Chinese Involvement
Chinese involvement in the Vietnam war was due to their beliefs in spreading communism by assisting and aiding Vietnam in becoming a communist nation. At the beginning of the Vietnam war, support for the communist North Vietnam was mainly provided by the Chinese, due to their own recent development as a communist country. Chinese influence began in the late 1940s, as they began to recognise Vietnam’s own struggle with communism. They offered their assistance, as the Vietnamese had extended their own hand of friendship with cover, material support, ammunitions, weapons and training, during China’s own communist struggle.
Take a look at this article here filled with information about Chinese Involvement in Vietnam!
This map illustrates how close China was to North Vietnam!
The Chinese began with behind the scenes involvement, helping to develop communist beliefs and ideals to shape their new country, however, the Chinese later on openly admitted how close the North had become as solid allies for communism. Though friendships between the two were occasionally tense - from the beginning of the Chinese-North Vietnamese relations, the Chinese attempted to dominate all decisions, as they believed they contained all the information involving communist country development. This uneasy friendship is shown by the US Department of the Army Handbook, which is sponsored by the Library of Congress, “Vietnam’s and China’s shared modern experiences, namely their common exploitation by colonial powers and adaptations to communist ideology, did little to alter Vietnam’s historical view of China, which was coloured by lengthy periods of Chinese conquest and domination.” (U.S. Library of Congress, 2013).
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Take a look at the Chinese Communist Flag below!
“their somewhat intangible assistance changed shape when they provided ninety thousand guns and rifles to Hanoi – this was done without charge.”
Chinese support increased in response to America’s involvement after the Gulf of Tonkin incident. This was because China did not want to be oudone in their own fight for communism through Vietnam. Another example of increased support was illustrated by the outrageous amount of weaponry that the Chinese provided for the Vietnamese. This is shown by Dr Nick Carter, an associate professor of Modern History at the Australian Catholic University in Sydney, who announced that, “their somewhat intangible assistance changed shape when they provided ninety thousand guns and rifles to Hanoi – this was done without charge.” (Carter, 2007) These points illustrate how deeply involved the Chinese were in supporting communism. This caused the the Vietnam War to become a larger scope in the Cold War, as these beliefs and support were mirrored by the Soviet Union, in Russia.
Sources
Carter, N., 2007. The Vietnam War: What Role Did Outside Countries Play?. [Online]
Available at: http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/the-vietnam-war-what-role-did-outside-countries-play-261924.html [Accessed 4 November 2013].
History Channel, 2013. China agrees to provide aid to North Vietnam. [Online] Available at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/china-agrees-to-provide-aid-to-north-vietnam [Accessed 4 November 2013].
Llewellyn, J., Southey, J. & Thompson, S., 2013. Chinese and Soviet Involvement in Vietnam. [Online] Available at: http://alphahistory.com/vietnam/chinese-and-soviet-involvement/ [Accessed 4 November 2013].
Stanke, J., 1998. Ilya V. Gaidk. The soviet Union and the Vietnam War.. [Online] Available at: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=2056 [Accessed 4 November 2013].
Thornton, R. C., 1974. Soviet Strategy and the Vietnam War. Asian Affairs, 1(4), pp. 205-207.
U.S. Library of Congress, 2013. China. [Online] Available at: http://countrystudies.us/vietnam/60.htm [Accessed 5 November 2013].
U.S Library of Congress, 2013. The Soviet Union. [Online] Available at: http://countrystudies.us/vietnam/61.htm [Accessed 5 November 2013].
History Channel, 2013. China agrees to provide aid to North Vietnam. [Online] Available at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/china-agrees-to-provide-aid-to-north-vietnam [Accessed 4 November 2013].
Llewellyn, J., Southey, J. & Thompson, S., 2013. Chinese and Soviet Involvement in Vietnam. [Online] Available at: http://alphahistory.com/vietnam/chinese-and-soviet-involvement/ [Accessed 4 November 2013].
Stanke, J., 1998. Ilya V. Gaidk. The soviet Union and the Vietnam War.. [Online] Available at: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=2056 [Accessed 4 November 2013].
Thornton, R. C., 1974. Soviet Strategy and the Vietnam War. Asian Affairs, 1(4), pp. 205-207.
U.S. Library of Congress, 2013. China. [Online] Available at: http://countrystudies.us/vietnam/60.htm [Accessed 5 November 2013].
U.S Library of Congress, 2013. The Soviet Union. [Online] Available at: http://countrystudies.us/vietnam/61.htm [Accessed 5 November 2013].