Soviet Foreign Policy and Southeast Asia

312 Pages·1986·8.609 MB·English

by  Leszek Buszynski

Routledge Revivals
Soviet Foreign Policy and Southeast
Asia
This book focuses on the activity of the Soviet Union in Southeast Asia
and the effects of Soviet policy on the region from 1969 to the time of
first publication in 1986. In particular, Leszek Buszynski examines the
rivalry between the Soviet Union and China, Soviet presence in Viet­
nam, and the responsive efforts of surrounding regions towards collec­
tive security. U.S. policy in the region is a key consideration,
particularly in terms of American attempts to placate China and
encourage Japan to assist in the defence of the region. With a con­
cluding assessment of regional trends and possible outcomes, this is an
important and valuable work for students and scholars with an interest
in the history and politics of international diplomacy in Southeast Asia.
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Soviet Foreign Policy and
Southeast Asia
Leszek Buszynski
First published in 1986
by Croom Helm Ltd
This edition first published in 2013 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 1986 Leszek Buszynski
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Publisher’s Note
The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but
points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent.
Disclaimer
The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes
correspondence from those they have been unable to contact.
A Library of Congress record exists under LC control number: 90146472
ISBN 13: 978-0-415-83120-8 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978-0-203-76269-1 (ebk)
SOVIET
FOREIGN
POLICY
AND
SOUTHEAST
ASIA
Leszek Buszynski
CROOM HELM
London & Sydney
©1986 Leszek Buszynski
Croom Helm Ltd, Provident House, Burrell Row,
Beckenham, Kent, BR3 1AT.
Croom Helm Australia Pty Ltd, Suite 4, 6th Floor,
64-76 Kippax Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010, Australia
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Buszynski, Leszek
Soviet foreign policy and Southeast Asia.
1. Asia, Southeastern — Foreign
relations — Soviet Union 2. Soviet
Union — Foreign relations — Asia,
Southeastern 3. Soviet Union — Foreign
relations — 1945.
I. Tide
959'.053 DS525.9.S65
ISBN 0-7099-3221-9
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Mackays of Chatham Ltd, Kent
CONTENTS
Introduction
On the Assessment of Foreign Policy 1
1. Priorities and Interests in Soviet
Third World Policy 9
2. The Soviet Collective Security Proposal
and ASEAN Reactions 40
3. Soviet Policy Towards ASEAN After
the Fall of Indochina 97
4. The Soviet Union and Vietnam:
Alliance Formation 150
5. The Soviet Union and Vietnam:
Alliance Consolidation 179
6. Soviet Policy Towards ASEAN After
the Vietnamese Invasion of Kampuchea 210
7. The Soviet Union and the Regional
Balance of Power 247
Appendix
Soviet-ASEAN Trade 1970-1982 269
Bibliography 278
Index 294
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INTRODUCTION
ON THE ASSESSMENT OF FOREIGN POLICY
This book is an attempt to assess the aims of and the under­
lying motives behind Soviet policy towards Southeast Asia
since 1969. Moreover, it seeks to identify regional reactions
to Soviet policy in the context of enhanced great power
interest in Southeast Asia since 1978. The book hopefully fills
a void in that many excellent works produced by analysts of
Soviet foreign policy cover the Third World in general or
specific regions such as the subcontinent of India or the
Middle East. Southeast Asia, however, has attracted little
attention from these analysts which is a consequence, in many
respects, of an understanding of the Soviet scale of priorities
in relation to the Third World. Analysts of the international
relations of Southeast Asia have produced works which
include the role of the Soviet Union in the regional balance of
power as a factor in the responses of ASEAN and the United
States. These works largely deal with the effects of Soviet
policy upon the region and have avoided an examination of its
aims and evolution which is not properly their intention. The
present work covers both areas of investigation examining not
only the evolution of Soviet policy but regional reactions to
what has been a consistent Soviet aim to construct a basis for
influence in the region.
Southeast Asia was of marginal significance for the
Soviet Union until 1978 though interest in Vietnam developed
as from 1965 largely as a function of Sino-Soviet rivalry. The
Soviet intention with the promulgation of the collective
security proposal in 1969 was to establish a position for the
unfolding of greater influence within the region to exploit
regional fears of China. From 1969, when interest in South­
east Asia was stimulated by impending American withdrawal
from Indochina, until 1978, Soviet policy was characterised by
a series of manoeuvres intended to establish a regional
political presence which would confer upon the Soviet Union a
position of commanding advantage. In 1978, however, upon
the conclusion of the treaty with Vietnam, the Soviet Union
1