The Sino-Vietnamese War, 1979

Approximately 100,000 Chinese personnel invaded northern Vietnam on February 17th of that year, rapidly reaching and destroying the towns of Cao Bang and Lang Son. The Vietnamese forces resisted fiercely and, better prepared for the difficult terrain in which fighting took place, managed to kill around 30,000 Chinese. The figures for Vietnamese casualties are not known. Laos supported the Vietnamese in their invasion and in their resistance to the Chinese aggression. Really, there was little else that the Lao government could do, since it was reliant upon technical assistance and aid from both Vietnam and the Soviet Union. Deprived of diplomatic support and suffering in the Vietnamese highlands, the Chinese withdrew to within their own borders.

However, this was only the precursor to years of persistent raiding on both sides of the border. The Vietnamese used a base on Mount Laoshan to launch a series of raids onto Chinese territory. Most of the action for the next eight years involved artillery fir from both sides and the terrible effects of suffering endless bombing and deprivation. Soviet warships were invited to use the Cam Ranh Bay naval facility in Vietnam, thus helping to satisfy the Soviet requirement for a warm water port which would not see their vessels iced into incapacity for months every year.

From the social perspective, the war resulted in harsh treatment to ethnic Chinese who had settled in Vietnam over the years. Economic aid to both Vietnam and Cambodia was officially suspended by the international community and thousands more sought to flee either country, whether by land or by sea.

John Walsh, Shinawatra International University, August 2004

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