General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: This... May 26, 2014 [View all]Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)Why was that? And why had the Eisenhower administration pushed for the establishment of SEATO in 1954? I think that by 1956, it had become quite clear that China was interested in creating Communist client states arounds its borders, in much the same way that the Soviet Union had done, and that Ho Chi Minh was just going to become a Chinese puppet. Just look at China's forced annexation of Tibet, Chinese military support for North Korea, Chinese clashes with India in border areas, Chinese support of Communist guerilla groups in the Philippines, Chinese threats against Thailand, etc, that had been occurring up to that time. And that's not to mention Mao's purges that were going on within China. So even though the US messed up bigtime in Southeast Asia, the countries of Indochina in all likelihood would have become Chinese puppet states anyway.