Sino File | China tries to forget, but its war with Vietnam ended with a US victory. Just look at Trump

The 40th anniversary of the Sino-Vietnamese war is passing largely unnoticed in China, where all commemorative activity has been banned

But Vietnam bitterly recalls the conflict that tore two ideological allies apart – and sent Hanoi into American arms

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Veterans of the Sino-Vietnamese border war in Kunming, Yunnan province, China. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:30am, 3 Mar 2019Updated: 11:28am, 7 Mar 2019

The 40th anniversary of the Sino-Vietnamese War went unnoticed in China, as no commemorative activities were allowed in the country – not even any Vietnam-related posts on social media.

But this was not the case in Vietnam, as state-run media and newspapers published in-depth features and critical commentaries recalling the fierce fight from February 17 to March 16, 1979. An editorial in The Voice of Vietnam, a Communist Party mouthpiece, called the war a “righteous … struggle to defend the motherland” and condemned China’s “brutal and illogical invasion”.

China should not forget this history. The anniversary provides a good chance for reflection, as many young Chinese lost their lives in the war – also in the name of defending their motherland.

Back then Beijing made no secret of its motivation to teach an “ungrateful” former ally a lesson, after Hanoi apparently switched its alliance to the Soviet Union by signing the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with China’s chief rival at the time in November 1978.

A Vietnamese man prays at a rally marking the 38th anniversary of the border war with China, at Hoan Kiem lake in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo: EPA

The Sino-Vietnamese war was also widely thought of as an effort to stop Hanoi’s campaign to oust the China-backed Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, which had taken the form of an invasion of Phnom Penh.

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Sino File | China tries to forget, but its war with Vietnam ended with a US victory. Just look at Trump

The 40th anniversary of the Sino-Vietnamese war is passing largely unnoticed in China, where all commemorative activity has been banned But Vietnam bitterly recalls the conflict that tore two ideological allies apart – and sent Hanoi into American arms

The 40th anniversary of the Sino-Vietnamese war is passing largely unnoticed in China, where all commemorative activity has been banned

But Vietnam bitterly recalls the conflict that tore two ideological allies apart – and sent Hanoi into American arms