Vietnam- China Conflict - Research Paper Example

The two countries have been characterized by a longstanding rivalry between regional powers. The opposition has been diminishing and at the same time escalating in different periods. The conflict has also escalated to the 21st century where the two countries have been in turmoil over the fishing territories. The continued suspicion on a number of issues is expected to escalate further in the future if issues are not addressed regionally and globally. The conflict has affected the region and world in different ways.

This paper seeks to focus on Vietnam- China Conflict. Origin: Why Chinese Claim that it is Their Land or Area China continues to claim that the Paracels and Spratly islands are parts of the territory. This claim traces backs to the Yuan Dynasty in 1279. This was the period when astronomer Guo Shoujing visited the area. The original claim of the area was done by Jiang Jieshi Kuomintang government (Sieff; 1). Since then, the People’s Republic of China has followed the claim. The greatest Chinese sailors also named the islands in Chinese language and explorers as early as 1430 (Sieff; 1).

Conflict The issue of the border has not been a direct source of conflict between the two territories. However, increased political involvement led to increased tension and conflict. Most of the tension has revolved around the border. Both of the countries share 700 miles of common border. This boundary was delineated by Sino-French treaties signed during the colonial period (Hung 1979; 1039). However, there were differences over the actual sites of boundary mark. This suspicion heightened as the relationship between the two countries became tense in 1978.

This was due to mishandling of overseas Chinese in Vietnam (SinoVietnameseWar; 2013). At the time of war, both sides of the country tried to change the location of the stone pillars marking their sides. The other cause of tension was the division of territorial jurisdiction in the Gulf of Tonkin area. The reason behind this strain was sufficient deposits of oil in the South China Sea. Both of the countries also claimed ownership to the Paracels and Spratly islands. In 1974, china took one of the islands after a small stint with South Vietnamese army.

On the other hand, South Vietnamese laid claim of the Spartly islands. The conflict heightened as China withdrew its support. This led to collapse of financial and economic programs of these nations. These nations responded through retaliation mechanisms. This was through the management of overseas Chinese people. Consequently, the Vietnamese government decided to regulate private business managed by Chinese. There was also seizure of private properties, currency exchange, and sending people to new economic zones (Hung 1979; 1043).

This affected the overseas Chinese significantly. Others were forced to abandon new economic zones, and other moved to other parts of Asian nations. This caused China to move due to mistreatment of her people. China also cancelled other key projects it was financing to Vietnamese. Consequently, most of the refugees remained stranded along the border. This heightened the border tension. China viewed this outcome as a soviet conspiracy to incite china. The soaring dispute was also heightened by the Cambodia connection.

This was due to the soaring diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Cambodia. However, china began to side with Cambodia. Initially, china was reluctant to join the war. However, after the