What was the Sino-Vietnamese War in 1970s?

The Sino-Vietnamese War broke out between China people and Vietnam17-1February 9791March 6. China called it self-defense against Vietnam. After a brief invasion of northern Vietnam, China troops withdrew from Vietnam within one month. China and Viet Nam both declared victory. The war worsened the relationship between China and Vietnam, and caused a large number of Vietnamese in China to flee.

Cause: Sino-Soviet split

At the beginning of the Vietnam War with France, China, a capitalist country, was also closely related to Vietnam. Neither side trusts France, the ruler of Vietnam. During the war, both China and the Soviet Union provided assistance to Vietnam and fought against colonial enemies.

In the late Cold War, Sino-Soviet relations remained tense, while Sino-US relations began to normalize. In order to contain China, the Soviet Union signed the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with Vietnam on 10/978165438, which supported Vietnam to pursue "regional hegemony" and establish "India-zhina Federation". With the acquiescence of the Soviet Union, Vietnam invaded Cambodia, one of China's allies, and overthrew the Khmer Rouge regime. At the same time, a large-scale "Chinese exclusion" was carried out in Vietnam; Put forward sovereignty requirements for China's territorial waters and territories, announce that the Xisha Islands and Nansha Islands, which belong to China's territorial waters, will be included in its territory, and send troops to occupy some islands in the Nansha Islands; A large number of troops were assembled on the Sino-Vietnamese border, creating border conflicts and occupying Vietnamese territory. The China authorities claimed that "the above actions threatened the border security of China and affected the stability of Southeast Asia" and launched a "self-defense counterattack" in order to defend sovereignty and punish the aggressors. But at that time, most countries in the world thought that China had invaded Vietnam, and then the United Nations human rights organizations also criticized the war.

War process

The war was fought in China's Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and it was divided into three stages. Yunnan operations were commanded by Yang Dezhi, commander of the Kunming Military Region at that time; Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region was commanded by Xu, commander of the then Guangzhou Military Region. A total of 9 armies (1 1, 13,14,41,42,43,50,54,55 and 58 divisions of the 20th Army) were used. During the war, about 20 towns and military strongholds in Vietnam were captured. The Vietnam Army has 6 infantry divisions (3rd, 3rd 16A, 337th, 338th, 345th and 346th divisions),16 local regiments and 4 artillery regiments, with a total strength of about150,000. At that time, the PLA's combat quality, weapons and equipment, and tactical thinking were all destroyed by the Cultural Revolution, which was far from the Vietnamese army. Although the grassroots commanders and fighters are brave and good at fighting, the participating troops paid a heavy price before completing the combat tasks at all stages.

The first stage:1979 February17-1979 February 26th. The China government said: China's army repelled the Vietnamese army that invaded the border of Yunnan and Guangxi provinces in China; Destroyed the reserve forces of the Vietnamese aggressor troops stationed in Gaoping and Laojie, Vietnam.

Phase II:1February 27th, 979-1March 5th, 979. The China government said: China troops captured the Vietnamese military fortress lang son; Destroyed the Vietnamese army in Sabah.

The third stage:1979 March 6-1979 March 16. According to the government of China, at this stage, China troops withdrew to China on March 1979+06 in the form of alternate cover, clearance and retreat.

According to statistics released by China's military after the war, 6954 people were killed and more than 4800 people were injured in China. Destroyed and defeated the 3rd, 345th and 356th divisions of the Vietnamese People's Army, with about 52,000 casualties. Vietnamese officials did not officially announce the number of casualties, but listed in the official People's Daily the large-scale destruction projects carried out by China's troops to capture towns when they retreated. Including infrastructure, factories and mines. China soldiers who were responsible for the destruction revealed that most of the facilities destroyed by China's military were aided by China during the period of anti-US aid to Vietnam.

War review

On the surface, this war is a local war caused by border disputes between countries. But from the background of its initiation, it should be a national centripetal force to consolidate political power in China; A war to show military strength and political determination to the outside world.

Internally: At that time, just after the Cultural Revolution in China, the new collective leadership began to take power. Due to the crisis of trust of the ruling class caused by the Cultural Revolution, it is necessary for China's leaders to launch a "war against the invaders" in order to reunite the national centripetal force of the people.

Externally: As it was still in the Cold War, China represented a weak country in the third world, and its international political views were different from those of the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, in many fields. At the same time, the US-Soviet military support for China's neighboring countries formed a strategic encirclement. In order to show the China * * * production party's ability to govern the country and command the army; China's consistent tough attitude of not bowing to foreign forces. At that time, the Soviet Union, the "backstage boss" of Vietnam, launched the war of invading Afghanistan, and was too busy to put pressure on China. As the United States has just improved and eased its relations with China, it is also willing to stand by and let China teach Vietnam, the "potato" of the Soviet Union, and avenge its failure in the Vietnam War. China seized this opportunity to wage war.

According to the war comments published by various parties after the war, "China's army drove the Vietnamese army back to China in less than two hours after the war". It is true that Viet Nam occupied part of China's territory, but this occupation is symbolic and small in scale. Otherwise, with the combat capability of the China army at that time, it was impossible to expel the Vietnamese army from the country after 120 minutes. Moreover, after the goal of "teaching Vietnam a lesson" was achieved, China did not "occupy an inch of land in Vietnam, leaving no soldier", and both sides retreated to the actual line of control, so there was no problem of "occupying Vietnamese territory". However, the war did not restore peace to the Sino-Vietnamese border. After the withdrawal of the Vietnamese army, the Vietnamese army retreated to the border, and the border conflict between China and Vietnam continued until the end of the 1980s. During this period, there were many large-scale border battles between the two countries (such as the battle of Laoshan on April 28, 1984). After the war, China's army summed up the experience and lessons brought by the war and began a large-scale military modernization.

This war has created a relatively stable surrounding environment for the southwest of China.

result

The consequences of the war continue, especially in Vietnam. Today, Viet Nam still maintains one of the largest armies in the world, some of which are due to the fear of China. During the period of 1980' s, there were still skirmishes on the border between the two sides, resulting in more than 1000 deaths. Sino-Vietnamese relations did not improve until the early 1960s.

The war also caused Vietnamese Chinese to be discriminated against and forced to emigrate. They have recently settled in some Chinatowns or moved to other Asian communities in Australia, Europe or North America.