, it is national interest that is permanent and that should be the guiding principle of foreign policy objectives of all self-respecting nations today and tomorrow.
It was only over a decade-and a half ago that the two countries fought a bitter border war where both China and Vietnam suffered unacceptable casualties in men and materiel It was a skiftnish on the mountains and hills, the passes and the glaciers. The skirmish was redolent of'The dramatic Sino-Indian border conflict of 1962 — but only to a point, ‘ particularly in the similarity of the terrain — both desolate and difficult and mountainous. As a member of the Security Council. Bangladesh then
played a friendly but important role in helping the Security Council adopt unanimously a ceasefire, that brought benefits to both China and Vietnam. A very cold winter and even a ' colder atmospherics did not dampen our enthusiasm to sit through nights and days in drafting a resolution in consonance with the Charter principles. A mighty power with a massive army. China shoved great restraint and its leaders statesmanship in agreeing to the ceasefire. When generals fight, diplomats negotiate. Ambassadors Zhang Lian. Laeli and Chou Nan will be remembered for their great diplomatic acumen and rare political sagacity in convincing their leaders in accepting the draft in blue. The Chinese hand was the last to go up in support of the resolution to the surprise of many and relief of most —' though it was not a surprise to us
Any nation to move forward has to have a sense of history. Who docs not remember the crucial assistance of China along with the Soviet Union in
the decisive Viet Minh victory at Dien Bien Phu over France in 1954? Again. China played a seminal role in aiding the VI-etcongs to force the withdrawal of the US forces from Vietnam by 1975. But by 1978/79 the two allies were at loggerheads.
With the linking of Beijing and Hanoi, China is inexorably moving towards taking its i place as a power to reckon, i with in the 21st century. China Is adding its might to the Asia-, Pacific rim to give substance to historian's prediction about the 21st century — it is the Asian century.
Nearer home another development with tremendous future potential has called the attention of scholars and strategists in South Asia : The meeting of the new Nepalese prime minister with his Indian counterpart Narasimha Rao. Nepal expects a favourable response from India regarding her proposal to transit rights through India to export her goods through Chittagong and Mongla port in Bangladesh Though not a new proposal, the recent meeting with the Indian prithe minister has given a new resonance to the prospect because a large portion of the Link Road inside Bangladesh is now ready with the renovation of the 91-kilometre all-weather Dinajpur-Panchagarh Road. In the event of India-Nepal agreement, this
road will facilitate transport of Nepalese goods to the northern railway grid and dther points in Bangladesh, to the benefit of both Nepal and Bangladesh.
The impact of railways, from it> inception, on various societies and their economic development has been pro-fourfd. and sometimes, revolutionary. The Wfcst in America could be epnquered with relative ease, because of the introduction of locomotives. The East Indian Railway Company ‘ was first registered in 1849 — and first time was opened between Bombay and Ghana in 1853. By 1910 thousands of railway lines spread o^er what Is now Indfa. Pakistan and
Bangladesh. Whereas the railways-helped the British Raj to rufe in the Omphalos of the . Empire with such facility, ironically the same railroads became a tool in the hands of Gandhis non-cooperation Movement! Agatha Christie's choice of thie Orient Express to create the immortal saga of murder and mystery not only ■ made railway travelling more exciting; It also popularised the railroads as a reliable mode to promote tourism.
The restoration of rail-link . between China and Vietnam is a development of great import. The pragmatism • of China, leavened by the confucian philosophy, has prompted her to take yet another giant step forward.
Vietnan^ s forging of closer relationship with the ASEAN countries has not been lost on China. Let this be t beacon for other regions, other countries to follow.