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| The rice fields of Vietnam provide the basic food of the Vietnamese people. Most of the people in Vietnam are farmers, and rice is the chief crop. |
The South China Sea DISPUTE
10 crucial facts you should know about the South China Sea dispute.
The South China Sea - Rival countries have wrangled over territory in the South China Sea for centuries, but tension has steadily increased in recent years…
theGuardian - Barack Obama has said Washington supports Vietnam’s territorial claims against Beijing in the South China Sea and promised it greater access to security equipment…
The Conversation - A United Nations arbitration court will soon rule over the sovereignty of islands in the South China Sea, a territorial dispute between China and the Philippines with global implications…
English.cctv.com - China rejects John Kerry’s South China Sea Criticism...News.Sky.com - Sky News visits the front line as China imposes itself on areas of the South China Sea claimed by five other countries.
Search Results
Wikipedia
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of ...
Wikipedia
The South China Sea disputes involve both island and maritime claims among several sovereign states within the region, namely Brunei, the People's Republic ...
BBC
Rival countries have wrangled over territory in the South China Sea for centuries, but tension has steadily increased in recent years. ... Vietnam hotly disputes China's historical account, saying Chinahad never claimed sovereignty over the islands before the 1940s. ... Brunei does not ...
The Guardian
23 hours ago - As host, Japan is keen to secure a strong statement on China's unilateral assertion of sovereignty over large parts of the South China Sea, ...
Council on Foreign Relations
Bonnie Glaser of the Center for Strategic and International Studies discusses the significant risk of conflict in the South China Sea and how the United States can ...
Council on Foreign Relations
Territorial and jurisdictional disputes in the South China Sea continue to strain relationships between China and other countries in Southeast Asia and risk ...
The National Interest
2 days ago - When China has completed its military preparations of the islands—most other states will be clearly outmatched.
1 day ago - BEIJING, China — The disputed rocks and reefs of the South China Sea are more than an ocean away from the landlocked African nation of ...
South China Sea
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Vietnam's flag and coat of arms feature a star that
stands for Communism. The rice and the cogwheel on the coat of arms represent
the importance of agriculture and industry to Vietnam. The flag was adopted by
North Vietnam in 1955.
Vietnamese children stand outside a village
house in southern Vietnam. Most Vietnamese—like these children—have broad
faces, high cheekbones, and straight black hair.
The Indochina Peninsula about A.D. 300 - This map shows the early states of Indochina, Jiao Zhi was an independent
kingdom called Nam Viet before it was conquered by China in 111 B.C. Present-day Vietnam is
shown in yellow.
The Indochina Peninsula in 1900 - This map shows French Indochina, which included Cambodia, Laos, and
Vietnam. France divided Vietnam into Tonkin, Annam, and Cochin China.
Present-day Vietnam is shown in yellow.
Facts in brief about
Vietnam
Capital: Hanoi.
Official language: Vietnamese.
Area: 331,689 km2. Greatest distances—
north-south, 1,657 km;
east-west, 612 km. Coastline—
3,444 km.
Elevation: Highest—fan Si
Pan, 3,143 m above sea level. Lowest — sea level along the coast.
Population: Estimated
1996 population— 75,280,000; density,
227 people per km2,
distribution, 79 per cent rural, 21 per cent urban.. Estimated 2001 population— 83,024,000.
Chief products: Agriculture—
rice. Manufacturing— cement, fertilizer, iron and steel, paper products, textiles. Mining— coal. Money: Currency unit—
dong. One dong = 100 xu.
Important dates in Vietnam
111 B.C The Chinese conquered what is now northern Vietnam.
A.D. 939 China ended its rule over the Vietnamese, who then set up an independent
state.
1802 Nguyen Anh united the country and called it Vietnam.
1858-1883 France took control of Vietnam.
1940-1945 Japan controlled Vietnam during World War II.
194G War began between France and the Vietminh.
1954 The Vietminh defeated the French. The Geneva Conference divided Vietnam
into two nations.
1957 The Viet Cong began to rebel against the South Vietnamese government.
The fighting developed into the Vietnam War.
1973 U.S. participation in the Vietnam War ended.
1975 The Vietnam War ended on April 30, when South Vietnam surrendered to
the Communists.
197G The Communists unified North and South Vietnam into the nation of
Vietnam.
t978 Vietnam invaded Cambodia and helped pro-Vietnamese Cambodians gain
control of the government.
1989 Vietnam claimed to have withdrawn all its troops from Cambodia, but some
people believed troops remained.
Vietnam is a tropical country in Southeast Asia. It extends south from China in
a long, narrow S-curve. Laos and Cambodia lie west of Vietnam, and the South
China Sea lies to the east. Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam, and Ho Chi Minh
City is the largest city.
Most Vietnamese live in villages on the
coastal plain and on deltas formed by rivers. They grow rice and a few other
crops on the fertile land. Many people who live near the coast catch fish for a
living.
In ancient times, the Vietnamese people
lived in what is now northern Vietnam. China ruled the area from about 100 B.C.
until the A.D. 900's, when the Vietnamese formed an independent state. During
the next 900 years, the Vietnamese expanded their territory until they controlled
all of what is now Vietnam.
