THE SINO-SOVIET SPLIT
By 1960, it was clear that there was a divide between the USSR and PRC and that the Communist world was fractured in Asia. After 1960. China actively sought to create its own sphere of influence and rival the Soviet Union in Asia. The main reasons for the Sino-Soviet split were related to:
- Ideology
- Geopolitical rivalry
- Accusations of Soviet imperialism
Ideology
|
Ideological differences between the USSR and PRC were evident during the Chinese Civil War, especially during Mao's struggles with the 28 Bolsheviks for leadership of the CCP. Whereas both regimes pursued notions of class warfare, Lenin had emphasised the role of the workers (the proletariat) but Mao adapted this for Chinese society and based his brand of communism around the peasantry. Following the death of Stalin, these differences became more pronounced. Despite some residual tension, Mao had great respect for Stalin but viewed Khrushchev as a 'revisionist' and a 'deviationist', especially in the aftermath of the Hungarian Uprising. These ideological divides reached a nadir during the Great Leap Forward, particularly over the use of the increasingly discredited Soviet biologist Trofim Lysenko's theories on maximising crop yields and Stalinist-era collectivisation. When it was clear, by late 1959, that the Great Leap Forward had failed, Chinese critics of Mao's policies were accused of being Soviet agents. When Khrushchev recalled Soviet advisors to the PRC in 1960, Mao used this as an excuse to blame the failure of the Great Leap Forward on the USSR.
|
|
Geopolitical rivalry
Tensions between Imperial China and the Russian Empire had been present during the 19th Century over territory in central Asia and as the Western powers (with Japan) attempted to capitalise on the weakening Qing dynasty. This conflict between Chinese and Russian nationalism (both dominant forces within both regimes) re-emerged as the PRC attempted to create a sphere of influence through the incorporation of Tibet and Chinese threats to invade Taiwan. Over time, the Soviets were convinced that the Chinese were trying to become the world's leading communist state.
Accusations of Soviet imperialism
When the USSR finally authorised a North Korean invasion of South Korea, Mao was angry that the PRC was expected to intervene if the DPRK was in danger of invasion, that he was not present at the meeting between Stalin and Kim Il-Sung when this was decided and that he was informed of this decision by Kim, not Stalin.
Although angered by perceived Soviet imperialism, Mao realised that he had little alternative in order to save the fledgling PRC. This ill-feeling intensified in 1958 when negotiations collapsed over the building of a Soviet long-wave radio station in the PRC (with which they communicate with its submarines in the Pacific) and the creation of a joint Soviet-Chinese submarine fleet. In the same year, the USSR became alarmed at the PRC bombardment of the Quemoy Islands (off the coast of Taiwan) which threatened to create conflict with the USA. The bombardment was part of a plan to stir up Chinese nationalism prior to the Great Leap Forward and to draw international attention to the issue of Taiwan (who possessed China's permanent seat of the UN Security Council) but Mao had failed to consult with Khrushchev. US President Eisenhower responded by ordering the 7th Fleet to patrol the Taiwan Straits and threatened to use nuclear weapons if the islands were invaded. It took a visit to Beijing of Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko to ease tensions between the USSR and PRC on this issue.
Arguments between both countries erupted again in 1959 when Khrushchev refused to provide the PRC with any further nuclear technology because the USSR were negotiating a possible nuclear weapons ban with the USA. Additionally, the Soviets questioned Chinese border claims with India in the Himalayas. This dispute had been a result of the aftermath of the failed Tibetan Revolution when the Dalai Lama fled into exile in India.
Although angered by perceived Soviet imperialism, Mao realised that he had little alternative in order to save the fledgling PRC. This ill-feeling intensified in 1958 when negotiations collapsed over the building of a Soviet long-wave radio station in the PRC (with which they communicate with its submarines in the Pacific) and the creation of a joint Soviet-Chinese submarine fleet. In the same year, the USSR became alarmed at the PRC bombardment of the Quemoy Islands (off the coast of Taiwan) which threatened to create conflict with the USA. The bombardment was part of a plan to stir up Chinese nationalism prior to the Great Leap Forward and to draw international attention to the issue of Taiwan (who possessed China's permanent seat of the UN Security Council) but Mao had failed to consult with Khrushchev. US President Eisenhower responded by ordering the 7th Fleet to patrol the Taiwan Straits and threatened to use nuclear weapons if the islands were invaded. It took a visit to Beijing of Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko to ease tensions between the USSR and PRC on this issue.
Arguments between both countries erupted again in 1959 when Khrushchev refused to provide the PRC with any further nuclear technology because the USSR were negotiating a possible nuclear weapons ban with the USA. Additionally, the Soviets questioned Chinese border claims with India in the Himalayas. This dispute had been a result of the aftermath of the failed Tibetan Revolution when the Dalai Lama fled into exile in India.
Consequences of the Sino-Soviet Split
Mao used the Sino-Soviet split to reassert his dominance within the CCP following the failure of the Great Leap Forward. He argued that the struggle to create Communism with China was linked to defend China from foreign influence and that, under the leadership of Khrushchev and Brezhnev, the Soviet Union had betrayed the legacies of Lenin and Stalin and were in fact becoming a imperialist capitalist state. In order to prevent the subversion of an independent communist Chinese state, a state of continuous revolution was necessary. Therefore, using the so-called "Gang of Four" as his proxies, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution in 1966. The Cultural Revolution was not only an attack on the 'revisionists' and 'rightists' within the PRC, but also foreign influence and included attacks on foreign embassies.
In 1969, the Sino-Soviet Split had become so wide that there was a brief border war between both countries over territory straddling the Xinjiang Uighur region and the Soviet republic of Tajikistan. There were a series of border clashes and war was only averted after a truce was reached between Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.
In 1969, the Sino-Soviet Split had become so wide that there was a brief border war between both countries over territory straddling the Xinjiang Uighur region and the Soviet republic of Tajikistan. There were a series of border clashes and war was only averted after a truce was reached between Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.
However, the most profound impacts of the Sino-Soviet Split on the Cold War were:
- Improved Sino-American and Soviet-American relations that ushered in a period of Detente
- Economic and Military aid to North Vietnam which was significant in determining the outcome of their war with the USA
|
Realising that there was a split between the USSR and the PRC, US President Nixon ordered his National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, to open diplomatic channels with Mao which eventually led to the normalisation of relations between both countries and the PRC finally obtaining their permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Fearing, that this new-found Sino-American understanding could threaten the position of the USSR, Brezhnev ordered similar talks to occur with the USA. This was a masterful piece of strategy by Nixon and Kissinger, who hoped to use these agreements to negotiate a peace settlement in Vietnam. While an imperfect agreement over Vietnam was finally achieved in early 1973 (neither the USSR or the PRC had as much influence over North Vietnam as Nixon had thought), the most significant consequence of these diplomatic moves was the move towards
Detente
.
|
|
The Sino-Soviet Split also had a major impact on the war in Vietnam, where both the USSR and PRC competed for influence over North Vietnam by attempting to out-supply each other. The major beneficiary of all this aid was North Vietnam as it enabled it to continue fighting the USA, and while never becoming a satellite or client state of either power, it is fair to say that North Vietnam (and then later a united Vietnam) became more aligned with the Soviet Union. In contrast, the newly-formed Communist governments in Cambodia and Laos were pro-Chinese in nature (Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge government was indeed based on Maoist doctrine during the Great Leap Forward). Following Khmer Rouge attacks on ethnic Vietnamese, Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1979. China retaliated by fighting a short war with Vietnam, ostensibly to prevent Vietnamese aggression in the region but in reality a punishment for favouring the Soviet Union.
