While most of the folks in academic have a different view on the war (they tend to be on Henry's side), popular view of the war is also changing
Amazon.com: On China (9781594202711): Henry Kissinger: Books
Henry writes "On China" page 3701 "touching the tiger's buttocks"
China achieved this objective in part by its military daring, in part by drawing the United States into unprecedentedly close cooperation. China's leader had navigated the third Vietnam war (1979) by meticulous analysis of their strategic choices, daring execution and skillful diplomacy (normalize relations with Japan, visit to Singapore) and skillful diplomacy, with all those qualities, they would not have been able to "touch the buttocks of the tigers" but for the cooperation of the United States.
The third Vietnam war ushered in the closest collaboration between China and the United States for the period of the Cold War. Tow trips to China by American emissaries established an extraordinary degree of joint action. Vice President Walter "Fritz" Mondale visited China in August 1979 to devise a diplomacy for the aftermath of the Deng visit, especially with respect to Indochina. it was a complex problem in which strategic and moral considerations were in severe conflict. The United States and China greed that it was in each country's national interest to prevent the emergence of an Indochinese Federation under Hanoi's control
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page 373
Beijing did impose heavy costs on Vietnam. Chinese diplomacy in SE Asia before, during, and after the war worked with great determination and skill to isolate Hanoi. China maintained a heavy military presence along the border, retained several disputed pieces of territory, and continued to hold out the threat of a 'second lesson' to Hanoi. For years afterword, Vietnam was forced to support considerable force on its northern border to defend against another possible Chinese attack. As Deng has told Mondale in August 1979.
page 374
That situation did, in fact, occur over a decade later when the collapse of the Soviet Union and of Soviet financial support brought above a retrenchment in Vietnamese deployment in Cambodia. Ultimately over a time period more difficult to sustain for democratic societies, China achieved a considerable part of its strategic objectives in SE Asia. Deng achieved sufficient maneuvering room to meet his objective of thwarting Soviet domination of SE Asia and the Malacca Strait.
..
In retrospect, Moscow's relatives passivity in the third Vietnam war can be seen as the first symptom of the decline of the Soviet Union.
Page 375
The third Vietnam war may thus be counted as another example in which Chinese statesmen successed in achieving long-term, big-picture strategic objectives without the benefit of a military establishment comparable to that of their adversaries. Though providing breathing space for the remnants of the Khmer Rouge can hardly be counted as a moral victory, China achieved its larger geopolitical aims vis-a-vis the Soviet Union and Vietnam-- both of whole militaries were better trained and equipped than China.
Page 376
Singapore's Prime Minister lee Kuan Yew has summed up the ultimate result of the war: "The Western press wrote off the Chinese punitive action as a failure. I believe it changed the history of East Asia.
Amazon.com: On China (9781594202711): Henry Kissinger: Books
Henry writes "On China" page 3701 "touching the tiger's buttocks"
China achieved this objective in part by its military daring, in part by drawing the United States into unprecedentedly close cooperation. China's leader had navigated the third Vietnam war (1979) by meticulous analysis of their strategic choices, daring execution and skillful diplomacy (normalize relations with Japan, visit to Singapore) and skillful diplomacy, with all those qualities, they would not have been able to "touch the buttocks of the tigers" but for the cooperation of the United States.
The third Vietnam war ushered in the closest collaboration between China and the United States for the period of the Cold War. Tow trips to China by American emissaries established an extraordinary degree of joint action. Vice President Walter "Fritz" Mondale visited China in August 1979 to devise a diplomacy for the aftermath of the Deng visit, especially with respect to Indochina. it was a complex problem in which strategic and moral considerations were in severe conflict. The United States and China greed that it was in each country's national interest to prevent the emergence of an Indochinese Federation under Hanoi's control
.
.
.
page 373
Beijing did impose heavy costs on Vietnam. Chinese diplomacy in SE Asia before, during, and after the war worked with great determination and skill to isolate Hanoi. China maintained a heavy military presence along the border, retained several disputed pieces of territory, and continued to hold out the threat of a 'second lesson' to Hanoi. For years afterword, Vietnam was forced to support considerable force on its northern border to defend against another possible Chinese attack. As Deng has told Mondale in August 1979.
page 374
"for a country of that size to keep a standing force of more than one million, where will you find enough work force? A standard force of one million needs a lot of logistical support. Now they depend on the Soviet Union. Some estimate say they are getting $2 million a day from the Soviet Union, some estimate say $2 1/2 million....[I]t will increase difficulties and this burden on the Soviet Union will grow heavier and heavier. Things will become more difficult. In time the Vietnamese will come to realize that not all their requests to the Soviet Union can be met. In those circumstance perhaps a new situation will emerge.
..
In retrospect, Moscow's relatives passivity in the third Vietnam war can be seen as the first symptom of the decline of the Soviet Union.
Page 375
The third Vietnam war may thus be counted as another example in which Chinese statesmen successed in achieving long-term, big-picture strategic objectives without the benefit of a military establishment comparable to that of their adversaries. Though providing breathing space for the remnants of the Khmer Rouge can hardly be counted as a moral victory, China achieved its larger geopolitical aims vis-a-vis the Soviet Union and Vietnam-- both of whole militaries were better trained and equipped than China.
Page 376
Singapore's Prime Minister lee Kuan Yew has summed up the ultimate result of the war: "The Western press wrote off the Chinese punitive action as a failure. I believe it changed the history of East Asia.
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