France gained control of Vietnam in the
late 1800's. The French governed the country until Japan occupied it during
World War II (1939-1945). After Japan's defeat in 1945, France tried to regain
control of Vietnam. But the Vietminh, a group controlled by Communists and headed by Ho Chi Minh, gained
power in northern Vietnam. Fighting broke out between French forces and the
Vietminh in 1946. It ended in 1954, with the French defeat in the Battle of
Dien Bien Phu and an international
conference to arrange a peace settlement.
The conference, held in Geneva, Switzerland, decided to divide Vietnam
temporarily into two zones. The Communists received control of the northern
zone, called North Vietnam. Non-Communist Vietnamese received control of the
southern zone, called South Vietnam.
In 1957, Vietminh members in the South
began to rebel against the South Vietnamese government. North Vietnam began
publicly supporting the revolt in 1959.
The Communists goal was to unify the
country under their control. The fighting developed into the Vietnam War China, the Soviet Union, and other
Communist countries sent aid to the Vietnamese Communists during the war.
Non-Communist countries supported South Vietnam. The United States became the
chief ally of the South. It backed the South's war effort with supplies and
hundreds of thousands of troops. In 1973, the participants in the war agreed
to a cease-fire and the United States withdrew its last combat troops. But the
Commu- nlsts soon resumed their wsr effort !n April 1975, the Communists
defeated South Vietnam and took control of it. in 1976, they unified North and
South Vietnam into the single nation of Vietnam. For more details of the
conflict, see Vietnam War.
Government
Vietnam's leaders call the country a
republic and a dictatorship of the working class. In practice, however, the
government is tightly controlled by the leaders of the nation's Communist
Party.
The Communist Party of Vietnam is headed by a Politburo of about 15 members. The Politburo
is the most powerful governmental unit in Vietnam. It makes all the
government's policies.
National government. Vietnam has a 496-member National Assembly. The Assembly meets twice a
year to endorse laws and policies made by the Communist Party. A Council of
State—made up of members of the National Assembly—deals with such matters as
national defence and the execution of laws. The Council members make up a
collective presidency. Members of a Council of Ministers head various
departments of the government. The Communist Party chooses—and the National
Assembly elects—the members of the Council of State and the Council of
Ministers.
Local government. Vietnam is divided into 36 provinces, three cities independent of
provinces, and one special zone. The cities are Haiphong, Hanoi, and Ho Chi
Minh City. The Vung Tau-Con Dao special zone is southeast of Ho Chi Minh City.
People's councils conduct government business at the provincial level and on
down to the village level. Local government officials must follow Communist
Party policies. The Communist Party chooses—and the people elect—the officials
of the lower levels of local government. These officials elect the members of
the higher levels of local government
Courts. The Communist Party controls the court system of Vietnam. The system
includes the People's Supreme Court, local people's courts, and military
courts.
Armed forces. Vietnam has one of the world's largest armed forces. The entire force
is called the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). It consists of an army of about 1,100,000
members; a small navy and air force; and paramilitary forces, such as a militia
and border defence forces. About 2 million people serve in the paramilitary
forces.
People
Thousands of years ago, people moved into
the Vietnam area from the north and from islands to the south. The Vietnamese
people probably developed out of these two groups. Today, they make up almost
90 per cent of Vietnam's population. Tay, Thai, Chinese, and Khmer are the
largest minority groups in Vietnam.
Most Vietnamese people have broad faces,
high cheekbones, and straight black hair. On average, the men stand a little
over 150 centimetres tall and weigh about 54 kilograms. Most Vietnamese women
are slightly smaller than the men.
Most of the Vietnamese people live on the
Mekong and Red river deltas and on the coastal plain. The Tay and Thai live
mostly in the northern provinces. Thai people form a majority in nearby
Thailand. The majority of the Chinese live in cities. Most of the Khmer are farmers
in southwestern Vietnam. Khmer people make up a majority in neighbouring
Cambodia.
Population. For Vietnam's total population, see the Facts in brief table
with this article. The population includes about 1 1/2 million Tay, 1 million
Thai, 1 million Chinese, and 900,000 Khmer.
Ho Chi Minh.
City, with a population of about 4 million, is Vietnam's largest city. Hanoi,
the next largest city, has a population of about 3 million. Haiphong, the third
largest, has about 1 y million people.
Way of life. The Vietnamese way of life changed little for hundreds of years before
the arrival of French colonists in the late 1800's. But since then, the
influence of the French, the Communists, and the Americans, and the years of
war during the mid-1900's, have brought great changes.
Before the late 1800's, Vietnam was an
agricultural society built on strong family ties. Almost all the people lived
in villages and farmed the land. People owed loyalty to their families before
all else, and held their families' interests above their own. The oldest male
was head of the family, and his oldest son was the second most important family
member. In many cases, related families lived together. These extended families included
the parents, their unmarried children, and the oldest married son and his wife
and children. Parents chose their children's marriage partners. Families honoured
their ancestors by performing special ceremonies.
France gained control of Vietnam in the
late 1800's. The French brought industry to the country, and many Vietnamese
left their farms to work in the new factories in the cities. Agriculture was
developed and expanded, with many Vietnamese working on French-developed rubber
plantations. A new class of wealthy landowners emerged under French rule. They
controlled more of the farmland than had any previous group in Vietnam. But the
events that most changed the traditional Vietnamese way of life began in the
mid-1900's.
