Vietnam recent history

On 2nd July 1976 North and South Vietnam were reunified under the name Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Saigon, the former capital of South Vietnam, was renamed Ho Chi Minh City (Thanh pho Ho Chi Minh).

This was in the wake of the Vietnam war-born Communist-Maoist Khmer Rouge’s regime in Cambodia, and above all, the same attacks on Vietnamese territory prompted Vietnam to invade Cambodia.

On 7th January 1979 Vietnamese forces captured the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and established on 8th January, a dependent of Vietnam Revolutionary People’s Council under the Heng Samrin.

During the four weeks of continuous fighting, both sides suffered heavy losses. China finally pulled back and stated that it achieved its objectives. The conflict ended without a clear winner. Only in 1989 did Vietnam withdraw from Cambodia.

In 1983 there were about 2,000 Soviet military advisers in the country, running the air and naval bases (including Cam Ranh) and a listening station, whose use was agreed by contract. In 1986, the Communist Party of Vietnam led economic reforms called Doi Moi renovation. During the nineties there was rapid economic growth, and Vietnam resumed participation in the international community.

In 1995 Vietnam resumed diplomatic relations with the United States and a year later the United States lifted the existing trade embargo held in place since the Vietnam War.

During the Vietnam War, Vietnam was largely isolated in Southeast Asia. The U.S. had imposed an economic embargo and urged other countries to boycott Vietnam. Especially after the invasion of Cambodia (1978-89) when relations with the People’s Republic of China was so tense that they broke out the Vietnamese-Chinese border war. Vietnam is therefore highly integrated in the CMEA. The isolation of the country was not released until after the withdrawal from Cambodia in 1991.

In the 1990s relations relaxed with all neighboring countries. In 1991, the country resumed diplomatic relations with most countries in Europe, China and East Asia. The U.S. lifted its embargo against Vietnam and so the accession to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund became available for the Asian Development Bank.

In July 1995 Vietnam joined ASEAN and in 1998, the APEC. Since 11th January 2007 Vietnam has been the 150th Member of the WTO. There are a number of countries around the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea with whom they have border disputes. They are located in an area which is thought to be oil rich.