'Red East' in Conflict - The China/Indochina Wars

Abstract This paper tries to analyze the China-Vietnam-Indochina conflict from a historical perspective and points to the urgency for a search for peaceful solutions. Two layers of historical memory weigh heavily on the present conflict: a) the two thousand years' stormy history of relations between imperial China and Vietnam, coupled with the history of Vietnam's encounter with Kampuchea and Laos, and b) the hundred years' history of French colonial penetration, followed by two Indochina wars. The first layer, with its dominant feature of North-South political-military expansion, left the region with a high sensitivity to security issues. The second layer contributed to contemporary developments by reducing Chinese influence, by shaping the Indochinese entity and by creating opportunities for the Vietnamese to win a pre- eminent position in Indochina. A possible solution of the conflict is seen in a policy of non-alignment and neutrality of the Indochinese nations.