Stalemate and settlement, 1979-1991

H1 History - syllabus 8838, 2027

What this lesson teaches

  • I can judge which factors shaped the Second and Third Indochina Wars.

    Syllabus 8838, Theme III, Learning Outcomes. evaluate the factors that shaped the development of Cold War conflicts in Southeast Asia

Make a guess

Vietnam occupied Cambodia through the 1980s. What do you think finally led it to withdraw in 1989?

  1. The occupation's cost, as Soviet aid shrank under Gorbachev.
  2. China's 1979 attack forced it to pull out.
  3. The Khmer Rouge won back the country by force.
Show the answer

The occupation's cost, as Soviet aid shrank under Gorbachev.

Vietnam faced hardship and isolation. Gorbachev cut aid and wanted better ties with China, which demanded a withdrawal.

A long stalemate ended when Soviet support faded, Vietnam withdrew in 1989, and the Paris Agreements were signed in 1991.

In the 1980s, the war became a stalemate. Vietnam and its Cambodian government controlled most of the country. A resistance coalition fought from the Thai border, supported by China, ASEAN and the USA.

In 1982, ASEAN helped form the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea. It joined the Khmer Rouge with two non-communist groups, one led by Prince Sihanouk. The coalition kept Cambodia's UN seat, isolating the Vietnamese-backed government.

The occupation was costly for Vietnam, which faced economic hardship and isolation. Under Gorbachev, the USSR cut aid and wanted better relations with China, which had demanded a Vietnamese withdrawal.

Vietnam withdrew its troops in September 1989. The Paris Peace Agreements of October 1991 created a UN transitional authority, UNTAC, to organise elections, which were held in 1993.

Put these in order

Put these steps in the Third Indochina War in order.

  • Vietnam signs a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with the USSR.
  • Phnom Penh falls and Vietnam installs Heng Samrin's government.
  • Democratic Kampuchea breaks off relations with Vietnam after border raids.
  • Vietnam withdraws its troops from Cambodia as Soviet aid fades.
  • China attacks across the Vietnamese border.
  • Vietnamese forces invade Democratic Kampuchea.
Show the answer
  1. Democratic Kampuchea breaks off relations with Vietnam after border raids. 31 December 1977: Facing a hostile neighbour backed by China, Vietnam sought a powerful protector before it acted.
  2. Vietnam signs a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with the USSR. 3 November 1978: With Soviet backing to deter China, Vietnam felt safe to invade Democratic Kampuchea.
  3. Vietnamese forces invade Democratic Kampuchea. 25 December 1978: The invasion force advanced fast and reached the capital within two weeks.
  4. Phnom Penh falls and Vietnam installs Heng Samrin's government. 7 January 1979: China saw its ally overthrown by a Soviet partner, so it moved to punish Vietnam.
  5. China attacks across the Vietnamese border. 17 February 1979: The attack failed to force Vietnam out, so China armed the Khmer Rouge for a long war of attrition that Vietnam had to pay for. The last Vietnamese troops left in September 1989.
  6. Vietnam withdraws its troops from Cambodia as Soviet aid fades.
CGDK
Formed 1982 with ASEAN help.
Vietnamese withdrawal
September 1989.
Paris Peace Agreements
October 1991; UNTAC; elections in 1993.

Real examples to use

Hun Sen, 1985

He became prime minister of the Vietnamese-backed government in January 1985 and later negotiated directly with Sihanouk.

Paris conference, August 1989

The first international conference on Cambodia ended without agreement, but it set the path to the 1991 accords.

UNTAC, 1992-1993

About 22,000 UN personnel ran Cambodia in the run-up to elections in May 1993, one of the largest UN missions of its time.

Worked example: Why did the war end?

Weigh the factors behind Vietnam's withdrawal.

  1. Cost: occupation drained Vietnam's economy.
  2. Soviet change: Gorbachev reduced support and sought detente with China.
  3. Diplomacy: ASEAN kept Vietnam isolated at the UN.
  4. Judgement: the end of the Cold War removed the external support that sustained the occupation.

Watch out for this

The Khmer Rouge were defeated and disappeared after 1979.

They survived on the Thai border, joined the coalition that kept Cambodia's UN seat, and fought on into the 1990s.

Check your understanding

What was the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea?

  1. Vietnam's government in Phnom Penh, led by Heng Samrin from January 1979 onwards
  2. An alliance of the Khmer Rouge and two non-communist groups that held Cambodia's UN seat
  3. A UN peacekeeping mission
Show the answer

An alliance of the Khmer Rouge and two non-communist groups that held Cambodia's UN seat

Right. ASEAN helped form it in 1982.

Sources and context

Background reading for this chapter.

  • A CIA assessment of the conflict

    Paraphrase of the key judgments of an Interagency Intelligence Memorandum, "Sino-Soviet Competition in Indochina", prepared in the CIA, 14 November 1978.

  • A State Department analysis of Vietnam's motives

    Paraphrase of a briefing memorandum from the Acting Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research to Secretary of State Vance, 8 January 1979, the day after Phnom Penh fell.

  • Thailand watches the Vietnamese advance

    Paraphrase of a telegram from the US embassy in Bangkok to the State Department, 4 January 1979.

  • China prepares to attack

    Paraphrase of the minutes of a US National Security Council meeting on the Sino-Vietnamese conflict, 16 February 1979.

  • Lee Kuan Yew writes to Carter

    Paraphrase of a letter from Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew to President Carter, 1 March 1979.

  • a Vietnamese diplomat explains the Soviet treaty, November 1978

    Extract from the US record of a meeting in New York, 30 November 1978, between US official Robert Oakley and the Vietnamese representative (named "Co" in the record) in talks on normalising US-Vietnamese relations, four weeks after Vietnam signed its treaty with the USSR. Secret. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977-1980, volume XXII, document 33. A US government document in the public domain.

  • Deng Xiaoping briefs President Carter, 29 January 1979

    Extract from the US memorandum of conversation of a meeting between President Carter, Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping and their senior advisers, Washington, 29 January 1979, a month after Vietnam invaded Cambodia. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977-1980, volume XIII, document 205. A US government document in the public domain.

  • Carter reports Deng's private message, 30 January 1979

    Extract from a US memorandum of conversation, Washington, 30 January 1979, in which President Carter reported to his advisers on his private talk with Deng Xiaoping. China attacked Vietnam on 17 February 1979. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977-1980, volume XIII, document 207. A US government document in the public domain.

  • the UN General Assembly on Kampuchea, November 1979

    Extract from United Nations General Assembly Resolution 34/22, "The situation in Kampuchea", adopted at the 67th plenary meeting, 14 November 1979, on a draft sponsored by the ASEAN states. A UN record.

  • a cartoon about the conflict, 1979

    An original cartoon drawn for these notes in the style of a Southeast Asian newspaper cartoon of 1979, after the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia and the Chinese attack on Vietnam. It is not a copy of a real cartoon.

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