Sino-Vietnamese War Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The Sino-Vietnamese War was a war fought in 1979 between the neighboring countries of the People's Republic of China and Vietnam.
| Table of contents |
|
2 Vietnamese Invasion of Cambodia 3 Sino-Vietnamese War 4 Aftermath |
Beginnings of War
While Communist China and North Vietnam had been close during the initial stages of the Vietnam War, after the conflict and the Sino-Soviet Split Vietnam aligned with the Soviet Union. During the conflict in Indochina, initially both the Chinese and the Soviet Union were supplying Vietnam. With the death of Stalin, the situation changed. Mao Zedong despised Nikita Khrushchev. As a result of the personality conflict, Chinese foreign policy began a shift away from the Soviet Union and towards the United States. North Vietnam began allying with the Soviet Union, which continued to supply North Vietnam's fight against South Vietnam and the United States.
North Vietnam's eventual goal became not just the defeat and conquest of South Vietnam, but rather the creation of a pan-Indochinese nation. China was very concerned about having to fight a two front war against both the Vietnamese and the Soviets. As a result, the Chinese met with Henry Kissinger and later Richard M. Nixon, moving the nation into the American camp. For more information, see Sino-Soviet Split.
An important Chinese ally was Cambodia, under the control of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. Relations between Cambodia and Vietnam were very poor. The Cambodian regime began massacring ethnic Vietnamese inside Cambodia (see History of Cambodia). By 1978 the Cambodian government was supporting guerilla activities in western Vietnam.
Vietnamese Invasion of Cambodia
In late 1978 the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia, ending the Khmer Rouge regime. On January 7 Vietnamese-backed Cambodian forces seized Phnom Penh. In response the Chinese decided to launch an punitive assault on Vietnam.
Sino-Vietnamese War
On February 17, using the Vietnamese mistreatment of the ethnic Chinese minority and some territory occupied by Vietnamese as excuses, a force of 120,000 troops attacked over the countries' shared border from Yunnan and Guangxi province. The Vietnamese put up stiff resistance, but the Chinese succeeded in advancing twenty-five miles inland. Experienced troops from the Vietnam War and the invasion of Cambodia were called up and helped halt the advance. A Vietnamese counter-offensive was launched against Hainan, but it was rebuffed.
On March 6 the Chinese called the punitive mission completed and began withdrawing their forces. They had been severely mauled, with an estimated 60,000 casualties and 20,000 killed. The Vietnamese had also suffered, losing an equal number of troops and about 10,000 civilians.
The war also caused a forced migration of Vietnam's ethnic Chinese who were discriminated against. They fled as "boat people" and were resettled in several Chinatowns and in other Asian communities in Australia, Europe, and North America.
This is an Article on Sino-Vietnamese War. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Sino-Vietnamese War Aftermath
The legacy of the war is lasting, especially in Vietnam. Today Vietnam maintains one of the world's largest armies, almost entirely out of fear of China. Occasional skirmishes continued over the border during the 1980s, with over a thousand people being killed in them. Relations between the two neighbours were only improved in the early 1990s.