THE CAUSES AND DYNAMICS OF THE SINO-VIETNAMESE CONFLICT

Despite self-made claims of a lasting friendship between two fraternal socialist nation-states, Vietnam and China found themselves at war with one another in 1979. In this study I have sought to uncover the sources of conflict that divide China and Vietnam.;Through a careful examination of press reports, government documents, journal articles and books, I posit that the conflict can be best understood by looking at the competing policies Hanoi and Beijing have fostered in trying to dominate the political scene in Indochina. I also argue that Hanoi and Beijing's policies towards Washington and Moscow reflect this preoccupation for dominance in Indochina. Finally, I propose that the border/territorial dispute and the problems of ethnic Chinese living in Vietnam are irritants in the overall conflict and do not constitute primary reasons for poor Sino-Vietnamese relations since 1975.