The Soviet-Vietnamese Alliance in Strategic Perspective,
Abstract
This document states that the Soviet-Vietnamese alliance is the product of a complex set of power rivalries that provide both the Soviets and the Vietnamese with very strong incentives to embrace each other. Each side benefits very considerably. The Soviets obtain access to military bases in Vietnam that enable them for the first time in Russian history to become a major player in Southeast Asia, the western Pacific and the Indian Ocean. The Vietnamese obtain an insurance policy against China and any other combination of powers determined to roll back their newly acquired and long sought empire in Indochina. And the Vietnamese acquire substantial amounts of diplomatic, economic and military assistance that they could get nowhere else at a time of deep diplomatic isolation and enormous economic and social strains. Keywords: Soviet-U.S. rivalry; Sino-Soviet conflict; Sino-Vietnamese conflict; Future scenarios; Western policy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 11, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA184093
Entities
People
- Donald S. Zagoria
Organizations
- foreign affairs ministry