The Communists who came to power began
transforming the society according to Communist principles. Party leaders
extended their control to all walks of life. They forced people to live
according to the rules of the Communist Party. They urged women to perform the
same jobs as men, and discouraged religious worship and the ceremonial
honouring of ancestors.
The Vietnam War brought other changes to
Vietnamese life. It broke up families as fathers and sons left home to fight.
Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese died in the war. In the north, areas near
some cities were heavily bombed, forcing many people to move to the
countryside. But almost all the ground fighting took place in rural areas of
southern Vietnam. It drove many families from their farm homes to the somewhat
safer cities. In the cities of the south, many people learned Western customs
from U.S. business people, government workers, and soldiers who came to
Vietnam because of the war.
Clothing. The people of Vietnam wear mostly cotton clothing. But the styles differ
in northern Vietnam and southern Vietnam.
In cities of the north, most men and women
wear plain black trousers with tightly buttoned white or dark-coloured jackets.
Many people wear sandals made of worn-out car tyres. In cities of the south,
some people wear the same style of clothing. But many people who have lived
there since before the Communist take-over wear Western-style clothing,
especially the men. Many women still wear the traditional Vietnamese ao dai (a long coatlike garment)
over black or white trousers. In northern rural areas, most women dress in
loose-fitting shirts and skirts. Some men wear coatlike garments that hang to
the knees. Rural people in the south usually wear loose-fitting trousers and
long-sleeved shirts.
Housing in rural areas differs in northern and southern Vietnam because of
differences in climate. In the cooler north, many people traditionally built
simple wood or bamboo houses with tiled roofs. In the warmer south, most
families had homes with walls and roofs made of palm leaves or straw. But
today, sheets of metal or plastic are often used for roofs. Wood, brick, and
tile are common building materials in the towns and cities.
Food. Most Vietnamese eat chiefly fish, rice, and vegetables. Rice has long
been the basic food in Vietnam. Most meals include a fish sauce called nuoc mam.
Language. Vietnamese is the official language of Vietnam. The people speak three
major dialects (local forms) of Vietnamese—northern, central, and southern. But these
dialects differ little from one another. Many members of the country's minority
groups speak Vietnamese in addition to their own languages. There are dozens
of minority-group languages. Many Vietnamese people, especially those living in
the cities, can also speak English, French, Chinese, or Russian.
Education. After the division of Vietnam in 1954, both North and South Vietnam made
special efforts to expand their educational systems. But the Vietnam War
disrupted education, and the war effort used up money and materials that could
have provided schools and teacher training. The Vietnamese economy has been extremely
poor since the war ended, and the government has not been able to provide
adequate funds for educational needs. In spite of such problems, most of the
Vietnamese people can read and write.
The Communist Party Controls the operation
of all schools in Vietnam. The educational system includes general primary,
junior, and secondary schools and vocational schools, which train skilled
workers. Vietnam has 2 universities and more than 40 colleges and specialized
schools. The University of Ho Chi Minh City is the largest college of higher
education.
Religion. The Communist leaders of Vietnam dis- courage all religious practices.
Most of the Vietnamese people who practise a religion are Buddhists. Many of
them also worship the spirits of animals and plants and believe in the
teachings of Confucianism and Taoism. About 10 per cent of the southern
Vietnamese are Roman Catholics. Two small religious groups—the Hoa Hao and the
Cao Dai—have developed since 1920 in the south. Hoa Hao is closely related to
Buddhism. Cao Dai combines certain beliefs of Taoism and Buddhism with those of
several other religious.
Arts. Poetry has long been the most popular and powerful form of literature in
Vietnam, and poets have always been highly respected. Most people can recite at
least a few verses of "Kim Van Kieu," a poem that deals with love and
sacrifice. This work of more than 3,000 lines was written by the poet Nguyen
Du, who lived during the late 1700's and early 1800's.
Novels began to gain wide popularity in
Vietnam during the years of French rule. They remain popular, especially in
the south. But the Communist leaders now carefully regulate the books the
people may read.
Vietnamese painting shows the influence of
both ancient Chinese and modern French art. Examples of traditional
Vietnamese architecture include mostly pagodas (temples), tombs, and old
royal palaces.
Land and climate
Vietnam occupies the east coast of the
Indochinese Peninsula. The Vietnamese sometimes describe their country as two
rice baskets hanging from opposite ends of a farmer's carrying pole. In the
north, the Red River Delta forms one "basket." The Mekong Delta in
the south forms the other. A narrow stretch of land in central Vietnam forms
the "carrying pole" that connects the two river deltas.
The market places of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's largest city, are crowded with peddlers. Many of them display
their produce and other goods on the pavements in front of shops.
Vietnam extends about 1,600 kilometres
from China south to the Gulf of Thailand. At its widest point—in the north—Vietnam
extends almost 650 kilometres from Laos to the Gulf of Tonkin. At its narrowest
point—in central Vietnam—it is only about 50 kilometres wide.
Vietnam has five main land regions: (1)
the Northern Highlands, (2) the Red River Delta, (3) the Annamite Range, (4)
the Coastal Lowlands, and (5) the Mekong Delta.
The Northern Highlands are a mountainous region in northwestern Vietnam. The highlands extend
into China and Laos. Forests or jungles cover most of the mountains in this
thinly populated region. The highest peak in Vietnam, Fan Si Pan, rises 3,143 metres
above sea level in the highlands.
