Soviet-Vietnamese Tofc
The relationship between Vietnam and the Soviet Union took a dramatic turn with the signing of a treaty of friendship and cooperation between the two countries. Since the 1930s, relations between the two have passed through several phases. It was only after the Sino-Soviet split of the late 1950s that the Soviet Union grudgingly helped its fellow Communist government.
Until the unification of Vietnam in the mid-1970s, Hanoi judiciously maintained a balanced relationship with China and the Soviet Union. After that, the steady deterioration of relations with China turned Hanoi toward Moscow. The United States was eager for a rapprochement with China and remained cool toward Vietnamese overtures. Vietnam moved closer to the Soviet Union and became a full-fledged member of the Moscow-dominated COMECON (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance) in June 1978. China then suspended its $300 million assistance to Vietnam. Existing economic assistance from the Soviet Union was not sufficient for Hanoi's needs, and Vietnam also wanted more support for its Cambodian policy. Strategic assistance was necessary, and Vietnamese-Soviet military cooperation could help provide it.
On 3 November 1978, Vietnam signed a twenty-five-year Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation (TOFC) with the Soviet Union. The military clause obliged both to consult each other " if one was threatened by aggression for eliminating that threat." Vietnam also allowed the Soviet Union to use naval facilities at the Da Nang and Cam Ranh Bay bases. Armed with the TOFC, Vietnam intervened in Cambodia the following month. The treaty provided more of a psychological advantage for the Vietnamese than a strategic one. However, China was not deterred from helping the Khmer Rouge, and a strong supposition existed at the time, never disproved, that the Chinese quite clearly understood that the bogging down of Vietnamese forces in Cambodia would work to China's advantage. The Soviets did not take any direct military action at the time of the Chinese invasion of Vietnam in February 1979. Apart from economic and military aid, Vietnam received primarily rhetorical support. The Vietnamese seemed satisfied with the material and diplomatic support from the Soviets. Hanoi's relations with Beijing remained strained, and it became increasingly dependent on Moscow to sustain its military support for the Cambodian government in Phnom Penh against the ousted Khmer Rouge forces. Vietnam received about $800 million in 1978 from Moscow, which increased to $1.4 billion the following year. National interest rather than ideological solidarity was shown to be the most important factor in relations between Communist countries, and Southeast Asia was drawn further into great-power rivalry. Vietnam also could not normalize its relations with the United States, because its troops were stationed in Cambodia. It therefore moved closer to the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union also made an important contribution to Vietnam by providing fellowships for Vietnamese to pursue advanced studies in the USSR. Training in medicine, science, and math was often of high quality. This is perhaps one reason why currently Vietnam does well in the scientific olympics.
It was only after the disintegration of the Soviet Union that Vietnam's relations with both China and the United States improved considerably. However, Vietnam's historical ties with the successor state, the Russian Federation, continued, and there is currently Russian-Vietnamese collaboration in offshore oil exploration and production.
Further Reading
Pike, Douglas. (1987) Vietnam and the Soviet Union: Anatomy of an Alliance. Boulder, CO: Westview.
Karnow, Stanley. (1983) Vietnam: A History. New York: Viking.
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