Military History
The Political History of Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979, and the Chinese Concept of Active Defense
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The Political History of Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979,
and the Chinese Concept of Active Defense
by Xinhui
"Single most impressive demonstration of raw power politics" Zbigniew Brzezinski Carter's National Security Adviser on Deng's decision to attack Vietnam, 1979."
Feb 15, 1979, a date that few remembered today, China announced its intention to invade Vietnam, the very first day that it could legally terminate the 1950 Sino-Soviet Treaty. She attacked three days later on February 17, 1979.
Some 85,000 Chinese soldiers attacked Vietnam through twenty-six points along the border. Chinese troops entered Cao Bang on February 27. Lang Son, the provincial capital, fell two days later. On March 5, the Chinese, saying Vietnam had been sufficiently chastised, announced that the campaign was over. Beijing declared its "lesson" finished and the PLA withdrawal was completed on March 16. The so call first Sino-Vietnamese War lasted less a month. Vietnam held back its major forces to protect them from the onslaught, but China inflicted major damage to the local infrastructure and the 100,000 militias that were assigned to protect the territory [1]. The PLA lost was estimated around 20,000 [2]. Strange as it might sound; China's war with Vietnam was actually aimed at Soviet Union. The goal was to prove that Soviet Union would not risk a war with China even to protect her client state, Vietnam. Military speaking, especially in the tactical level, the PLA did perform poorly, but according to Bruce Elleman, By striking Vietnam:
"China achieved a strategic victory by minimizing the future possibility of a two-front war against the USSR and Vietnam and a diplomatic victory [3]
A dramatic cut in military in both spending and manpower were followed, funds are resource were redirected to the economy instead of war preparation against the Soviet. What follow was the most successful economic expansion in recent Chinese history.
This paper is not an effect to argue the tactical failure or success of those bloody weeks on neither side, nor it tries to describe military concepts such as limited war to readers. It is a detail looks at the reason for China's attack and a peek into China's active defense doctrine.
For a quick overview of the war, please see the Federations of American Scientist's Military Analysis Network at:
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/ops/war/prc-vietnam.htm