The Red River Delta extends from the Northern Highlands to the Gulf of Tonkin. It has been
formed by the Red River, which flows from southern China through northern
Vietnam into the gulf. Most of the delta lies 3 metres or less above sea level.
The Red River floods much of this densely populated region almost every year.
The Red River Delta is northern Vietnam's chief farming area.
The Annamite Range is a chain of mountains. It runs through western Vietnam from the Northern
Highlands to about 80 kilometres north of Ho Chi Minh City. Forests cover most
of the mountains. Like the highlands, these mountains are thinly populated.
Most of the people in this region are Montagnards.
The Coastal Lowlands occupy east-central Vietnam. The lowlands slope from the mountains to
the South China Sea and extend from the Red River Delta to the Mekong Delta.
Rice is grown throughout most of the region. Many people who live along the
coast are fishermen. The lowlands are thickly populated.
The Mekong Delta covers all of Vietnam south of the Annamite Range and the Coastal
Lowlands. It has been formed by the Mekong River, which flows from China
through Southeast Asia into the South China Sea. The Mekong Delta, like the Red
River Delta, lies 3 metres or less above sea level. Over half the people of
southern Vietnam live on the delta. It is the chief agricultural area of
Vietnam. See Mekong River.
Climate. Vietnam has a tropical climate. Monsoons (seasonal winds) affect
the weather throughout the year. The summer monsoon brings heavy rains from the
southwest. The winter monsoon brings lighter rainfall from the northeast Most
of Vietnam has two seasons—a wet, hot summer and a drier, slightly cooler
winter. However, some areas of northernmost Vietnam have four seasons.
In Hanoi, in northern Vietnam, the average
temperature is about 17° C in January and about 29° C in June. From May to
October, the Red River Delta has high temperatures, heavy rains, and some
typhoons, which sweep across the Gulf of Tonkin. Hanoi receives about 185
centimetres of rainfall a year.
In southern Vietnam, the humidity remains
high throughout the year. Most rain faNs in summer. The Ho Chi Minh City area
receives about 200 centimetres of rain between April and November. From
December to March, the weather is cooler with little rain. The average
temperature in Ho Chi Minh City ranges from about 26“ C in December to about 30°
C in April.
Central Vietnam includes both the driest
and the wettest regions of the country. It also has a greater temperature range
than the north and south. Typhoons often strike the central coast. Mountain
areas in Vietnam generally have lower temperatures and more rainfall than the
delta regions and the Coastal Lowlands.
Economy
The economy of Vietnam depends on
agriculture. About 70 per cent of the workers are farmers, and agricultural
goods—especially rice—are the country's chief products. Vietnam has a socialist
economy, in which the government owns most means of production. In the late
1980s, however, the government began an economic restructuring that encouraged
some forms of private enterprise and competition.
Northern Vietnam has most of the country's
natural resources. Anthracite (hard coal) is the chief mineral resource, and the north has almost
all the anthracite fields. Vietnam also mines chromium, clays, petroleum, phosphates,
salt, and tin. Forests cover one-third of Vietnam. Forest products include
bamboo, cinnamon, quinine, and timber.
Agriculture. About 15 per cent of the land in Vietnam is used for farming. About
another 20 per cent of the land in the south is suitable for farming, but
remains mostly uncultivated. The government is working to develop more
farmland. Rice is the chief farm product of Vietnam. Other products include
cassava, coffee, coconuts, cotton, jute, maize, peanuts, soybeans, sugar cane,
sweet potatoes, tea, tobacco, and rubber.
The fishing industry is also important to Vietnam's economy. Many people who live on the
coast earn their living from the fishing industry. The seafood caught includes
lobster, shrimp, squid, and many kinds of fish.
Manufacturing. Vietnam lacks the natural resources needed for heavy industry. The
country has a small iron and steel industry. The Vietnamese use the iron and
steel to manufacture farm tools, bicycles, and simple machinery. Vietnam also
has cement, fertilizer, food- processing, paper, and textile industries.
Foreign trade. Vietnam's imports include petroleum products, medicines, machinery,
military supplies, vehicles, and food. Its major exports are coal, peanuts,
rice, rubber, tea, and handcrafted bamboo and rattan products. Hong Kong,
Japan, and Singapore are Vietnam's chief trading partners.
The Coastal Lowlands extend along much of Vietnam's sea- coast. A chain of mountains called
the Annamite Range rises in the background beyond the western edge of the
lowlands.
Transportation and communication. Vietnam has an extensive transportation system that includes roads and
railways. The Red River and its branches, and the Mekong River and its
branches, are important waterways.
The bicycle ranks as the chief means of
private transportation in northern Vietnam. It is also important in the south,
but motor scooters are also widely used there. Less than 1 per cent of the
people own cars.
Many newspapers are published in Vietnam.
Before the 1960's, few Vietnamese owned a radio or a TV set. In the 1960's and
1970's, ownership of radios—and to a lesser extent TV sets—became fairly
widespread in southern Vietnam. In northern Vietnam, few people own either a
radio or TV set. Most rural people live in villages and listen to radio
programmes over public loudspeakers. Most of the TV sets are owned by
collective farms, workers' organizations, or similar groups.
Vietnam's Communist Party has controlled
all means of communication since it came to power. It does so to promote
loyalty to the party and to curb opposition.
