At the same time as the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam was underway, another little-known border conflict was also taking place at the same time. This "war without a declaration of war", also called"Thai-Vietnamese border battle".
In fact, this border conflict has a profound impact on the direction of the world today. ExactlyIn the "Thai-Vietnamese border battle", the Thai side contained the main force of the Vietnamese army in Cambodia.
As a result, China's pressure on the southwest border has never been so great, and reform and opening up have been relatively smooth.
Self-defense counterattack against Vietnam)
The Thai-Vietnamese border war "also lasted for almost a decade, and the two wars can be said to have been fought entirely at the same time." WhileIn this "Thai-Vietnamese border war", China did play a relatively important role.
In 1979, Vietnam's Nguyen **, in order to realize the concept of "Indochinese Federation" that Vietnam had been planning for decades, brazenly invaded Cambodia. And the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, in the face of the "powerful Vietnamese army", can almost be said to be completely powerlessIn a fairly short period of time, it was defeated by Vietnam.
Self-defense counterattack against Vietnam)
After the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime, its remnants were driven all the way to the border between Thailand and Cambodia, facing enormous pressure from the Vietnamese armyThe Khmer Rouge guerrillas could only seek refuge on the Bangkok side.
And almost immediately after the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia, the pressure came to Thailand, thereforeThailand's military strongman, General Kryasa, did not hesitate and immediately chose to shelter the Khmer Rouge guerrillas.
For Thailand, Vietnam is almost the biggest geopolitical pressure. During the Vietnam War, it had already fought in the Lao Civil War. After the reunification of Vietnam, Thailand has also been supporting Cambodia's "independence" for a long time. Because once Vietnam's "Indochinese Federal Concept" is completed,It is hard to guarantee that there will be no further invasion of Thailand and a "federation of Indochina Peninsula".
Cambodian refugees).
However, after the Khmer Rouge guerrillas were sheltered in Thailand, the guerrillas would almost occasionally cross the border from Thailand to attack the Vietnamese army. The Vietnamese army naturally could not bear this, and in this case,The Vietnamese army began shelling of Cambodian refugee camps in Thailand. And this kind of behavior is undoubtedly a direct military provocation against Thailand.
After that, both armies crossed the border to attack each other for a long time. On February 11, 1982,The Vietnamese Air Force and the Royal Thai Air Force, and even directly engaged in air engagements, a Vietnamese plane was shot down by the Royal Thai Air Force. In the later stages of border warfare, the battlefield was not even limited to the ground and sky.
Cambodian guerrillas).
In May 1984, the Vietnamese Navy even began direct attacks on Thai fishing boats, and the Royal Thai Navy retaliated. On December 25 of the same year, during a "clean-up operation" in ThailandThe Vietnamese army even directly used "non-lethal chemicals**".
And in 1985, the Vietnamese army occupied almost all the Khmer Rouge guerrilla bases located in the border areas.
And in battles, the Vietnamese army was always able to win with the help of the powerful Soviet Union. ButIn direct clashes between the Vietnamese army and the Thai army, the Thai army often did not fall behindIn fact, this is mainly due to the fact that Thailand also has "foreign aid".
border conflict) was actually long before the Vietnamese invasion of CambodiaChina and Thailand have already agreed to jointly respond to the threat from Vietnam in a "possible future war".
On November 5, 1978, he visited Bangkok and met with the top level of the Thai side.
During his time in Thailand, no one knows what exactly he talked about with General Kryasa, Thailand's military strongman. WhileSome of the details of the talks are mainly due to Lee Kuan Yew。Because *** rushed to Singapore immediately on the day of the end of the trip to Thailand.
Vietnam invaded Cambodia).
In fact, the purpose of Deng Gong's successive visits to Thailand and Singapore is completely identical, that is, to win the support of other Southeast Asian countries in possible future military operations against Vietnam.
Lee Kuan Yew revealed in his later memoirsDuring his visit to Thailand, he received military support promised by General Kryasa, a Thai strongman.
The agreement between the two sides was to use the Mekong River as the boundary, and if Vietnam crossed the Mekong River, it would completely occupy Cambodia. Then the nature of the state of affairs changes,China will take military action against Vietnam, and Thailand will follow China militarily。Although the two sides will not fight side by side on the same battlefield, they will cooperate with each other.
Vietnam invaded Cambodia).
The Thai army would contain Vietnam's military power in Laos and Cambodia, while the Chinese would crush the main Vietnamese forces directly in North Vietnam. WhileThe ultimate goal of the two sides is also the same, that is, to force Vietnam to give up "hegemony in Southeast Asia".。There is no doubt that Thailand has fulfilled its commitments, and my country has lived up to Thailand's failures.
In 1987, Thailand became the first ASEAN country to purchase military equipment from our country. WhileThe first time Thailand purchased Chinese equipment, it bought the most advanced armored tank in China at that time, the Type 69 medium tank. And the reason why Thailand bought our country's Type 69 is also very simple, that is, to deal with Vietnam in a border conflict.
Type 69) Since 1988, the Thai side has deployed Type 69 to the border areas of the two sides. The Type 69 also played an extremely important role in the Thai-Vietnamese border war.
Unlike the American-made M48 tanks that Thailand was previously equipped with, the Type 69 is not so heavyOn the contrary, Type 69 has strong adaptability on the Thai border with a dense river network.
After the Type 69 officially entered the Thai army, it immediately became the most frequent tank type in the Thai army. However, the Thai side also complained about the disadvantages of the lack of air conditioning in the 69 type, which was also paid attention to by our side and quickly improved. And the advantages of the Type 69 equipped with night vision equipment were also appreciated by the Thai army.
Type 69) In one battle, the Vietnamese army tried to attack the Thai side at night, and inAfter the Thai side dispatched the Type 69, the two sides fought fiercely for a day, and the Vietnamese army was defeated after dropping dozens of corpses.
In the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, our army actually had little experience in fighting in a tropical environment. To make up for this shortcoming,Our army often conducts military exchanges with the Thai army and "learns from the experience" of the other side.
It can be said that in the military field in the 80s, China and Thailand have always maintained a "mutually beneficial" relationship. And Thailand, in fact, it was with the support of our country that it achieved the final victory.
Sino-Thai friendship) This has also laid a solid foundation for the friendly relations between China and Thailand today.
Thailand and Vietnam fought a 10-year border war in the last centuryThailand today, 2023-05-03Cambodia