The USSR-DRV-PRC Triangle in Southeast Asia.
Abstract
The future international order in Southeast Asia will be heavily influenced by the ambitions and capabilities of the three major Communist actors--the USSR, DRV, and PRC. To a great extent relations between the ASEAN states and the Communists state will be a function of the interrelationships among the Communist states themselves. The Sino-Soviet conflict defines the orientations of the USSR and PRC towards Southeast Asis including Indochina. Both powers accuse the other of seeking hegemony. Both seek influence to the exclusion of the other. Both seek allies, but failing that, at least the neutralization of possible allies of the rival. Whether through collective security schemes or indirect balance-of-power politics the Sino-Soviet confrontation brings a bipolar conflict into Southeast Asia that is unwelcome to the indigenous actors, including the Southeast Asian Communist states. The DRV has its own autonomous goals in Southeast Asia. In Indochina its primacy is challenged by the Chinese-Cambodian link and a latent Chinese presence in the Laotian People's Democratic Republic. The tension between the DRV and PRC is only partly a consequence of the close relations developed between the USSR and the DRV. The Sino-Soviet competition and the quality of relations between each of the Communist giants and the DRV operate to constrain the DRV in the pursuit of its independent goals in Indochina and beyond.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 22, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA034389
Entities
People
- Donald E. Weatherbee
Organizations
- United States Army War College