Early years. In ancient times, the Vietnamese people lived in what is now northern
Vietnam. About 200 B.C., the Chinese general Zhao Tuo, also known as Trieu Da,
united the area and parts of southeastern China into an independent kingdom
called Nam Viet. The kingdom extended almost as far south as the present city of Hue.
In 111 B.C, China conquered Nam Viet and renamed it Jiao Zhi (also spelled Ciao Chi).
In A.D. 679, the Chinese changed the name to Annam. meaning pacified south.
By the end of the A.D. 100's, two kingdoms—
Funan and Champa—had developed in what is now southern and south-central
Vietnam. Funan ruled the Mekong Delta and what is now southern Cambodia. Champa
controlled central Vietnam between jiao Zhi (Annam) and Funan. During the 500's
and 600s, Khmer people living west of Champa conquered Funan. They built a
mighty empire during the next few hundred years.
Independence. In 939, the Chinese left Annam, and the Vietnamese established an
independent state. A Vietnamese ruler named the kingdom Dai Co Viet
(Great Viet State). But for hundreds of years, the name Annam was used as well.
The country remained independent for over 900 years, except for a 20-year
period of Chinese control in the early 1400's. During those 900 years, the
Vietnamese built a small empire.
In 1009, the Ly family came to power. It
ruled the country for over 200 years. The Ly rulers built a strong army that
repeatedly defeated attacking forces from Champa, China, and the Khmer empire.
The period was a time of growth, prosperity, and artistic achievement.
The Tran family seized power from the Ly
rulers in 1225 and governed the country until 1400. During that period, Dai Co
Viet defeated several attacking Mongol armies and fought almost continuously
with Champa. China regained control of Dai Co Viet in 1407. The Vietnamese
drove out the Chinese in 1427, and the Le family, which had led the fight
against China, came to power. The family named the country Dai Viet (Great Viet). Under their
rule, Dai Viet gained prosperity. Le rulers held the throne until 1787.
In 1471, Le Thanh Ton, the strongest of
the Le rulers, conquered Champa. But weak rulers followed Le Thanh Ton, and
civil war broke out in Dai Viet during the 1500's. The war began as two
families—the Trinh in the north and the Nguyen in the south—fought for control
of the country. Both sides claimed to support the Le rulers. The families
finally stopped fighting in 1673, and Dai Viet had peace for about 100 years.
During that time, the Nguyen family expanded their territory by seizing parts
of the Khmer empire.
In the early 1770's, three brothers in
central Dai Viet led a revolt against the Nguyen family. The brothers called
themselves Tay Son after the name of their home village. The Tay Son conquered southern
Dai Viet and then marched against the Trinh family. In 1787, they conquered
the north and removed the Le rulers.
The youngest Tay Son brother became ruler
of northern and central Dai Viet. But Nguyen Anh, a member of the defeated
Nguyen family, gained control of southern Dai Viet. In 1802, he defeated the
Tay Son ruler and declared himself Emperor Gia Long of all Dai Viet, which he
renamed Vietnam. Members of his family remained
the emperors of Vietnam until the end of
World War II in 1345. But they had little power after the mid-1800's.
French rule. Roman Catholic missionaries from France began to arrive in Dai Viet in
the 1600's. They converted thousands of Vietnamese to Catholicism, but the
country's rulers became suspicious of the missionaries. From the 1600's until
the early 1800's, Vietnamese rulers continually persecuted the missionaries.
In 1858, French forces began to attack
parts of southern Vietnam. France acted partly to stop the persecution of the
missionaries and partly because it wanted to become a colonial power in
Vietnam. The French seized Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in 1861 and the rest
of the south by 1867. They took control of northern Vietnam by 1883. That
year, the French forced the Nguyen ruler to sign a treaty that gave France
control of all Vietnam. France divided the country into three areas— Cochin China
(southern Vietnam), Annam (central Vietnam), and Tonkin (northern Vietnam). France governed the areas as separate parts of
French Indochina, which also included Cambodia and Laos.
Japanese control. Germany defeated France early in World War II, in June 1940. Japan, one
of Germany's allies, soon took control of French Indochina. The Japanese
allowed French officials to remain in Vietnam, but they had to govern according
to Japan's wishes. Then, in March 1945, the Japanese arrested all French
officials and forced Emperor Bao Dai to announce the independence of Annam and
Tonkin from France. Vietnam remained under Japanese control until Japan's
defeat in August 1945.
The Indochina War. The Japanese defeat left no group in power in Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh, a
Vietnamese Communist, returned to Vietnam from China. He was the head of the
Revolutionary League for the Independence of Vietnam, commonly called the Vietminh. The Vietminh swiftly took
control of many areas of the country, particularly in the north. Emperor Bao
Dai, unable to form a government, stepped down in favour of Ho Chi Minh. In
September 1945, Ho proclaimed Vietnam independent and announced the formation
of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). Ho became head of the new
government, which was controlled by the Communist Vietminh, but supported by
many non- Communist nationalists who did not want a return to French colonial
rule.
Within weeks, British and Chinese troops
arrived in Vietnam to accept the surrender of the Japanese. These troops also
established order and had the effect of holding onto Vietnam for the French,
whose first forces soon arrived. The French quickly reestablished control of Cochin
China. But they were not able to put down all resistance. Relations between
the Vietminh and France worsened. On Dec. 19, 1946, Vietminh forces attacked
the French in Hanoi, and the Indochina War—also known as the Vietminh War—began.
