1979 was a year of great significance for both China and the world, when a regional war broke out on the Border between China and Vietnam, a regional war of considerable scale but quickly ended, that is, a self-defense counterattack against Vietnam.
The war took place in the context of Vietnam's disregard for China's territorial sovereignty and a serious threat to China's national security, and the People's Liberation Army launched a self-defense counterattack operation against Vietnam with 9 armies and 29 infantry divisions, and won a rapid victory in a month's time.
Since the war of self-defense against Vietnam was a regional war, its impact on the international situation seemed to be diluted, but through this war, it clearly reflected the inevitable results of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Although Vietnam's provocation against China is "children disobedient", the reason why children are disobedient is inevitably the connivance and support of parents. Who are the parents in Vietnam at this time? It was the Soviet Union.
In 1975, Vietnam achieved the reunification of the North and the South, at this time Sino-Soviet relations have already begun to deteriorate and Sino-US relations tend to be normal, Vietnam in this situation, choose to give up the previous good-neighborly friendship with China, turn to the Soviet Union, and expand with the support of the Soviet Union, it seems to have the idea of becoming a world power.
In fact, in fact, because of Vietnam's national size and geographical factors, Vietnam can only become a regional power at most and cannot become a world power, which is actually doomed. The reason why Vietnam can expand on a large scale is actually an integral part of the Soviet Union's expansion strategy in the world, and Vietnam's various actions against China are inseparable from the encouragement and support of the Soviet Union.
However, the Soviet Union's wishful thinking in Southeast Asia was empty, the Chinese army quickly defeated Vietnam with thunderous momentum, and completely dragged down its economy with a decade of border war, and after the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, the Soviet Union, although it maintained expansion for a period of time, then rapidly declined, and finally collapsed completely.
Before the 70s, the Decisions of the Soviet Union during the Cold War were different from those made after entering the 70s. Before the 1970s, there was a tendency to be more cautious and shrink, and this principle was reflected in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War. But after entering the 70s, the Soviet Union began to expand like an inflated balloon.
But in this expansion, the internal problems of the Soviet Union also began to intensify.
We all know that the economic base determines the superstructure, and a small shock in the economy will inevitably cause a political and military chain reaction. The Soviet economy, on the other hand, was at a rigid extreme. It is specifically reflected in the overdevelopment of the military industry and the extreme backwardness of the civilian industry, the highly developed heavy industry and the stagnation of light industry, while the developed industry cannot drive domestic demand and cannot effectively promote economic development. As for science and technology, it is not yet mentioned.
This economic state, if in the contracting foreign policy, can not quickly intensify the contradiction, but if the foreign policy is inclined to military expansion or is already in military expansion, it is bound to aggravate the polarization of industrial development, resulting in the rapid collapse of the economic base, and then causing the collapse of the superstructure, that is, politics.
The Soviet Union was originally a consortium of countries, and between the various member states, in this case, the centrifugal force was bound to be greater than the centripetal force. Therefore, from the beginning of the expansion of the Soviet Union, it has begun to be doomed to the final fate.
After the outbreak of the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, the Soviet Union, which was originally the driving force behind the scenes, could not help Vietnam achieve a comprehensive victory due to internal and external factors, as well as strategic choices, nor could it help Vietnam achieve a partial victory, let alone provide substantial protection for Vietnam. This act of abandoning the younger brother was bound to cause disappointment and suspicion among many of the Soviet Union's allies, and even if this sentiment did not erupt in the short term, it was a time bomb in the Soviet Union's foreign strategy.
The dissatisfaction of the Soviet allies with the Soviet Union has a long history, and this dissatisfaction was exacerbated to a considerable extent by the war of self-defense against Vietnam.
Because of the hegemonism of the Soviet Union, its restrictions on the development of its allies' heavy industry, especially the military industry, forced military protection, and made the allies sacrifice their own national interests to benefit the Soviet Union, which is essentially the encroachment of the sovereignty of its allies, in this case, the Soviet Union must increase the export of force.
In the face of this situation, it returns to the previous economic problems, and finally creates a vicious circle.
In the 1980s, the Soviet Union quickly went downhill and began to retreat in great strides under the Offensive of the United States, but the rapid contraction at this time could not change its terminally ill status quo, and the disintegration became the final outcome of the Soviet Union.