Issue Date: February 23, 1979

Chinese Troops Launch Invasion of Vietnam, Advance 15 Miles, Hit 4 Provinces; Hanoi's Forces Offer Stiff Resistance

  • Peking Calls Drive Limited
  • Fighting Intensifies
  • Chinese Commanders Named
  • Vietnam Foresaw Attack
  • U.S.S.R. Warns China
  • Rumania Splits With Soviet Bloc
  • U.S. Calls for Chinese Withdrawal
  • Vietnam Requests U.N. Measures
  • India, Other Nations React

Peking Calls Drive Limited

China launched an invasion of Vietnam February 17. About 200,000-300,000 troops backed by planes and artillery struck along most of the 480-mile frontier, with Vietnamese forces putting up stiff resistance.

By February 22 the invaders were reported by Hanoi to have penetrated 15 miles inside Vietnamese territory after by-passing the provincial capital of Lang Son, 12 miles across the border.

Thus far the invaders had come in contact only with Vietnamese border and militia forces and had not yet encountered the 50,000 regular Vietnamese troops believed deployed around Hanoi.

The Chinese said they were retaliating for what they charged were Vietnamese-instigated incidents along the Chinese border and Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia.

The Hsinhua news agency said February 18 that China "did not want a single inch of Vietnamese territory." It said that "after counterattacking the Vietnamese aggressors as they deserve, the Chinese frontier troops will strictly keep to defending the border of their own country."

In the past six months the Vietnamese had committed 700 armed attacks along the Chinese border and "killed or wounded more than 300 Chinese frontier guards and inhabitants," Hsinhua said. As a result, the Chinese news agency said, "the Chinese frontier troops are fully justified to rise in counterattack when they are driven beyond forbearance."

China suggested that both sides meet to negotiate "the restoration of peace and tranquility along the border."

Vietnam February 17 had appealed to the Soviet Union and "the fraternal socialist countries to support and defend Vietnam."

Chinese Deputy Premier Teng Hsiao-ping was quoted February 19 as describing his country's military operation as a limited "counterattack" and stating that it would not be "extended or expanded...."

One official Vietnamese statement on the fighting came from Hanoi's ambassador to France, Vo Van Sung. He charged in Paris February 19 that the Chinese invasion was "a veritable war of aggression" that had been "carefully prepared over several months." In view of Teng's visit to the U.S. January 28-February 1, China's attack had been "undertaken with the Americans' approval, if not their encouragement or collusion," Sung said.

Fighting Intensifies

Despite China's earlier statements that its drive into Vietnam was limited, fighting intensified February 20 after a reported short lull. Peking's troops continued their southward drive from the Lang Son area at the eastern end of their northern salient and from Lao Cai at the western end. Lang Son's 46,000 civilians fled the town.

In its initial account of the fighting, Vietnam reported February 17 that Chinese forces that day had launched attacks on four border provinces from Quang Minh in the east to Hoang Lien Son in the west.

In its first report on casualties, Vietnam said February 18 that its forces had killed hundreds of Chinese soldiers as they "checked" the Chinese advance six miles inside Vietnam. The report also said 60 Chinese tanks were knocked out.

Vietnam February 20 conceded the Chinese capture of Lao Cai, 175 miles northwest of Hanoi, on the railroad that ran from China's border province of Yunnan. At the same time, it claimed its forces had killed 5,000 Chinese since the start of the invasion. Hanoi added another 2,000 Chinese to the casualty toll February 22. Western analysts regarded the Vietnamese figures as exaggerated and believed the Vietnamese losses were heavier than the Chinese.

China remained silent on the military developments.

Vietnam acknowledged February 22 that the Chinese had pushed 15 miles inside the border area up to Cao Bang, 110 miles northwest of Hanoi, massing for an even "bigger attack." While Chinese planes were active, they were confined to the invasion areas, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Thach said February 22.

Moscow's military involvement was indicated in a report from Bangkok February 22, which said that the Soviet Union had begun airlifting military supplies to Vietnam. An earlier report February 21 by Japanese military sources said the Soviet Union had sent four reconnaissance planes south past Japan to observe the fighting in Vietnam. The Soviets also were said to have reinforced their 11-ship fleet in the East China Sea, dispatching a cruiser and guided-missile destroyer. Most of the 11 ships were involved in intelligence gathering.

