A Communist Love Triangle? Sino-Soviet-Vietnamese Relations 1960-1968

Abstract

The Vietnam War has been known as a conflict between the US and Vietnam. This thesis aims to shed a light on the role Sino-Soviet Split on the Vietnam War. The troubled relations between China and the USSR emanated from the fall of Stalin and the rise of Khrushchev. The role of Khrushchev was essential for the relation between the USSR and DRV. After Khrushchev's fall, the relation between these three countries radically changed. The extent to which the DRV was at liberty to choose its own policies remained unclear, but with new archival material we are able to shed a new light on the Sino-Soviet Split and the Vietnam War. Over time, the role of the actors changed, when China got preoccupied with domestic policies during the Cultural Revolution. The DRV used its newly found room for manoeuvre to set out its own policies in the run-up to the Tet Offensive. This thesis shows that although the Sino-Soviet Split had negative consequences for Vietnam, it also created new opportunities and a certain degree of independence.