Editing Lê Duẩn (section)

=== Foreign relations ===

==== Relations with the Eastern Bloc ====
[[File:Truong Chinh, Le Duan, Nicolae og Elena Ceausescu.jpeg|thumb|250px|Lê Duẩn and Trường Chinh with [[Nicolae Ceaușescu|Nicolae]] and [[Elena Ceaușescu]] from the [[Socialist Republic of Romania]]]]
Lê Duẩn visited the Soviet Union in October 1975. The result of the visit was an official communique, which stated that the Soviets would send qualified experts to the country to educate and train economic, scientific, technical and cultural personnel. The Soviet Union gave Vietnam economic assistance and supported several national economic projects on most favoured terms. The communique stated that cooperation was within the "frameworks of multilateral cooperation of socialist countries." Such a statement would normally have meant membership in [[COMECON]], but Vietnam was not a member, wanting to establish its sovereignty. Phạm Văn Đồng snubbed the Soviet ambassador during the anniversary of the [[October Revolution]] and rejected key Soviet foreign policies. Despite continued pressure from the Soviets to join COMECON, Vietnam declined. Instead Vietnam joined the [[International Monetary Fund]] and the [[World Bank]], moves the Soviet Union opposed.{{sfn|Van|Cooper|1983|pp=227–228}}

Vietnam relented in 1978, seeking economic aid to fund the Second Five-Year Plan.{{sfn|Van|Cooper|1983|p=228}} In 1978 Lê Duẩn and Phạm Văn Đồng{{sfn|Europa Publications|2002|pp=1419–1420}} signed a 25-year Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Cooperation with the USSR.{{sfn|Van|Cooper|1983|p=228}} Under Soviet protection, Vietnam [[Cambodian–Vietnamese War|invaded Kampuchea]]. In reaction China invaded Vietnam. Vietnam leased several bases to the Soviet Union to protect its territory from China. It was rumored that one of China's demands for peace was the ending of Soviet assistance to Vietnam. In Asia Vietnam played a role similar to Cuba's in Latin America: it supported local revolutionary groups and was a headquarters for Soviet-style communism. Vietnam supported the [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet invasion]] of Afghanistan and received $3 million a day in military aid.{{sfn|Van|Cooper|1983|p=229}}

At the 5th National Congress, Lê Duẩn reaffirmed Vietnam's relations with the USSR.{{sfn|Trung|1982|p=242}} He stated, "Solidarity and co-operation with the USSR: such is the corner stone of the external policy of our Party and of our State."{{sfn|Trung|1982|p=243}} He further noted that their alliance was "a guarantee of the victory of the defense of the motherland and the socialist edification of our people."{{sfn|Trung|1982|p=243}} Soviet official [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] echoed Lê Duẩn's sentiments and said "Vietnam can count on the solidarity and the support of the USSR."{{sfn|Trung|1982|p=244}}

Lê Duẩn's foreign policy was criticised by Hoàng Văn Hoan, who accused him of sacrificing the country's sovereignty.{{sfn|Van|Cooper|1983|p=230}} A delegation led by [[Vitaly Vorotnikov]], visited Vietnam during its [[National Day]], the holiday that celebrated the establishment of North Vietnam after the August Revolution and met with Lê Duẩn.{{sfn|Zemtsov|Farrar|2007|p=277}} Lê Duẩn attended the [[27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|27th Communist Party Congress]] and later met with Gorbachev.{{sfn|Zemtsov|Farrar|2007|p=285}} [[Premier of the Soviet Union|Soviet Premier]] [[Nikolai Ryzhkov]] and [[Anatoly Dobrynin]] attended Lê Duẩn's funeral.{{sfn|Zemtsov|Farrar|2007|p=291}}

