Southeast Asia and The Pacific Rim Ch. 17 Sec. 4

1. Southeast Asia and The Pacific Rim Ch. 17 Sec. 4 We read the lengthy poem paradise lost it was written in the seventeenth Century by john milton

2. Decades of War in Vietnam • Battle against the French- the first phase of the struggle lasted from 1946-1954. During WWII, Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese communist, had organized guerrillas to resist the Japanese. At war’s end, Ho controlled much of northern Vietnam. • In 1946, the French set out to regain Indochina. Like Mao in China, however, Ho ‘swam in the peasant sea.” With peasant support, Ho’s guerrilla fighters slowly wore down the French and finally forced them to leave.

3. Vietnam Divided • At a 1954 conference in Geneva, Switzerland, western and communist powers agreed to a temporary division of Vietnam. A non communist government, supported by the U.S. and headed by Ngo Dinh Diem, ruled South Vietnam. Cambodia and Laos became independent nations.

4. American Involvement • The second phase of the Vietnam War raged form 1959 to 1975. Ho Chi Minh wanted to unite Vietnam under northern rule. He supported the Viet Cong, communist rebels trying to overthrow Diem in South Vietnam. • At first, the United States sent only military advisers and supplies to Diem. Under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, however, the American involvement increased, and a local struggle became a major Cold War conflict. • In 1964 the U.S. began bombing targets in North Vietnam. When air raids failed to force Ho to abandon the war, the U.S. committed more troops. By 1969, more than 500,000 Americans were serving in Vietnam. Meantime, the Soviet Union and China sent aid but no troops to help North Vietnam.

5. American Involvement • Even with massive American help, south Vietnam could not defeat the communist guerrillas and their North Vietnamese allies. At the same time, the bombing of North Vietnam and growing American casualties on the ground in flamed antiwar opinion in the U.S. Under increasing pressure, President Nixon finally arranged a cease-fire and began with drawl of American forces in 1973.

6. Why the Communist Won • Many Vietnamese saw the U.S. as another foreign power seeking to dominate their land. Also, despite American sir power and advanced technology, guerrillas fought well in the jungle terrain. • Vietnam Today- the communist victors imposed harsh rule on the south. Tens of thousands of Vietnamese fled in small boats. Many of these “boat people” drowned. Survivors landed in refugee camps. Eventually, some were accepted into the United States or other countries.

7. Tragedy in Cambodia • In 1970, the U.S. bombed that route and then invaded Cambodia. After the Americans left, Cambodian communist guerrillas, the Khmer Rouge, overthrew the government. Led by Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge unleashed a reign of terror. To destroy all western influences, they drove people form the cities and forced them to work in the fields. They slaughtered or caused the death of more than a million Cambodians, perhaps a third of the population. • In 1979, Vietnam invaded and occupied Cambodia. Pol Pot and his forces retreated to remote areas. In 1993, UN peacekeepers supervised elections. Despite guerrillas who still terrorized parts of the country, a new government began to rebuild Cambodia.

8. The Pacific Rim • In the modern global economy, Southeast Asia and East Asia are part of a vast region known as the Pacific Rim. • The Pacific first became an artery for world trade in the 1500s. By the mid-1900s, links across the Pacific had grown dramatically. • By the 1990s, the volume of trade across the pacific was greater than that across the Atlantic. Some analysts predicted that the 2000s will be the “Pacific century” because of this region's potential for further growth.