I



Re-establishment of colonial rule

How did Vietnam Respond to the Colonial powers’ attempts to reassert their rule immediately after World War Two?

Evaluate the different responses of Southeast Asian states to the reassertion of colonial rule

| |Vietnam |

|Diplomacy |Period of coming to terms with new order |

| | |

|It is interesting to note before revolution was |Viet Minh – Prestigious. They had stayed behind enemy lines, refused to cooperate with the Japanese and fought againt them. The also worked to |

|attempted, there was usually: |alleviate the famine of 1944 and 1945 by forcibly distributing hoarded rice. The spread political ideas and stepped up guerrilla activity |

| |against the Japanese. |

|period of coming to terms with the new order (eg, | |

|USA/ return of colonial powers) |a. The American Declaration of Independence |

| | |

|This was because many of the nationalist groups |In Vietnam, coming to terms with the new order took the form of a declaration of independence. They used the words of the American Declaration |

|which opposed the Japanese emerged from the war |of Independence (1776), ‘All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are Life, |

|more popular. They felt that negotiation could be |Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness’. US aircraft also tipped their wings as they flew over Hanoi at the declaration of independence. |

|used to either | |

| |b. Negotiations with the French |

|buy time | |

|negotiate with the returning colonial forces |Even when the Viet Minh were calling for revolution in the south and when violence broke out between local Viet Minh Units and returning French |

|suit the international climate – the emergence of |units (with British forces under British General Gracey and Japanese POWs), Ho Chi Minh still chose to negotiate with the French to secure his|

|communism as an ideological force to contend with |counry’s independence because he did not want Guomindang China to occupy N Vietnam for prolonged period. Many were ill-disciplined and there |

| |were more than 200,000 Chinese in N Vietnam. |

| | |

| |On 6 March 1946, Ho Chi Minh agreed to allow the return of 15,000 French troops in Hanoi and France was to retain close control of Cochin-China.|

| |France agreed to formally recognize the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. However, the French would not give full independence to Vietnam and |

| |wanted the DRV to be part of a French Union. (ie. Control of foreign affairs, defence and econoic policy). The French agreed to allow for a |

| |national referendum in the south at a later date. |

| | |

| |Talks degenerated into war when French forces under French high commissioner for Indochina based in Saigon, Admiral d’Argenlieu escalated the |

| |war. |

| | |

| |As the Cold War worsened over Berlin, China & Korea, D’Argenlieu increasingly took matters in his own hands and in Nov 1946, in a dispute over |

| |arms shipments, the French bombarded Haiphong, killing 6000 Vietnamese and full-scale war began. |

|Revolution |Vietnam |

| | |

|Revolution refers to the use of armed force to |China as a safe haven. |

|overthrow or to resist the return of colonial | |

|forces. |In 1948, China had become communist. Mao Tse Tung had proclaimed a communist republic and Vietnam now had a safe haven for Chinese weapons and |

| |safe sanctuaries |

|Armed revolution was usually used when: | |

| |b. Local French commanders escalated the war |

|They were near to countries which could supply | |

|them with weapons, training & safe sanctuaries |French forces under French high commissioner for Indochina based in Saigon, Admiral d’Argenlieu escalated the war. |

| | |

|The colonial powers were bent on restoring power |At first, they collaborated with British forces and recently released French citizens to wage war against the local Vietnamese forces. |

|and to return to the status quo (before WW2) like | |

|the French & Dutch. |Then, as the Cold War worsened over Berlin, China & Korea, D’Argenlieu increasingly took matters in his own hands and in Nov 1946, in a dispute |

| |over arms shipments, the French bombarded Haiphong, killing 6000 Vietnamese and full-scale war began. |

|c. Nationalists were able to portray foreigners as| |

|a foreign power bent on occupying their |c. Local nationalists always able to portray French and later Americans as foreign aggressor. Occupation of their homeland. Support for local |

|territories. |puppets |

| | |

| |Eg. Getting South Vietnam to join Southeast Asian Treaty Organisation (SEATO) |

| | |

| |Eg. Supporting South Vietnamese leaders who supported the French and later US cause. There were 8 governments between 1963 and 1965. |

| |Eg. Ngo Dinh Diem – Anti-Buddhist, authoritarian & family relatives. (1955-1963) |

| |Eg. Duong Van Minh – President for 4 times |

| | |

| |Creating a National Movement |

| | |

| |Dec 1960 – formation of the National Liberation Front (NLF) to include both communist and non-communists who were opposed to the Diem |

| |Government. |

| | |

| |Eg. NLF – Umbrella organization. Viet Cong. Land redistribution, ran own schools, newspapers and broadcasting services. |

