It is a well-known fact that in the 20th century, territorial disputes led to several conflicts between countries. This report examines the Sino-Vietnamese War, a conflict that arose due to disputes over border territories, which led to a full-blown war between the People’s Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. This report focuses on the historical background and context of the war and the factors that led to it.

The Historical Context of the Sino-Vietnamese War

The Sino-Vietnamese War, which broke out in 1979, was primarily a result of territorial conflicts between the Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The war was particularly contentious, as both countries claimed victory after the conflict. However, the Sino-Vietnamese War has received little attention in recent studies of Cold War geopolitics.

There were multiple reasons for the outbreak of the Sino-Vietnamese War. These included boundary disputes, growing resentment towards Vietnamese immigrants, and the influence of the Soviet Union in Southeast Asia. These issues eventually led to the conflict between the two countries.

Factors Leading to the Sino-Vietnamese War

One of the factors that contributed to the conflict was the breakdown of the relationship between Vietnam and China. Vietnam viewed the Soviet Union as its preferred ally due to the latter’s commitment to a more equal ideological approach. In contrast, China’s interest in using Vietnam as leverage against Soviet interests quickly diminished.

Another factor was China’s use of the United States as a counterbalance to the Soviet Union, which resulted in the USSR slowing down the progress of SALT II. As a result, by mid-1978, the momentum towards normalized relations with the United States seemed certain, and this became a reality in January 1979.

Discriminatory policies directed at ethnic Chinese in Vietnam led to an intense exodus of an estimated 450,000 Hoa minority Chinese back to China between 1975 and 1979. Moreover, geopolitical interests enabled China to select where commissioning of overseas Chinese could be a pretext for war. The climax of Vietnam’s anti-ethnic Chinese policies was the displacement of nearly 100,000 Hoa Chinese from Vietnam in the first half of 1978, which intensified the distrust between the two sides.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Sino-Vietnamese War was a result of multiple factors, including boundary disputes, resentment towards Vietnamese immigrants, and the influence of the Soviet Union in Southeast Asia. This report seeks to provide a historical context and background for this conflict, including the events that led up to the war. Understanding the root causes of this conflict can help in resolving future geopolitical conflicts.

China encouraged Cambodia to prevent regional expansion by Vietnam and to curb Soviet influence in Indochina. China's decision to invade Vietnam directly in response to Vietnam's intrusion into Cambodia took fewer than two months. Chinese planners had to justify the action internally and externally, plan the affair, and rally troops while keeping in mind their grand strategy for regional authority. Vietnam's encroachment on Cambodia was a factor in this decision.

Some participants in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) believe that Maoist ideology bolstered the resolution and discipline of the fighting men and gave them a zeal and resilience that was unfamiliar to Western armies. To clearly inform the international community of the limited nature of the war, Deng decided not to engage the PLA Navy, and only used the PLA Air Force in a limited way by using fighter jets to threaten Vietnam through mugging.

The Chinese Air Force and Navy took part in the planning stages of the operation but were mostly left out of the fight due to their inferior performance in exercises and the risk of provoking Moscow to aid Vietnam if China used a joint air-land-sea campaign. The PLA used some air forces from Hainan Island, but they were limited to close air support. The Vietnamese had one of the top optimal anti-aircraft capabilities in the world, and the PLA did not want to risk a joint air-land-sea campaign.

Zhao Zhong Jiu, a retired professor from the PLA College of Politics in Nanjing, believes that Maoist ideology helped the PLA win the war. Xinhua's official statement justified the war to the Chinese people and presented a rosy picture of the post-conflict world in which China and Vietnam had a cordial relationship. The state media agencies did not report China's casualties or its battlefield setbacks.

Source:

Gin, C.M. (n.d.). How China Wins: A Case Study of the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War.

Miller, A. (2016). An Investigation into the Causes of the Third Indochina War: AKA the Sino-Vietnamese War. 10.13140/RG.2.1.3898.4087.