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China Vietnam
China's relations with Vietnam began to deteriorate seriously
in the mid-1970s
(see An Overview of China's Foreign Relations
, ch.
12). After Vietnam joined the Soviet-dominated Council for Mutual
Economic Cooperation (Comecon) and signed the Treaty of Friendship
and Cooperation with the Soviet Union in 1978, China branded
Vietnam the "Cuba of the East" and called the treaty a military
alliance. Incidents along the Sino-Vietnamese border increased in
frequency and violence. In December 1978 Vietnam invaded Cambodia,
quickly ousted the pro-Beijing Pol Pot regime, and overran the
country. In February 1979 China attacked along virtually the entire
Sino-Vietnamese border in a brief, limited campaign that involved
ground forces only. In March Beijing declared its "lesson" finished
and withdrew all its troops
(see Historical Development, 1927-79
, this ch.).
After the war, both China and Vietnam reorganized their border
defenses. The border war strengthened Soviet-Vietnamese relations.
The Soviet military role in Vietnam increased during the 1980s as
the Soviets provided arms to Vietnam; moreover, Soviet ships
enjoyed access to the harbors at Danang and Cam Ranh Bay, and
Soviet reconnaissance aircraft operated out of Vietnamese
airfields. Low-level conflict continued along the Sino-Vietnamese
border as each side conducted artillery shelling and probed to gain
high spots in the mountainous border terrain. Border incidents
increased in intensity during the rainy season, when Beijing
attempted to ease Vietnamese pressure against Cambodian resistance
fighters. In 1986 China deployed twenty-five to twenty-eight
divisions and Vietnam thirty-two divisions along their common
border. Nevertheless, most observers doubted that China would risk
another war with Vietnam in the near future.
Data as of July 1987
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