Clients and Commitments: Soviet-Vietnamese Relations, 1978-1988

Abstract

This Note examines the evolution of the Soviet-Vietnamese relationship over the past decade in three contexts: (1) Soviet behavior in supporting the Vietnamese troops during the invasion of Cambodia in late 1978 and in defending them during the Chinese incursion of Vietnam in early 1979, (2) the level of Soviet economic and military aid, and (3) the impact of General Secretary Gorbachev's 'new thinking' on Soviet-Vietnamese relations. The record shows a Soviet disinclination to take risks in this region of the world, chiefly because of the proximity to China, even in the late 1970s during the height of Brezhnev's interventionism. Under Gorbachev, not only does interventionism appear remote, but tangible results in reducing tensions in Southeast Asia already have been achieved. Specifically, by September of 1989, thousands of Vietnamese troops left Cambodia, thus fulfilling the third 'precondition' set by China on the path to improved Sino-Soviet relations. Keywords: Vietnam, USSR, Translations, Periodicals, Military publications, Reports, Cambodia.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1989
Accession Number
ADA220803

Entities

People

  • Sally W. Stoecker

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

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  • Agreements
  • Commerce
  • Communism
  • Economic Systems
  • Far East
  • Foreign Policy
  • Governments
  • International Organizations
  • Market Economy
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  • New York
  • South China Sea
  • Southeast Asia
  • Task Forces
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  • United States
  • Ussr

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Library and Information Science/ Studies, Southeast Asia Studies, Bibliography of Vietnam and Lao Studies.
  • Strategic Security Studies