By mid-1949, the French had formed the
State of Vietnam to oppose the Vietminh. The State of Vietnam was led by a
Vietnamese nationalist government headed by Bao Dai. Many nationalists, opposed
to the Communist control of the Vietminh, began to support the new government.
Western allies of France supported the State of Vietnam, and Communist nations
supported Ho Chi Minh's DRV government. Both governments claimed to represent
all of Vietnam. In 1953, the Communists began to take control of the farmland
in northern Vietnam.
They killed or imprisoned landowners they
considered their enemies and assigned production quotas to all farmers.
The division of Vietnam. In April 1954, representatives of the DRV, the State of Vietnam,
Cambodia, Laos, China, France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United
States met in Geneva, Switzerland, to arrange a peace settlement for Vietnam.
The fighting in Vietnam and France's claim to the area ended in May 1954, when
the Vietminh defeated the French in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. The
representatives at the Geneva Conference then decided to divide Vietnam
temporarily into two parts, North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The conference
also called for elections in 1956 to unite Vietnam under one government. See
Geneva Accords.
Flo Chi Minh became president of North
Vietnam. Bao Dai was head of South Vietnam. In 1955, the people of South
Vietnam chose Ngo Dinh Diem as their leader. Diem then established the Republic
of Vietnam with himself as president. Fie refused to go along with the
elections planned for 1956, claiming the Communists would not permit fair
elections. Vietnam remained divided.
The Vietnam War begins. In 1957, Vietminh members in South Vietnam began to rebel against
Diem's rule. These rebels became known as the Viet Cong. In
1959, North Vietnam publicly supported the revolt. It ordered the Viet Cong to
begin an armed struggle against the South Vietnamese government. In 1960, the
Viet Cong were organized into the National Liberation Front, which was formed
to lead the revolt. Gradually, the war grew larger and more intense.
The United States had sent civilian and
military advisers to help the South Vietnamese in the 1950's. In early 1965,
the U.S. began sending ground combat troops to
Vietnam and began bombing North Vietnam.
American participation in the war continued until 1973. At the same time, China
and the Soviet Union sent arms and supplies to North Vietnam and the Viet Cong.
South Vietnam and the war. President Diem signed a new constitution into law in 1956. It declared
that South Vietnam was a republic. But Diem and his family actually controlled
the government.
Viet Cong attacks in South Vietnam
increased during the late 1950's and early 1960s. Diem turned more and more to
undemocratic policies to combat the Communists, and South Vietnamese political
leaders began to criticize the Diem government. In 1962, Diem declared a
national emergency. He established a curfew, the censorship of news, and other
restrictions.
On Nov. 1, 1963, a group of army generals
led by Duong Van Minh seized the South Vietnamese government. Diem was
murdered. A series of military groups held power for brief periods until june
1965. A group led by Nguyen Cao Ky, an air force general, then took control. In
1967, Nguyen Van Thieu, an army general, was elected president. Meanwhile, the
war grew into a major conflict and battles raged in South Vietnam.
In June 1972, the National Assembly gave
Thieu power to rule by decree (presidential order) for six months. In August, Thieu ruled that almost
all hamlet and village officials would no longer be elected but would be
appointed by the national government. This decree ended most local elections in
South Vietnam.
North Vietnam and the war. After the division of Vietnam, the Communists completed a take-over of
all farms, factories, and other businesses in the North. During the 1960's and
early 1970's, North Vietnam concentrated more and more of its agricultural and
industrial efforts in support of the war.
Ho Chi Minh served as North Vietnam's
president until he died in 1969. Control of the government then passed to the
Politburo of the Communist Party.
Communist victory and unification. After 1965, South Vietnam depended more and more on American support in
its war against the Communists. Beginning in the late 1960's, American
involvement in Vietnam became increasingly unpopular in the United States. In
early 1973, South Vietnam, the United States, and the Communists signed a
cease-fire agreement, and the United States removed its last ground troops from
Vietnam. But the Communists soon launched another offensive against South
Vietnam. In April 1975, Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, fell to the
Communists, and the Communists gained control of the South. For more details on the
conflict, see Vietnam War.
in 1976, the Communists unified North and
South Vietnam into the single nation of Vietnam. Communist officials-from the
North took control of the government of the unified country. They changed the
name of Saigon to Ho Chi Minh City.
Recent developments. Since the end of the Vietnam War, Vietnam has faced great economic
difficulties. The country's extreme poverty, along with dissatisfaction with
certain government programmes, have caused large numbers of people to flee the
country. One such programme was designed to move large numbers of people from
cities to rural areas to relieve urban overcrowding and unemployment. But the
programme was poorly planned and carried out. It has met widespread opposition
by the people. Another government programme sent many southerners to
"reeducation" camps, which were essentially concentration camps for
political prisoners. About a million people, including people both of
Vietnamese and of Chinese ancestry, have left the country as refugees. In
addition, thousands of Chinese have been expelled.
Many refugees left Vietnam in small boats,
risking drowning and pirate attacks in the South China Sea. These refugees
became known as boat people. They went to countries in Southeast Asia, where they stayed in refugee
camps until they could be relocated in other countries. The largest number by
far moved to the United States.