==== Relations with China ====
{{further|China–Vietnam relations}}
[[File:Le-Duan & Mao.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Lê Duẩn with [[Mao Zedong]] (1964)]]
During the Vietnam War, the Chinese claimed that the Soviet Union would betray North Vietnam. [[Premier of the People's Republic of China|Chinese Premier]] [[Zhou Enlai]] told Lê Duẩn that the Soviets would lie to them to improve its relationship with the United States. According to Zhou this policy was enacted following [[Alexei Kosygin]]'s departure from Vietnam in 1965. Lê Duẩn did not accept this view and at the [[23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|23rd Party Congress]] (which China boycotted) he referred to the Soviet Union as a "second motherland". Because of his statement, China immediately began to cut its aid to North Vietnam. According to the first secretary at the Soviet embassy to China, the North Vietnamese saw the Chinese actions as an attack on them. At the [[Communist Party of China|Chinese Communist Party]]'s 45th anniversary, instead of a communique by Hồ Chí Minh, Phạm Văn Đồng and Lê Duẩn as had happened at the 44th anniversary, the Vietnamese Central Committee offered official greetings, but without signatures from top-level officials.{{sfn|Khoo|2011|pp=34–35}}

Relations between the two countries further deteriorated following the China/US rapprochement. The North Vietnamese, who were still fighting the Americans, felt betrayed. At the CPV Politburo meeting on 16 July 1971, the North Vietnamese agreed that Chinese policy towards the United States was like a "torpedo" directed against North Vietnam. Zhou was told by Phạm Văn Đồng and Lê Duẩn that US President [[Richard Nixon]]'s upcoming [[1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China|visit to China]] was "against the interests of Vietnam". Later, in November, Phạm asked the Chinese to cancel Nixon's visit; the Chinese refused. The North Vietnamese began to doubt China and they hid information about North Vietnam's next planned military offensive. The Sino/US rapprochement did not hurt Sino/Vietnamese relations in the long run, because the Soviet Union also eventually reconciled with the US.{{sfn|Khoo|2011|pp=69–70}}

Chinese and North Vietnamese documents state that relations between them worsened in 1973–75. A [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Vietnam)|Vietnamese]] document claimed that China hindered the eventual reunification, while Chinese documents claimed that the source of the conflict was Vietnamese policy towards the [[Spratly Islands|Spratly]] and the [[Paracel Islands]]. However, the core issue for the Chinese was to minimize Vietnam's cooperation with the Soviets. Increasing Soviet/Vietnamese cooperation left China ambivalent about reunification.{{sfn|Khoo|2011|p=97}}

During Lê Duẩn's China visit in June 1973, Zhou told him that North Vietnam should adhere to the Paris Peace Accords. Following the signing, Lê Thanh Nghị stated that the direction of Vietnam's communism was directly linked to its relations with the Soviet Union. The Chinese opposed immediate reunification and to that end, began making economic agreements with the [[Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam|Provisional Revolutionary (Communist) Government of South Vietnam]] (PRGSV). PRGSV head [[Nguyễn Hữu Thọ]] was treated well by the Chinese. This policy further damaged relations. China and Vietnam drifted further apart; eventual Chinese aid did not improve relations.{{sfn|Khoo|2011|p=98}}

Lê Thanh unsuccessfully visited China in August 1975 to seek aid. On 22–28 September, Lê Duẩn and Lê Thanh visited China in a second attempt. During the visit the Vietnamese wanted to assure the Chinese they were interested in maintaining good relations with both China and the Soviet Union. [[Deng Xiaoping]] stated that both superpowers acted as imperialists and sought [[hegemony]]. Lê Duẩn in a speech did not mention the Soviet Union by name, but noted that Vietnam had succeeded because of help from other socialist countries, meaning the Eastern bloc. Two agreements were signed, but no non-refundable aid agreement was made.{{sfn|Khoo|2011|p=117}} No joint communique was issued and Lê Duẩn left earlier than planned.{{sfn|Khoo|2011|p=118}} According to Anne Gilks, the Sino/Vietnamese alliance effectively ended with the [[Fall of Saigon]].{{sfn|Khoo|2011|p=100}} Relations with China further deteriorated; several leading pro-Chinese communists were purged from the party.{{sfn|Khoo|2011|p=119}}

Lê Duẩn visited China from 20 to 25 November 1977 to seek aid. [[List of general secretaries and chairmen of the Communist Party of China|CPC Chairman]] [[Hua Guofeng]] stated that Sino/Vietnamese relations had deteriorated because they held different principles. Hua insisted that China could not help Vietnam because of its own economic difficulties and differences in principles. Lê Duẩn countered that the only difference was how they viewed the Soviet Union and the United States.{{sfn|Khoo|2011|p=123}} Following his visit, China's state-run [[Xinhua|Xinhua News Agency]] condemned COMECON. China halted all economic development projects between May and July 1978.{{sfn|Europa Publications|2002|pp=1419–1420}} During this period total Chinese aid to Vietnam amounted to $300 million.{{sfn|Võ|1990|p=98}}