| | |

|Negotiations |Vietnam |

|International negotiations |Geneva Peace Conference |

| | |

|International negotiations usually took place when|At the Geneva Peace Conference 1954, Cambodia, Laos, Korea, China, USSR, Vietnam, France, Britain and USA negotiated. Vietnam was split along |

|pressure was put on the various sides to reach |the 17th Parallel – DRV in N Vietnam. Non-Communist state under Emperor Bao Dai. There would be a referendum set for 1956. |

|compromises. Usually, it depended on: | |

| |USA concerns – the US were worried about the ‘falling-domino’ effect. They did not want Vietnam to become a communist state. They also did not |

|Importance of territory on Cold War politics |want a ‘hot war’ like the one they had fought in the Korean War. They were already paying 80% of the French costs of the overall wall. $3 |

| |billion over the course of the 9 year war. |

|Stalemate on the battlefield | |

| |China concerns – China was not internationally recognized and did not have a place in the UN (until 1974). They were worried that if a peaceful |

| |settlement could not be worked out, US military intervention would follow. China wanted to boost their international prestige. Zhou Enlai |

| | |

| |Soviet concerns – Death of Stalin in 1953 led to a struggle for power in the USSR. The USSR was more concerned about events in Europe & the |

| |effects of the Korean War. They did not want Vietnam to become a major issue between the great powers. |

| | |

| |French concerns – French public opinion was against the war. There were heavy casualties and lack of progress. Even worse as the defeat of |

| |French forces at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. PM Laniel was ousted from power |

| | |

| |DRV concerns – Despite victory, Viet Minh position weak economically. Big cities like Hanoi, Saigon, Hue and Danag still in enemy hands. Vietnam|

| |still concerned about US involvement. Ho Chi Minh believed that national unity and independence could only take place in stages on the world’s |

| |stage and heeded Chinese advice. |

|Negotiations |Vietnam |

|Negotiations between belligerents |Paris Peace Accords |

| | |

|Negotiations also took place when defeats on the |The Paris Peace Accords were signed on January 27, 1973 by the governments of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV or North Vietnam), the |

|battlefield resulted in an attempt to withdraw |Republic of Vietnam (RVN or South Vietnam), and the United States, as well as the Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG) that represented |

|from the conflict ‘gracefully’ or an attempt to |local South Vietnamese revolutionaries.. The accords ended direct U.S. military involvement and temporarily ended the fighting between north |

|create a status quo. |and south. The negotiations that led to the accord had begun in 1968 and had been subject to various lengthy delays. The main negotiators of the|

| |agreement were United States National Security Advisor Dr. Henry Kissinger and Vietnamese politburo member Le Duc Tho; the two men were awarded |

|By this stage, most of the time, the negotiations|the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts, although Tho refused to accept it. |

|took the form of bi-lateral negotiations between | |

|those involved in the conflict |USA concerns – US public opinion was against the war. There were heavy casualties and lack of progress. ‘Fighting with one armed tied behind |

| |your backs’ because could not cross 16th Parallel (only bombings) and could not get at NVA supply routes (Ho Chi Minh Trail) which ran through |

|Eg. Paris Peace Accords |Cambodia. Almost 3 million Americans served in Vietnam. Between 1965 and 1973, the United States spent $120 billion on the war .This resulted in|

| |a large federal budget deficit. USA had been gradually withdrawing US combat forces since 1969 so that it could improve relations with USSR and |

| |normalize relations with China. |

| | |

| |DRV concerns – 1.5 million killed. 3 million wounded. Wanted USA to cease military activity to position Communist forces for renewal of |

| |hostilities later. Communist forces had suffered heavy losses between 1968 to 1972. They want to consolidate their position and continue fight |

| |to reunify country. |

| |Eg. Failed Tet Offensive of 1968 had left 37,000 VietCong killed and NLF leadership weakened. |

| |Eg. US bombing operations – Operation Rolling Thunder & Linebacker II. US military operations in Cambodia & Laos. |

| | |

| |Results of Paris Peace Accords |

| |Immediate, internationally supervised cease-fire. |

| |Withdrawal of all foreign military forces. |

| |Exchange of POWs |

| | |

| |The ceasefire was violated by end 1973. Local communist forces refused to cooperate in the search for US soldiers listed as MIA and high-level |

| |US-North Vietnamese contacts ceased. NVA units reunified Vietnam in 1975. |

II. Emergence of Independence Southeast Asia

How different were the paths to independence taken by the countries in Southeast Asia?

Evaluate the response of colonial governments to the demand for independence

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