DoTell
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The 1979 Sino-Vietnam war has been discussed over and over on this forum. Most of the discussions have been focused on the war itself in terms of causes, casualties etc. But few have talked about the aftermath of that war. However the impact of a war is not always measured by the winning or losing of the military action itself, but by what came afterwards. The U.S. took control of Iraq without breaking a sweat. But they didn't win the war because they failed to bring peace and prosperity to the country - the main goal of that war.
The 1979 Sino-Vietnam war took place when China was on the brink of collapse. The country just came out of the massive 10 year self destruction, a.k.a. the cultural revolution. Geographically and politically the country was completely isolated. Up north it faced the threat of The Soviet Union. It was surrounded by American allies Japan and South Korea in the east, and big archenemy India in the west.
The Sino-Vietnam war was a turning point for China to break out of the isolation. China called The Soviet bluff and attacked Vietnam despite the Soviet's threats to invade. They showed to America that China was a worthy power in Asia to counter the Russian bear. In 1982, less than three years after the Sino-Vietnam war, China and America normalized their relationship, setting up the country for its unprecedented 30+ year high growth. Vietnam on the other hand, gained nothing from the war except a huge devastation. The promised help from USSR never came. After the collapse of the Soviet Union Vietnam was marginalized, became an after thought that nobody cared or talked about.
Deng Xiaoping, despite the many bad things he did, was a great visionary in politics. He was already trying to cozy up with America before the war. The growing conflicts between China and Vietnam gave him a golden opportunity to speed up the realization of this global strategy. This is evident by the famous little speech he uttered to Jimmy Carter in 1979 during his visit to the U.S.: "Our little buddy is getting naughty, it's time he be spanked." Sino-Vietnamese War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
During and after the Sino-Vietnam war, Vietnam was played by the super powers like a piece of pawn in a chess game. The poor little country was sacrificed by the big bullies in the conflict and gained nothing for itself. So one lesson that can/should be learned here is: a country has to know its place and do the things that fit its ability. Don'y play with fire. You might get burned by it.
The 1979 Sino-Vietnam war took place when China was on the brink of collapse. The country just came out of the massive 10 year self destruction, a.k.a. the cultural revolution. Geographically and politically the country was completely isolated. Up north it faced the threat of The Soviet Union. It was surrounded by American allies Japan and South Korea in the east, and big archenemy India in the west.
The Sino-Vietnam war was a turning point for China to break out of the isolation. China called The Soviet bluff and attacked Vietnam despite the Soviet's threats to invade. They showed to America that China was a worthy power in Asia to counter the Russian bear. In 1982, less than three years after the Sino-Vietnam war, China and America normalized their relationship, setting up the country for its unprecedented 30+ year high growth. Vietnam on the other hand, gained nothing from the war except a huge devastation. The promised help from USSR never came. After the collapse of the Soviet Union Vietnam was marginalized, became an after thought that nobody cared or talked about.
Deng Xiaoping, despite the many bad things he did, was a great visionary in politics. He was already trying to cozy up with America before the war. The growing conflicts between China and Vietnam gave him a golden opportunity to speed up the realization of this global strategy. This is evident by the famous little speech he uttered to Jimmy Carter in 1979 during his visit to the U.S.: "Our little buddy is getting naughty, it's time he be spanked." Sino-Vietnamese War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
During and after the Sino-Vietnam war, Vietnam was played by the super powers like a piece of pawn in a chess game. The poor little country was sacrificed by the big bullies in the conflict and gained nothing for itself. So one lesson that can/should be learned here is: a country has to know its place and do the things that fit its ability. Don'y play with fire. You might get burned by it.