Another major development since the end of
the war has been troubles between Vietnam and neighbouring countries. In 1978,
Vietnam invaded Cambodia. It replaced Cambodia's Khmer Rouge Communis; government
with a pro-Vietnamese Communist government. The Khmer Rouge Communists, along
with non- Communist groups, then fought a guerrilla war against the new
government and the Vietnamese forces who occupied Cambodia. The war ended in
1991. Vietnam gradually withdrew its troops during the 1980's, and claimed a complete
withdrawal by .September 1989. But some people claimed that some Vietnamese
troops never left, it was also said that some troops returned to Cambodia
later.
In 1979, Chinese forces occupied Vietnam's
northern border area for about a month in an effort to punish the Vietnamese
for invading Cambodia. Friction, including border clashes from time to time,
continued between Vietnam and China for many years. In the early 1990s,
relations between the two countries improved.
in the late 1980's, the government began a
programme of economic restructuring. This programme encouraged some forms of
private enterprise and competition. In 1994, the United States lifted its
30-year trade embargo on Vietnam.
The Vietnam War was fought mainly in
North and South Vietnam from 1957 to 1975. Troops also battled in Laos and
Cambodia, and U.S. pilots flew missions from bases in Thailand
The Vietnam War was fought in the air and on the ground. American B-52 bombers made
thousands of raids on enemy bases in North and South Vietnam, and armed helicopters
carried troops into battle. Millions of civilians became refugees.
South Vietnam, where most of the
fighting took place, suffered the most damage. The war made refugees of some 10
million South Vietnamese, about half the population.
Important dates in the Vietnam War
1957 The Viet Cong began to rebel against the South Vietnamese government
headed by President Ngo Dinh Diem.
1963 (Nov. 1) South Vietnamese generals overthrew the Diem government, and
Diem was killed the next day.
1964 (Aug. 7) In the United States, the
Tonkin Gulf Resolution gave the president power to take "all necessary
measures" and "to prevent further aggression."
1965 (March 6) U.S. President Lyndon B.
Johnson sent U.S. Marines to Da Nang, South Vietnam. The Marines were the
first U.S. ground troops in the war.
1968 (Jan. 30) North Vietnam and the Viet Cong
launched a major campaign against South Vietnamese cities.
1969 (June 8) U.S. President Richard Nixon
announced that U.S. troops would begin to withdraw from Vietnam.
1973 (Jan. 27) The United States, North and South Vietnam, and the Viet Cong
signed a cease-fire agreement.
1973 (March 29) The last U.S. ground troops left Vietnam.
1975 (April 30) South Vietnam surrendered.
Vietnam War was a major conflict in Southeast Asia. The war began as a civil war to
decide the government of Vietnam. It developed into a major international conflict,
involving the United States in the longest war in which Americans have taken
part. It began in 1957 and ended in 1975. Vietnam, a small country in Southeast
Asia, was divided into Communist-ruled North Vietnam and non-Communist South
Vietnam. North Vietnam and Communist-trained South Vietnamese rebels fought to
take over South Vietnam. The United States and the South Vietnamese army tried
to stop them but failed.
The Vietnam War was actually the second
phase ot fighting in Vietnam. During the first phase, which began in 1946, the
Vietnamese fought France for control of Vietnam. At that time, Vietnam was part
of the colony of French Indochina. The Vietnamese defeated the French in 1954.
Then Vietnam was divided into North and South Vietnam.
The Communists called the Vietnam War a war of national liberation. They saw it as an extension of the struggle with France and as another
attempt by a foreign power to rule Vietnam. North Vietnam wanted to end U.S.
support of South Vietnam and to unite the north and south. China and the Soviet
Union, at that time the two largest Communist nations, gave the Vietnamese
Communists war materials but not troops.
U.S. aid to non-Communist South Vietnam
was based on a fear that if one Southeast Asian nation fell to the Communists,
the others would also fall, one after the other, "like a row of
dominoes."
The Vietnam War had several periods. From
1957 to 1965, it was mainly a struggle between the South Vietnamese army and
Communist-trained South Vietnamese rebels known as the Viet Cong. From 1965 to
1969,
North Vietnam and the United States did
much of the fighting. Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, and
Thailand also helped South Vietnam The United States began to withdraw its
forces in 1969. In January 1973, a cease-fire was arranged. The last American
ground troops left Vietnam two months later. The fighting began again soon
afterward. The war ended when South Vietnam surrendered on April 30, 1975.
Background to the war. Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia made up the French colony of Indochina from
the late 1800's to the 1940's (see Indochina). Japan occupied Indochina
during most of World War II (1939-1945). France tried to reestablish control
after Japan's defeat in 1945. But Ho Chi Minh, a Vietnamese patriot and Communist,
organized a revolt in northern Vietnam, and declared Vietnam independent. See
Ho Chi Minh.
France fought against Ho's Vietminh, or Revolutionary League
for the Independence of Vietnam, but was defeated in 1954. Peace agreements
were signed at Geneva, Switzerland, in 1954. These Geneva Accords provided
for the temporary division of Vietnam, but called tor nationwide elections in
1956 to reunify the country.
Ho Chi Minh set up a Communist government
in North Vietnam. The south became the Republic of Vietnam, commonly called
South Vietnam. Ngo Dinh Diem, an anti-Communist, became president of South
Vietnam. His government refused to take part in nationwide elections proposed
by the Geneva peace agreements.
