It is clear that any work dealing with the United States and China during the 1960 s and 1970 s m... more It is clear that any work dealing with the United States and China during the 1960 s and 1970 s must make reference to the Vietnam War, and likewise any work dealing with Chinese involvement in the Vietnam War cannot overlook China's burgeoning relationship with the United States. However, since the release of documents from the Nixon administration and the publication of recent Chinese-language scholarship, there has been no systematic study of the connection between these two political processes. This paper charts the impact of Sino-American rapprochement on Beijing's attitudes towards the Vietnam War, and to what extent it caused China to alter its Vietnam policy.
Henry Kissinger has been persistent in his claim that the U.S. Congress's failure to adequate... more Henry Kissinger has been persistent in his claim that the U.S. Congress's failure to adequately supply South Vietnam was the ultimate cause of its collapse in 1975 – a claim many historians dispute. An incident that has received less attention is the role of Congress in terminating a potential negotiated settlement of the civil war in Cambodia by imposing a halt of U.S. bombing there in the summer of 1973. This article demonstrates that in this case, Kissinger's claims are not without foundation. Although the conclusions are tentative without the full Chinese record, the evidence suggests that terminating U.S. military operations in Cambodia fatally undermined Chinese efforts to negotiate the removal of Lon Nol as Cambodian head of state and the establishment of a coalition government involving the Khmer Rouge but with Sihanouk at its head.
It is clear that any work dealing with the United States and China during the 1960 s and 1970 s m... more It is clear that any work dealing with the United States and China during the 1960 s and 1970 s must make reference to the Vietnam War, and likewise any work dealing with Chinese involvement in the Vietnam War cannot overlook China's burgeoning relationship with the United States. However, since the release of documents from the Nixon administration and the publication of recent Chinese-language scholarship, there has been no systematic study of the connection between these two political processes. This paper charts the impact of Sino-American rapprochement on Beijing's attitudes towards the Vietnam War, and to what extent it caused China to alter its Vietnam policy.
Henry Kissinger has been persistent in his claim that the U.S. Congress's failure to adequate... more Henry Kissinger has been persistent in his claim that the U.S. Congress's failure to adequately supply South Vietnam was the ultimate cause of its collapse in 1975 – a claim many historians dispute. An incident that has received less attention is the role of Congress in terminating a potential negotiated settlement of the civil war in Cambodia by imposing a halt of U.S. bombing there in the summer of 1973. This article demonstrates that in this case, Kissinger's claims are not without foundation. Although the conclusions are tentative without the full Chinese record, the evidence suggests that terminating U.S. military operations in Cambodia fatally undermined Chinese efforts to negotiate the removal of Lon Nol as Cambodian head of state and the establishment of a coalition government involving the Khmer Rouge but with Sihanouk at its head.
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Papers by Chris Connolly