China warned the Soviet Union February 21 against "armed intervention" in support of Vietnam. A communique issued by the Communist Party's Central Committee said China wanted "stable and peaceful borders," but would resist any Soviet attack.

Chinese Commanders Named

The overall commander of the Chinese invasion force was identified as Hsu Shih-yu, 73, head of the Canton Military Region. Agence France-Presse reported from Peking February 21 that Hsu's appointment had appeared in a secret Chinese army document issued February 18.

The deputy commander of the operation was Yang Teh-chih, head of the Kunming Military Region. Chang Ting-fa, commander of the Chinese air force, was named chief of staff.

Vietnam Foresaw Attack

Two days before China's invasion of Vietnam, Hanoi's Foreign Ministry February 15 issued a memorandum accusing Peking of making "frantic war preparations against Vietnam." The document said that 40 Vietnamese soldiers and civilians had been killed by the Chinese in January and February. It said the Chinese also had "wounded hundreds of others and abducted more than 20 persons."

A Chinese countercharge February 15 said that Vietnamese mines on the Chinese-Vietnamese border had killed 22 Chinese soldiers and civilians since January. More Vietnamese mines had been planted along the Yunnan province frontier, the statement said.

U.S.S.R. Warns China

The Soviet Union warned China February 18 to "stop before it is too late." In its first official statement on the Chinese invasion of Vietnam, Moscow said, "All responsibility for the consequences of continuing the aggression...will be borne by the present Chinese leadership."

The statement continued, "The heroic Vietnamese people...is capable of standing up for itself...and furthermore it has reliable friends. The Soviet Union will honor its obligations under the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation" that Moscow and Hanoi signed in 1978. Article VI of the treaty required the signatories "to begin mutual consultations" in the case of a threat to one of the signatories.

(The Soviet Union did not comment on the invasion the day it began, February 17, indicating that it had not yet decided what position to take. The only mention of the conflict was in a dispatch from Hanoi by Tass, the Soviet news agency, giving a brief description of the fighting.)

Moscow intensified its attack February 19-20 to include charges that the U.S. was responsible for the Chinese invasion of Vietnam. A commentary February 19 in Izvestia, the government newspaper, said U.S. and Western "'appeasers' of China [were] in a very ambiguous and politically vulnerable position." The statement was an allusion to the fact that China's attack had come soon after the visit of Deputy Premier Teng Hsiao-ping to the U.S.

The Soviets went further February 20, charging that the U.S. was directly responsible for the Chinese action. An article in Pravda, the Soviet Communist Party newspaper, said Teng had told U.S. officials during his visit that China had plans to invade Vietnam. Pravda said Teng was led to believe that the U.S. would take no action to prevent the attack. A statement the same day by Tass charged that "the war against socialist Vietnam was practically prepared by Peking with the tacit consent of Washington."

In response, the U.S. State Department said February 20 that Teng had expressed "some unspecified intentions" with regard to Vietnam. "We did not either give a green light or have a battle plan presented to us," the State Department spokesman added.

Rumania Splits With Soviet Bloc

Rumania refused to go along with the condemnation of China voiced by the other allies of the U.S.S.R. In an official statement February 19, Bucharest called upon China to withdraw from Vietnam but also repeated its earlier criticism of Vietnam for its troop presence in Cambodia.

The Rumanian statement called for the withdrawal of "all foreign troops to within the national frontiers." In contrast, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary and Bulgaria issued statements condemning the Chinese alone. (Albania, formerly China's only ally in Europe, also condemned Peking, it was reported February 22.)

The Soviet Union issued a sharp attack on Rumania February 21 for blaming both sides in the Chinese-Vietnamese conflict. Moscow was joined in its attack by Czechoslovakia and Hungary.

The major communist parties of Western Europe also denounced China, according to reports February 19. The Italian Communist Party said the attack "raised new and disturbing questions about the general orientation of Chinese policy." The party had not criticized Vietnam for its invasion of Cambodia, which led observers to conclude that the Italian Communists were interested in maintaining strong links to Moscow despite their disagreement with the Soviets on a number of issues.

