Looking back at the Sino-Vietnamese War, what did China gain after its victory? The United States and China have deceived the whole world
1979 was an extraordinary year in China's history, when a sudden Sino-Vietnamese war shattered the long-term peace and pushed the two neighboring countries to a state of imminent war. The outbreak of this war not only caused huge waves in geopolitics, but also deeply touched the emotions of the Chinese.
In the past, China and Vietnam were good friends who shared weal and woe and had deep brotherly affection. When Vietnam was faced with the predicament of French aggression, our country did not hesitate to lend a helping hand and sent General Tran Geng to fight bravely to help Vietnam quell the war. During the US-Vietnam War, our country sent a large number of reinforcements at great cost to support our Vietnamese brothers in dealing with external threats.
This friendship is not only manifested in human assistance, but also in the tremendous support of material assistance. Millions of oil, thousands of military equipment, aircraft and food, all these are testimonies of our country's deep affection for Vietnam. Even though our country itself went through a difficult time in the sixties of the last century, in order to help Vietnam, our people still did not hesitate to cut back on food and clothing, and sent 5 million tons of grain to Vietnam, showing sincere friendship and broad-mindedness.
With the passage of time, Vietnam did not devote its energies to nation-building after its victory in the war, but instead turned its attention to our country and adopted a hostile attitude. This act of ingratitude has cast a shadow over the friendship that once stood hand in hand. The intervention and instigation of the Soviet Union made Vietnam's military ambitions swelling day by day, which eventually led to the betrayal of our country.
On the occasion of this betrayal, my country has decided to take decisive action to defend its territory and dignity. On February 17, 1979, a million-strong army assembled at the border and officially dispatched troops to southern Xinjiang in the name of defending national dignity and maintaining regional peace.
When the Sino-Vietnamese War broke out, the Vietnamese did not anticipate that the conflict would be so swift and end so quickly in less than a month. The march of a million-strong army was overwhelming, so that Vietnam was unprepared and was forced into the capital by our army, so that it was at a loss and fled in a hurry.
The rapid victory in this war not only made Vietnam lose face, but also cast a shadow on its development, because our army destroyed many Vietnamese industrial and school buildings during the retreat, and at the same time seized a large amount of materials that our country had provided to Vietnam in those years, which put Vietnam in a short-term predicament.
The war was also a lesson for our country to Vietnam, which was hit hard both economically and militarily. Although Vietnam's leader, Le Duan, was publicly reluctant to admit defeat, his actions have exposed his inner anxiety and helplessness.
This war has aroused the doubts of the international community, and the outside world has wondered why our country has not chosen to solve the problem on the border, but has chosen to send troops to attack Vietnam in an all-out way. In fact, our country has a well-thought-out strategic calculation.
First of all, the war created opportunities for the development of our country, and at the same time effectively contained the further development of Vietnam. Considering that our country was in the process of reform and opening up at that time, the conflict in Vietnam could become a huge obstacle to our economic development. By teaching Vietnam a lesson, our country has shown the world its determination to resolutely defend its development interests.
Second, the Sino-Vietnamese War played a key role in counterbalancing the Soviet Union to a certain extent. Vietnam's arrogance on the border was backed by the Soviet Union, and against the backdrop of Sino-Soviet hostilities, the Soviet Union did not hesitate to create a conflict to contain China. China is not the kind of country that tolerates interference from outside forces, especially in the face of such a direct threat. Through the Sino-Vietnamese War, China demonstrated its strong military strength, which made the Soviet Union deeply jealous and did not dare to act rashly. This victory over Vietnam was in essence a clear warning to the Soviet Union.
The Sino-Vietnamese War created an opportunity for the improvement of relations between China and the United States. Before the outbreak of the war, Vietnam had been hostile to the United States. In this case, the logic of "the enemy of the enemy is the friend" became a reality, which led to the loss of a strong ally in Vietnam.
By demonstrating China's determination and strength to the United States in the Sino-Vietnamese War, China won the respect of the United States and established a new strategic balance. The United States is willing to cooperate with China and become an important partner of China in international affairs, which provides China with a more stable environment for peaceful development.
These three strategic considerations made the Sino-Vietnamese War not only a local conflict, but also a shrewd layout of our country in the complex international environment at that time. Although Japan did not explain much about the war in hindsight, looking back at history decades later, people began to realize that China's actions at that time were actually aimed at defending the country's independence and development, as well as winning a more favorable position in international affairs.