It’s tough being an American. After the last eight years we…lack a certain moral standing in the world. Any comment or criticism directed at human rights or state behavior is met with the immediate response: “Yeah, but you guys invaded Iraq.” Nowhere, perhaps, is this witty rejoinder more commonly heard than in the PRC, with “China has NEVER invaded ANYONE” sure to follow.
Well, it does depend on what you mean by “invade” and “anyone,” but this isn’t a post about Τibet, it’s about Vietnam.
On this date in 1979, the PLA launched a massive invasion of Vietnam with 200,000 troops supported by artillery, and armor.* The assault was an attempt by Beijing to punish that country for toppling the PRC-backed Khmer Rouge government in Cambodia, developing closer ties with the Soviet union, and the treatment of ethnic Chinese in Vietnam.
The result was disaster. Fighting against battle-hardened guerrillas and having made a fateful decision to forgo air cover, PLA casualties were enormous with between 25,000 to 63,000 Chinese soldiers killed. Vietnamese figures range as high as 100,000 soldiers and civilian casualties. By comparison, the total number of US soldiers killed in action during the decade-plus American debacle in Southeast