The Sino-Vietnam War was during the Cold War period when the United States and the Soviet Union were competing for hegemony. Vietnam followed the Soviet Union in fighting against China, and the United States was very happy to see it.

Quote: The role of the United States in the Sino-Vietnam War

There are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies. "This sentence is a wise saying for countries around the world in dealing with international relations.

(1)

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, China had several conflicts with the United States over the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Taiwan issue. . But after the split between China and the Soviet Union in the 1960s, China was gradually abandoned by the communist camp and became a lonely country. Looking around, there was no friend. The former Soviet Union even wanted to use Vietnam to achieve a comprehensive strategic encirclement of China. The situation was extremely unfavorable to China.

At this time, the United States was increasingly unfavorable in the Vietnam War, and failure was a foregone conclusion. Through the Korean War and the Vietnam War, the United States learned about China's power. Some people in the country began to advocate comprehensive development of relations with China, hoping to use China to curb the expansion of the former Soviet Union in Asia.

This was surprisingly consistent with China's interests, so the two sides hit it off and set aside their previous differences. The process of normalization of relations. The proximity of China and the United States undoubtedly posed a major threat to Vietnam and the Soviet Union. The former Soviet Union accelerated its efforts to win over Vietnam, and Vietnam immediately began its anti-China actions after the reunification of the North and the South, which finally led to the beginning of a self-defense counterattack against Vietnam. /p>

(2)

Whether China and the United States have reached an agreement on China’s self-defense counterattack against Vietnam is still a mystery. However, what is certain is that Deng Xiaoping returned from his visit to the United States. The offensive campaign was launched immediately, at least with the acquiescence of the United States, and the subsequent performance of the United States exactly proved this.

After the war broke out, the communist camp led by the former Soviet Union (except Yugoslavia). ) strongly condemned China's "aggression" and asked the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions on China. At the same time, the former Soviet Union's TASS news agency and radio also condemned the United States' connivance and acquiescence in China's invasion.

Pravda stated that Deng Xiaoping. The attack was launched on the third day after visiting the United States and returning home. “Therefore, no matter how we cover up and distort it, we cannot hide the direct and indirect responsibility that the United States should bear for this war. ”

On the first day of the war, although the U.S. State Department issued a statement demanding that China immediately cease its military actions and withdraw its troops, the statement also condemned Vietnam for invading Cambodia. At the subsequent emergency meeting of the Security Council , China and the Soviet Union each came up with proposals to condemn each other, but it was a rare moment for the Americans to act as a third party and sit back and judge what was right and wrong.

At the Security Council on February 25, 1979, due to the dispute between China and the United States. The United Nations agreed to speak on behalf of the overthrown Pol Pot government (Khmer Rouge), but the former Soviet Union representative Karamov withdrew in protest. < /p>

(3)

According to unconfirmed news, the United States also provided "aid" to China during the Sino-Vietnam War.

After the war broke out, the United States Pacific. The Seventh Fleet quickly assembled in the Beibu Gulf, giving people a sense of joint operations between China and the United States.

At the same time, the United States also provided China with satellite images of the former Soviet troops gathering on the border, tracking it at any time and reporting it to China at any time. Chinese report.

There are more specific rumors: In early March 1979, when the People's Liberation Army used superior forces to surround the 316th Division of the Vietnamese Army, it thought it was winning, but US military satellites discovered that the 316th Division was only the Vietnamese Army. As a bait, the People's Liberation Army was surrounded by the main force of the Vietnamese army, and the situation was very dangerous, so the United States quickly notified the Chinese side, allowing the Chinese army to escape the disaster.

Regardless of whether the above rumors are true or not, in terms of national interests. In other words, the United States was indeed "comrades in the trenches" with China at that time, because during the Cold War, "the enemy of our enemy is our friend," and the United States knew this well.