Early stages of the war. Diem was an unpopular ruler. Members of the Vietminh in the south
rebelled. They were known as the Viet Cong, meaning Vietnamese Communists. North Vietnam supported the rebels. It developed a supply route to
South Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia. This system of roads and trails became
known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
By 1961, the Viet Cong were strong enough
to threaten Diem's government. U.S. President John F. Kennedy increased
American economic and military aid to South Vietnam. By 1963, there were over
16,000 U.S. military advisers in South Vietnam.
In 1963, after widespread Buddhist
protests against the government, President Diem was murdered. See Ngo Dinh
Diem. By 1964, North Vietnamese army units were operating in the south, and the
Viet Cong controlled up to 75 per cent of South Vietnam's population.
In August 1964, U.S. President Lyndon B.
Johnson announced that two U.S. destroyers had been attacked in the Gulf of
Tonkin, off the coast of North Vietnam. Some Americans doubted that the attack
had occurred, and the attack has never been confirmed. But Johnson ordered
U.S. air strikes against North Vietnam. In March 1965, the first U.S. Marines
were sent to South Vietnam.
The fighting intensifies. U.S. forces in Vietnam rose from about 60,000 in mid-1965 to a peak of
over 543,000 in 1969. They joined about 800,000 South Vietnamese troops, and a
total of 69,000 men from Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea,
and Thailand. Australian troops were first sent to Vietnam in 1965, with
conscripts serving from 1966. The force was withdrawn in 1971. New Zealand
soldiers served between 1964 and 1972.
The U.S. and its allies did not try to
invade North Vietnam. They relied on bombing North Vietnam and on "search
and destroy" ground missions in South Vietnam. Helicopters played a key
role in the fighting.
The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese adopted
a defensive strategy. The lightly armed Communist forces relied on surprise
and mobility. Avoiding major battles, they preferred guerrilla warfare (see
Guerrilla warfare). They knew the terrain well, and received war materials from
the Soviet Union and China.
The war dragged on, with neither side able
to win it.
In the United States, people were divided
over U.S. involvement. Some urged more decisive measures to defeat North
Vietnam. Others believed the United States was supporting corrupt and unpopular
governments in South Vietnam, and called for U.S. withdrawal.
In January 1968, the Communists attacked
major cities in South Vietnam. This campaign began at the start of Tet, the
Vietnamese New Year celebration. The United States and South Vietnam fought
back, and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. But it was clear that the
Communists were far from defeated. Peace talks began in Paris in May 1968.
U.S. troop withdrawal begins. The peace talks failed, but the new U.S. president, Richard Nixon, announced
a new policy known as Vietnamization. Beginning in July 1969, U.S. troops would gradually withdraw, leaving
the fighting to the South Vietnamese.
In April 1970, U.S. and South Vietnamese
troops invaded Cambodia to attack Communist military bases. This widening of
the war aroused much protest in the United States. The Cambodian campaign ended
in late June 1970. Opposition to the war in the United States grew rapidly, as
television coverage brought scenes of war horror into millions of American
homes. The antiwar movement in the United States was further outraged in 1971
when a U.S. Army officer was convicted of massacring civilians in the hamlet of
My Lai in South Vietnam in 1968. Charges that U.S. forces had used chemical
weedkillers to defoliate large areas of Vietnamese jungle caused widespread
international protest.
In March 1972, North Vietnam invaded the
South. President Nixon ordered the renewal of U.S. bombing of the North, and
also the laying of explosives in the harbour of Haiphong, North Vietnam's
chief port. The invasion was checked, and peace talks were restarted.
Victory for North Vietnam. The Paris peace talks were conducted by Henry Kissinger for the United
States and Le Due Tho for North Vietnam. On Jan. 27, 1973, a cease-fire
agreement was signed. By April, the last U.S. troops had left Vietnam, but the
peace talks broke down and fighting resumed. South Vietnam's forces were forced
into retreat, and on April 30,1975, South Vietnam surrendered. Saigon, the
South's capital, was renamed Ho Chi Minh City.
Results of the war. About 1 million South Vietnamese and 58,000 Americans died in the war.
Also, 501 Australian and 37 New Zealand soldiers died in the war. North
Vietnamese losses ranged between 500,000 and 1 million. Countless numbers of
civilians were killed.
The U.S. bombing was four times greater
than the Allied bombing of Germany in World War II. Though North Vietnam
suffered severe damage to its industries and transportation system, South
Vietnam suffered even more damage. About half the South's population became
refugees. Cropland, forest, and wildlife were destroyed in some areas.
The war made North Vietnam a power in
Southeast Asia. North Vietnam helped set up Communist governments in Laos and
Cambodia in 1975. In 1976, it united North and South Vietnam into the single
nation of Vietnam. Vietnam has slowly rebuilt its economy, and reopened some
links with the West.
The Vietnam War had far-reaching effects
on the United States. It was the first foreign war in which the U.S. failed to
achieve its goals. Today, Americans still disagree on the main issues of the
war, and whether or not their country should have become involved.
See also Cambodia (History); Johnson,
Lyndon B.; Kissinger, Henry A.; Laos (History); Nguyen Van Thieu; Nixon,
Richard; Vietnam.
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