Vietnam's Regional Hegemonism

Second, the disappearance of the US interventionist forces and the emergence of new tasks following liberation have seen considerable differences arise between the war-time allies of Vietnam, Kampuchea and Laos.

Here the key factor has been the attempt by the Vietnamese Comminust Party Leadership to use the unity between the peoples of the three countries during the Indochina war as the basis for a Vietnamese dominated "Indochina Federation". This has been a consistent aspect of Vietnamese policy since the foundation of the "Indochinese Comminust Party" in 1930. In essence it means a single state, with one party, one people, one army and one country within a Vietnamese "Indochina".

Although the Vietnamese now prefer the phrase "special relationship" their objectives are clearly the same. Consider the operation of Vietnam's "special relationship" with Laos: