Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, some observers have drawn parallels between Russia’s aggression and certain seminal events in Vietnamese history, including the Sino-Vietnamese war of 1979. Some have even seen similarities between Russia’s actions in Ukraine and Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia to depose the brutal Pol Pot regime in 1978. One commentator has argued that the two conflicts have the “same basic dynamic.”
What is alarming, however, is that this belief has found strong roots in pro-Russia public sentiment in Vietnam.
And although not with the same intention, unfortunately, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has also invoked Vietnam’s occupation of his country more than 40 years ago in condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But is this analogy appropriate?
