Although the Chinese and the Vietnamese were Cold War allies in
wars against the French and the Americans, their alliance collapsed
and they ultimately fought a war against each other in 1979. More
than thirty years later the fundamental cause of the alliance's
termination remains contested among historians, international
relations theorists, and Asian studies specialists. Nicholas Khoo
brings fresh perspective to this debate.
Using Chinese-language materials released since the end of the
Cold War, Khoo revises existing explanations for the termination of
China's alliance with Vietnam, arguing that Vietnamese cooperation
with China's Cold War adversary, the Soviet Union, was the
necessary and sufficient cause for the alliance's termination. He
finds alternative explanations to be less persuasive. These
emphasize nonmaterial causes, such as ideology and culture, or
reference issues within the Sino-Vietnamese relationship, such as
land and border disputes, Vietnam's treatment of its ethnic Chinese
minority, and Vietnam's attempt to establish a sphere of influence
over Cambodia and Laos.
Khoo also adds to the debate over the relevance of realist
theory in interpreting China's international behavior during both
the Cold War and post-Cold War eras. While others see China as a
social state driven by nonmaterial processes, Khoo makes the case
for viewing China as a quintessential neorealist state. From this
perspective, the focus of neorealist theory on security threats
from materially stronger powers explains China's foreign policy not
only toward the Soviet Union but also in relation to its Vietnamese
allies.
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