Collateral Damage: Sino-Soviet Rivalry and the Termination of the Sino-Vietnamese Alliance

280 Pages·2011·1.9 MB·English

by  Nicholas Khoo

13/16”
★★
nicholas khoo Although the Chinese and the
Praise for Collateral Damage
Vietnamese were Cold war allies in wars
against the French and the Americans, their
“Khoo returns to the roots of international relations theory
alliance collapsed and they ultimately fought
to explain Chinese, Soviet, and Vietnamese behavior toward
a war against each other in 1979. More than
one another during the 1960s and 1970s on the basis of real-
thirty years later the fundamental cause of
ist factors of power distribution and balancing. He uses
the alliance’s termination remains contested
new information released in China in the form of memoirs, c o l l at e r a l among historians, international relations the-
scholarly works, and archival publications to tell a dramatic
orists, and Asian studies specialists. nicholas
and in some ways tragic story with insight and vividness.”
Khoo brings fresh perspective to this debate.
Andrew J. nAtHAn ddd aaa mmm aaa ggg eee
niCHolAS KHoo is a lecturer in the Class of 1919 Professor of Political Science Using Chinese-language materials released
department of Politics at the University of Columbia University since the end of the Cold war, Khoo revises
otago, new Zealand. He received a Ph.d. existing explanations for the termination
from Columbia University in 2006 and an “Collateral Damage offers both a sophisticated analytical of China’s alliance with Vietnam, argu-
MA from Johns Hopkins University in 1998. treatment and a comprehensive history of Sino-Vietnamese ing that Vietnamese cooperation with Chi-
He specializes in Chinese foreign policy, the relations in the 1960s and 1970s, thus presenting a persua- na’s Cold war adversary, the Soviet Union,
international relations of Asia, the interna- sive explanation of the emergence of Sino-Vietnamese fric- was the necessary and sufficient cause for
tional politics of the Cold war, and interna- tion in the 1960s and the emergence of Sino-Vietnamese the alliance’s termination. He finds alterna-
tional relations theory. animosity and war in the 1970s.” tive explanations to be less persuasive. these
emphasize nonmaterial causes, such as ide-
robert S. roSS
ology and culture, or reference issues within
professor of political science
the Sino-Vietnamese relationship, such as
boston College
land and border disputes, Vietnam’s treat-
ment of its ethnic Chinese minority, and
Vietnam’s attempt to establish a sphere of
influence over Cambodia and laos.
sino-soviet rivalry and
Khoo also adds to the debate over the rele-
vance of realist theory in interpreting China’s
the termination of the
international behavior during both the Cold
war and post–Cold war eras. while others
sino-vietnamese alliance see China as a social state driven by non-
jacket design: chang jae lee material processes, Khoo makes the case for
viewing China as a quintessential neorealist
state. From this perspective, the focus of neo-
columbia university press ISBN 978-0-231-15078-1 realist theory on security threats from mate-
new york rially stronger powers explains China’s for-
www.cup.columbia.edu eign policy toward not only the Soviet Union
printed in the u.s.a. columbia but also its Vietnamese allies.
COLLATERAL DAMAGE
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COLLATERAL DAMAGE
Sino-Soviet Rivalry and
the Termination of the
Sino-Vietnamese Alliance
★
NICHOLAS KHOO
columbia university press new york
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columbia university press
publishers since 1893
new york chichester, west sussex
Copyright © 2011 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Khoo, Nicholas.
Collateral damage : Sino-Soviet rivalry and the termination of the Sino-Vietnamese alliance /
Nicholas Khoo.
p. cm .
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-231-15078-1 (cloth : alk. paper) — isbn 978-0-231-52163-5 (ebook)
1. China—Foreign relations—Soviet Union. 2. Soviet Union—Foreign relations—China.
3. China—Foreign relations—Vietnam. 4. Vietnam—Foreign relations—China.
5. Sino-Vietnamese Confl ict, 1979. I. Title.
ds740.5.s65k46 2011
327.5104709′—dc22
2010027352

Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
Th is book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America

c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
References to Internet Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author
nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the
manuscript was prepared.
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CONTENTS
List of Tables vii
Acknowledgments ix
1. China’s Cold War Alliance with Vietnam:
Historical and Th eoretical Signifi cance 1
2. Breaking the Ring of Encirclement:
Sino-Soviet Alliance Termination and the Chinese Communists’
Vietnam Policy, 1964–1968 15
3. A War on Two Fronts:
Th e Sino-Soviet Confl ict During the Vietnam War and the Betrayal
Th esis, 1968–1973 45
4. Th e Politics of Victory:
Sino-Soviet Relations and the Road to Vietnamese Unifi cation,
1973–1975 78
5. Th e End of an “Indestructible Friendship”:
Soviet Resurgence and the Termination of the Sino-Vietnamese
Alliance, 1975–1979 103
6. When Allies Become Enemies 137
Notes 165
Bibliography 223
Index 251
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TABLES
Table 2.1. China’s Military Aid to North Vietnam, 1964–1968 29
Table 2.2. China’s Economic Aid to North Vietnam, 1965–1975 30
Table 4.1. Estimates of Soviet Economic Aid to Vietnam, 1965–1975 86
Table 4.2. Estimates of Soviet Military Aid to Vietnam, 1965–1975 87
Table 5.1. Estimates of Soviet Economic Aid to Vietnam, 1975–1979 112
Table 5.2. Estimates of Soviet Military Aid to Vietnam, 1975–1979 113
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
During the course of my graduate studies, it quickly
became clear that the impact of the Sino-Soviet confl ict on Cold-War-era
Southeast Asia was underresearched, and a fruitful area for investigation. Th is
book, which is largely based on my Ph.D. dissertation, examines what is argu-
ably one of the most underappreciated subplots of the Cold War; specifi cally,
how the Sino-Soviet confl ict infl uenced Beijing’s and Moscow’s relationships
with their comrades in Hanoi, and how those relationships, in turn, intensi-
fi ed the confl ict. While Cold War history may strike some as an uninterest-
ing retreat into the past, with little relevance for the contemporary era, I have
found the opposite to be true. Th is narrative is alive with forceful personalities,
friction between alliance partners, wars between former communist comrades,
and much more. Arguably, China’s behaviour during the period under exami-
nation also provides us with an insight into how it might conduct its foreign
policy in the twenty-fi rst century.
I would like to use this opportunity to thank all of those who have, in vari-
ous ways, played a part in this book. Both of my dissertation advisers at Colum-
bia deserve particular mention. As my primary dissertation adviser, Andrew
Nathan encouraged me to rigorously pursue the various arguments contained
in the text. His probing questions and wise counsel were critical in shaping
the fi nal product in myriad ways. Th omas Bernstein’s encyclopedic knowledge
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