==== Sino-Vietnamese War ====
{{main|Sino-Vietnamese War}}
On 17 February 1979, the Chinese [[People's Liberation Army]] crossed the Vietnamese border, withdrawing on 5 March after a two-week campaign which devastated northern Vietnam and briefly threatened Hanoi. Both China (40,000) and Vietnam (over 20,000) suffered heavy losses. Peace talks broke down in December 1979 and both China (400,000) and Vietnam (600,000) began a major build-up of forces along the border. Sporadic fighting on the border occurred throughout the 1980s and China threatened to force Vietnam's exit from Kampuchea.<ref name="LOC">{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+vn0111) |title=Vietnam – China |access-date=30 November 2012 |publisher=U.S. [[Library of Congress]]}}</ref><ref name="GS">{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/prc-vietnam.htm |title=Chinese invasion of Vietnam |access-date=30 November 2012 |publisher=Global Security.org}}</ref>

==== Vietnamese invasion and occupation of Cambodia ====
{{further|Cambodian–Vietnamese War}}
The independent [[Kampuchean Communist Party]] (KCP) was established alongside the Vietnamese and Laotian parties following the dissolution of the [[Indochinese Communist Party]] in 1955. The Kampuchean movement was the weakest of the three. When the Vietnamese began formal military aid to the [[Khmer Rouge]] in 1970, the Khmer leadership remained skeptical. On the orders of Võ Chí Công two regiments were sent into Kampuchea. Võ Chí Công promised Khmer leader [[Ieng Sary]] that Vietnamese troops would withdraw when the conflict had been won by the communists. The entry of Vietnamese troops led many Vietnamese officials to believe that Khmer Rouge officials had begun "to fear something".{{sfn|Quinn-Judge|2002|p=166}} In a conversation with Phạm Hùng, Lê Duẩn told him that despite some differences in opinions, the "authentic internationalism and attitude" of the sides would strengthen their party-to-party relations. After reading reports by Võ Chí Công, Lê Duẩn probably concluded that "authentic internationalism" in Kampuchea was in trouble. At the time, the Vietnamese leadership hoped this situation would change, but privately they understood that the Kampuchean situation was different from the Lao situation.{{sfn|Quinn-Judge|2002|p=166}}

[[File:Hài cốt.jpg|thumb|right|The Ba Chuc massacre was perpetrated by the Kampuchean Revolutionary Army during one of their attacks on Vietnam in 1978]]
After [[Pol Pot]] and his supporters seized control of KCP in 1973, KCP/VCP relations deteriorated sharply. North Vietnamese formations that were active in Kampuchea during the [[Cambodian civil war|civil war]] were thereafter regularly attacked by their allies.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=96}} By 1976, while it appeared that Kampuchea/Vietnam relations were normalizing, private suspicions within the respective leaderships grew.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=97}} Lê Duẩn, [[Tôn Đức Thắng]], Trường Chinh and Phạm Văn Đồng sent messages congratulating the ascension of Pol Pot, [[Khieu Samphan]] and [[Nuon Chea]] as Premier, President of the Presidium and President of the Assembly of the People's Representative, respectively.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=93}} In turn, KCP sent a congratulatory message to the PRGRSV on its seventh anniversary. On 21 September 1976 a Vietnamese women's delegation visited Kampuchea and the KCP sent public greetings to the 4th National Congress.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=94}} The Vietnamese leadership hoped that pro-Vietnamese elements would develop within the KCP. When Kampuchean radio announced Pol Pot's resignation, Lê Duẩn and the Vietnamese leadership took it seriously.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=95}} During a meeting with the Soviet ambassador, Lê Duẩn told him that Pol Pot and Ieng Sary had been removed from the KCP leadership. The change was welcome to Vietnam, since the two were a "pro-Chinese sect conducting a crude and severe policy."{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=96}} Lê Duẩn added that "these were bad people [the KCP leadership headed by Pol Pot]", but that Nuon Chea was "our man and is my personal friend."{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=96}} All-out confrontation was not planned and Lê Duẩn still believed that state-to-state relations could improve. He further noted that Kampuchea would eventually become like Laos, a [[socialist state]], and value its relationship with Vietnam and the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=98}}

