Postwar Vietnam

The 1978-1979 Crisis

Sino-Soviet Conflict

By 1978, a conflict between the Soviet Union and China had been deepening for almost 20 years

In 1969, troops from the two countries clashed along the border, inflicting significant casualties

The Soviet Union considered the option of a nuclear strike against China's nuclear facilities in 1969

The U.S. indicated this would have "grave" consequences.

The U.S. succeeded in placing itself between China and the Soviets, thereby leaving the Vietnamese out of the equation

The Soviets and Chinese placed intense pressure on Vietnam to take a side in the conflict

The situations in 1978-1979 produced consequences that would affect Vietnam profoundly for over a decade

Emerging Vietnamese Conflict with Cambodia and China

There has been a long tradition of conflict between Vietnam and Cambodia (Kymers) extending back to the Vietnamese conquest of the Mekong Delta in the 18th century

These conflicts surfaced repeatedly during the 1954-1975 wars and involved all groups from Vietnam and from Cambodia - the NVN government consistently subordinated the interests of the Kymer Rouge to its own - Hanoi attempted to control the Kymer Rouge

After the 1973 cease fire, the NVN stopped support to the Kymer Rouge, whose victory in 1975 was due to its own efforts and to large-scale support from Beijing

Chinese interests in Indochina were defined largely in terms of preventing any power from controlling this area and the Chinese had begun to fear that Vietnam was willing and able to exert such control - China continued its support of Cambodia (including support troops and military equipment) and condemned Vietnam's continued relationship with the Soviets

The leadership of the Kymer Rouge - Pol Pot - undertook a series of massive relocation programs and systematic killing of all opponents - it was a regime that gave fanaticism a bad name

Many Kymer escaped into sanctuaries along the Vietnamese border (some inside Cambodia) and were used as the basis for a conclusion by Pol Pot that Vietnam intended to annex Cambodia

Kymer forces began attacks on these sanctuaries, including some inside Vietnam, in 1977

In late 1977, Vietnam attacked Cambodian positions in the border areas and then called for negotiations

The Chinese responded by increasing their military support for Cambodia

In order to protect itself from Chinese efforts to contain and control Vietnam, the government moved into the Soviet camp on June 29, 1978 with an economic treaty and on November 3 with a security treaty

On December 25, 1978 Vietnam invaded Cambodia with 160,000 troops and swept the Kymer Rouge and Pol Pot into the western portion of the country

The Vietnamese occupation produced both relief at the end of Pol Pot's control and hostility from many Cambodians who feared the Vietnamese more than the Kymer Rouge

Vietnam establishes a government under Heng Samrin

An alliance of Cambodian groups (including the Kymer Rouge) hostile to Vietnam was formed in western Cambodia and supported by Thailand, the U.S., and China

Vietnam's Conflict With China

Perhaps the most important strategic reason for the invasion was to prevent China from gaining a foothold in Cambodia from which it could pressure Vietnam

This emerging hostility to China can be traced to the long history of conflict between the two and to the more recent attitude of China to bring all of SEA under its sphere of influence

Before 1965, China's aid to Vietnam was much greater than the Soviet's

The U.S. bombing meant the Vietnamese now needed Soviet help with more sophisticated equipment - the willingness to turn to the Soviets placed Vietnam in between the two rival communist powers

Over the period from 1965-1972, the hostilities between China and Soviets increased and the Chinese came to welcome the U.S. presence in Vietnam as a conterweight to the Soviet ambitions there

The nearness of a Vietnamese victory meant the Chinese concerns over a strong Vietnam - probably wanting to dominate all of Indochina - became much more salient

Chinese cut off all aid to Vietnam in 1976

A festering issue below the surface in 1978-79 was the matter of the Paracel Islands and the Spratly Islands

Approximately 1.5 million "overseas Chinese" lived mainly in the southern part of Vietnam

Like similarly situated Chinese elsewhere, they were economically very adept and also disliked by native populations

In early 1978, China began a policy of winning support and loyalty of overseas Chinese throughout SEA

In March 1978, Vietnam moved against Chinese within Vietnam, seizing their assets and forcing them to move to the countryside

Large numbers of Vietnamese-Chinese flee Vietnam and become boat people

The sequence of events:

3/78 Vietnam attacks Vietnamese Chinese

6/78 economic treaty between Vietnam and Soviet Union

11/78 Vietnam-Soviet security treaty

12/78 Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia led China to attack Vietnam in February 1979

The attack lasted about 30 days and resulted in significant Chinese losses; the Chinese may have shown Vietnam the capacity to invade, but the Vietnamese demonstrated the capacity to repel the Chinese and inflict considerable losses

The Soviets were the biggest winners from the events of 1978-79: gain strategic position in SEA, control over the large naval base at Cam Ranh Bay, and push the Chinese out of part of SEA