The French Communist Party condemned the invasion and added, "It is legitimate to think that [the U.S.] secretly gave its encouragement." The Spanish Communist Party, which was the most outspoken of all European communist parties in its criticism of Moscow, issued a condemnation of "the invasion of one socialist country by another socialist country."

U.S. Calls for Chinese Withdrawal

The U.S. February 17 called upon China to withdraw its troops from Vietnam. At the same time, Washington criticized Vietnam for its invasion of Cambodia.

A State Department spokesman said the U.S. was "opposed both to the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia and the Chinese invasion of Vietnam." He continued, "The reported Chinese invasion of Vietnam, which we oppose, was preceded by the Vietnamese invasion of Kampuchea [Cambodia]," indicating that in Washington's view, the Vietnamese action was responsible for the Chinese invasion.

(In Atlanta, Georgia February 20, President Jimmy Carter called the "Chinese border penetration into Vietnam" the "result" of Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia.)

According to Carter Administration officials, the U.S. had no role to play in the Chinese-Vietnamese conflict. The only goal for U.S. policy, they said, was to prevent the war from escalating into a confrontation between China and the U.S.S.R.

U.S. policy, drawn up February 17, was to maintain neutrality and use American influence to prevent Soviet involvement and bring about the withdrawal of all armies from foreign territory. The Administration's assessment of the events was that U.S. interests were not in imminent danger and U.S. allies in Asia were not threatened unless the conflict widened. The U.S. added that the establishment of diplomatic relations with China would not be affected.

Vietnam Requests U.N. Measures

Vietnam asked the United Nations February 17 "to force the Chinese aggressive troops to withdraw from Vietnam." However, Vietnam did not call for a meeting of the U.N. Security Council to debate what course of action the U.N. should take.

U.N. officials believed that Vietnam was reluctant to convene the Security Council because the question of its invasion of Cambodia would be raised.

U.N. Secretary General Kurt Waldheim issued a statement February 18 calling for "an end to all hostilities in the area coupled with full respect for the territorial integrity and political independence of all the states involved." His statement was seen as including the Vietnamese-Chinese and Vietnamese-Cambodian conflicts.

(The link between the two conflicts was apparently behind the delay in calling for a Security Council debate. The Western Security Council members agreed that a debate was necessary, but no particular country had been willing to make a formal request, according to press reports. The U.S. had been expected to issue a formal call February 21, but it was reported that China had requested a delay.)

India, Other Nations React

India called its foreign minister home from Peking February 18, one day ahead of his scheduled departure, in a gesture of displeasure over the Chinese invasion of Vietnam. Other nations also expressed concern over the developments in Southeast Asia.

Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai "expressed his profound shock and distress at the outbreak of hostilities," according to a statement issued from his office. Meanwhile, Indian Foreign Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee left China after protesting the invasion of Vietnam to the Chinese ambassador to India, who had accompanied the foreign minister on his travels.

Vajpayee's early return did not signify the failure of his trip, which had been intended to restore relations. Tension between the two countries had persisted since a brief border war in 1962.

In a report to the Indian Parliament February 21, Vajpayee said the invasion of Vietnam would not affect the recent improvement of relations with China. He said both sides had agreed to preserve the "existing tranquility" on their border.

Meanwhile, Taiwan accused the U.S. February 18 of abetting the Chinese invasion. A government spokesman said the invasion of Vietnam was the result "of a chain reaction touched off by the U.S. recognition of China." A Taiwanese military spokesman added that the invasion was a "warning" to the U.S. not to rely on China's declarations of peaceful intentions.

Expressions of concern were heard February 18 from Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which was composed of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, called for a halt to hostilities February 20 and for restraint by outside powers.

The Palestine Liberation Organization strongly criticized China February 20, in a significant break with China, which had been the first major power to recognize the guerrilla movement.

Citation:"Chinese Troops Launch Invasion of Vietnam, Advance 15 Miles, Hit 4 Provinces...Peking Calls Drive Limited." Facts On File World News Digest23 Feb. 1979. World News Digest. Facts On File News Services. 18 June 2009 <