On 30 April 1977, [[Democratic Kampuchea]] attacked several Vietnamese villages in [[An Giang Province]], most notably in the [[Ba Chúc massacre]]. The Vietnamese leadership was shocked by this unprovoked attack and counterattacked.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=98}} Vietnam still sought improved relations and when Pol Pot, on 27 September 1977, announced the existence of the KCP, Vietnam sent a congratulatory note. In a conversation with the Soviet ambassador on 6 October, Lê Duẩn had no explanation for Kampuchea's actions.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=99}} He described the leadership as "strongly nationalistic and under strong influence of Peking [China]."{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=100}} Lê Duẩn called Pol Pot a [[Trotskyism|Trotskyist]] while claiming that Ieng Sary was "a fierce nationalist and pro-Chinese."{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=100}} He erroneously believed that Nuon Chea and [[Son Sen]] harbored pro-Vietnamese views.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=100}}

{{rquote|right|"The Pol Pot – Ieng Sary clique have proved themselves to be the most disgusting murderers in the later half of this century. Who are behind these hangmen whose hands are smeared with the blood of the Kampuchean people, including the [[Cham people|Cham]], who have been almost wiped out as an ethnic group, the [[Viet people|Viet]] and the [[Hoa people|Hoa]]? This is no mystery to the world. The Pol Pot – Ieng Sary clique are only a cheap instrument of the bitterest enemy of peace and mankind. Their actions are leading to national suicide. This is genocide of a special type. Let us stop this self-genocide! Let us stop genocide at the hands of the Pol Pot – Ieng Sary clique! | An editorial featured in ''[[Nhân Dân]]'', the party newspaper and the largest paper in Vietnam{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=105}}|}}

On 31 December 1977, Kampuchea broke relations with Vietnam, stating that the "aggressor forces" from Vietnam sent had to be withdrawn. This was needed to "restore the friendly atmosphere between the two countries."{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=102}} While they accused Vietnam of aggression, the real problem all along was the Vietnamese leadership' plan, or ideal, of establishing a Vietnamese-dominated Indochinese Federation. Vietnamese troops withdrew from the country in January, taking thousands of prisoners and civilian refugees.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=102}} While the point of the Vietnamese attack had been to dampen the Kampuchean leadership's aggressive stance, it had the opposite effect – the Kampuchean leadership treated it as a major victory over Vietnam, matching their victory over the Americans. Kampuchea did not respond to diplomatic overtures and began another attack.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=103}} Vietnam responded by promoting an uprising against Pol Pot's rule{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=105}} and invaded.{{sfn|Morris|1999|pp=106–107}}

On 15 June 1978, the VCP Politburo sent a request to the Soviet Union to allow a delegation headed by Lê Duẩn to meet with [[Leonid Brezhnev]] and the Soviet leadership in general. In a meeting with the Soviet ambassador in September, Lê Duẩn said that Vietnam intended "to solve fully this question [of Kampuchea] by the beginning of 1979."{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=108}} Lê Duẩn did not believe that China would retaliate because it would have to send its forces by sea, although China did attack in 1979, but chose Vietnam as its target. He claimed that Vietnam had little time and that waiting would benefit China. He further claimed that Vietnam had established nine battalions of Khmer deserters and that it was seeking Sao Pheum to lead them. In fact, Sao Pheum had been dead for three months. Lê Duẩn still believed that Nuon Chea was a friend of Vietnam, despite his largely anti-Vietnam speech.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=109}} Nuon Chea and Son Sen remained staunch Pol Pot supporters until the 1990s.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=110}}

Vietnam sent 13 divisions into the country on 25 December 1978, with an estimated 150,000 soldiers supported by heavy artillery and air power. Kampuchea attempted a conventional defense, but this tactic led to the loss of half of its army within two weeks. The defeats prompted much of the Kampuchean leadership to evacuate to the western region of the country. On 7 January 1979, the PAVN and the [[Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation]] entered Phnom Penh. On the following day, a pro-Vietnamese state, known as the [[People's Republic of Kampuchea]] (PRK), was established, with [[Heng Samrin]] as head of state and [[Pen Sovan]] as General Secretary of the [[Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party]]. The struggle between the Khmer Rouge and the PRK ended only with Vietnam's withdrawal in 1989.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=111}}