Irredentism movement in Vietnam
Vietnamese irredentism
, also known as
Ideology of Greater Vietnam
(
Vietnamese
:
Ch? ngh?a đ?i Vi?t Nam
or
Ch? ngh?a
đ?i Vi?t
), sometimes may be referred to as
Baiyue Nationalism
(
ch? ngh?a Dan t?c
Bach Vi?t
) is an
irredentist
and
nationalist
claim concerning redemption of former territories of
Vietnam
and territories outside Vietnam that the Vietnamese have inhabited for centuries. Notable claims are usually made concerning territories of
Laos
,
Cambodia
, and
Liangguang
of China.
[1]
Background
[
edit
]
The
Baiyue
people, from which the modern
Vietnamese people
(also called "Viet" or "Kinh") are descended, have long inhabited a vast variety of land of what would be known as modern China, Vietnam and Laos. As for the result of migration, the Viet tribes moved southward and eventually established itself in what would be known as northern Vietnam and southern China today, which became the ancestral homeland of Vietnamese people.
[2]
Overtime, the Vietnamese people managed to overcome
Chinese domination of Vietnam
, and further expanded its territory south and westward, known as
Nam ti?n
and war with Laos and the Tai tribes, which slowly granted Vietnam's political power to control Laos and Cambodia.
[3]
[
unreliable source
]
Also, there were northern expansions toward Chinese territory, and sea expeditions to gain control over the
Malay peninsula
, though it was short-lived. Nonetheless, during these expansions, Vietnamese imperial rulers adopted
Vietnamization
policy, hoping to subjugate and Vietnamize people from the land they conquered.
[
citation needed
]
French imperialism at the 19th century resulted in the establishment of
French Indochina
, where French colonial rulers adopted a
divide-and-rule
policy, but this also resulted with Cambodia and Laos being fully absorbed into a much-larger Vietnamese nation. Though being equally ruled by France, in reality, the Vietnamese dominated political will in both Laos and Cambodia, and the economy of Vietnam was far bigger than its fellow French Indochinese colonies.
[4]
This trend continued even when the French were expelled from Vietnam following the
First Indochina War
, only to be disrupted by the
Vietnam War
later on. However, once the Vietnam War ended, the
Vietnamese communists
, who emerged victoriously in this conflict, managed to control Laos and Cambodia through its communist puppets,
[5]
[6]
as well as trying to expand into Thailand. In 1979, the
Cambodian?Vietnamese War
broke out when the
Khmer Rouge
under
Pol Pot
invaded Vietnam,
[
citation needed
]
but this resulted in a
10-year occupation of Cambodia by the Vietnamese
. Following
đ?i m?i
in 1986, when Vietnam reformed and rejoined the global community, Vietnam started to focus on its internal affairs and retreated from Laos and Cambodia.
Greater Vietnamese irredentism
[
edit
]
China and origin of Chinese civilizations
[
edit
]
Due to historical conflict and numerous territorial changes with
China
, especially regarding
Baiyue
, some Vietnamese nationalists have irredentist claims to parts of southern China. Some pushed far as claiming the first founding civilization in the Yellow River Basin including the
Xia
, the
Shang
, and the
Zhou dynasties
being of Vietnamese/Baiyue origins.
[7]
The claim of Chinese territory was thought to have come from the era of
Tay S?n dynasty
in late 1790s, when Emperor
Quang Trung
sought to claim entire of southern modern China's
Hainan
,
Guangxi
and
Guangdong
to be parts of Vietnamese territory dated from ancient Baiyue inhabitants before the
Qin dynasty's southward expansion
. However, the irredentist claim would soon die out following Quang Trung's death and it was not until 20th century that Vietnamese nationalism began to rise that saw its revival.
[8]
[
unreliable source
]
In the early 20th century, a Vietnamese Jesuit and nationalist,
L??ng Kim đ?nh
, published an annual of Vietnamese history and culture, where he claimed that the
Huaxia
culture that China has obtained could be traced from ancient Vietnamese, and Chinese state's cultural acquisition was the result of
Chinese imperialism
, and Vietnamese nation had been much larger and deeper inside Chinese territory, began from the beneath of
Yangtze
, citing entire of southern China as part of Vietnamese territory.
[8]
[
unreliable source
]
Vietnamese nationalists also pointed from its irredentist movement of the ancient pride, when General
Ly Th??ng Ki?t
conquered southern China at 1075 before retreating to Vietnam a year later, and several times have stressed the desire to reclaim the land, and that the people of South China have not forgotten its Vietnamese origin.
[9]
[
unreliable source
]
Laos and Cambodia
[
edit
]
Being fellow neighbors,
Laos
and
Cambodia
have long been seen as backwaters of Vietnam due to being strongly under prey of Vietnamese influence,
[
citation needed
]
even though Laos and Cambodia are culturally distinct from Vietnam.
In the past, Vietnam had fought and managed to control and influence both Laos and Cambodia, with the former experienced longer Vietnamese domination after
several conflicts
.
[3]
Meanwhile, the latter was slowly absorbed to Vietnamese influence in 17th century, but it was not until 19th century that Vietnam finally established its control and wrecking Siam together.
[10]
In all of Vietnam's irredentist sentiment to Laos and Cambodia, its sentiment toward Cambodia is the strongest and most hostile one, often led to conflict between two countries. The most recent
Cambodian?Vietnamese War
was an example.
[11]
Meanwhile, in recently, the
East Laos
(
Vietnamese
:
đong Lao
) meme, which was made as a joke corresponding to the fact that Vietnam is the only country
bordering Laos to the East
, is often being used to (sarcastically) represent Vietnam and is frequently used by Vietnamese internet users during its looming tensions with China.
[12]
Although the meaning is mostly memetic, it sometimes caused controversy that Vietnam attempted to reinforce its control of Laos by mimicking the latter's name, given Vietnam's large population and the state of Lao PDR is generally under significant Vietnamese influence, sometimes even considered as a Vietnam's
puppet state
by a number of Laotian
ultra-nationalists
and/or
anti-communists
.
There are also half-jokes made by Vietnamese ultranationalists about reviving a so-called
Indochinese Union
with Vietnamese dominance over Laos and Cambodia, comparable to the idea of
Russia's major influence
inside the
Soviet Union
.
Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia
[
edit
]
Vietnamese irredentism is also sometimes pointing to
Thailand
,
Malaysia
and
Myanmar
, though it directs the most to the former.
Much of the irredentist sentiment against Thailand and Myanmar could be traced from the root of Vietnamese imperialism in 15th century, when
Vietnam
fought
Laos
and gained control of a part of
northern Siam and eastern Myanmar
in a short-lived time
[3]
[
unreliable source
]
. As the Burmese Empire, even during its peak, had never managed to conquer Vietnam while Vietnam had managed to occupy a part of Burmese territory, the Vietnamese irredentism prided itself for not being under Burmese rule.
Its
conflict with the Siamese
, which began in 18th century, had been one of the prolonged war, in which Vietnam slowly transformed to become a Southeast Asian power despite Siamese efforts to prevent it.
[13]
This had fostered a significant national fear of Siamese and later Thais about growing Vietnamese irredentist threat, which was enhanced by the outcome of Cambodian?Vietnamese War and subsequent Vietnamese military raids and occupation in Thai border.
[14]
Thus, in Thailand always ran a fear of Vietnamese eventual occupation, leading to the country supporting
Khmer Rouge
to deter Vietnamese expansionism.
Vietnamese irredentism toward Malaysia was much weaker and less significant, and it was never documented in Vietnamese historical accords. However, during the 15th century, the Vietnamese, which proceeded the most powerful army in Southeast Asia, had planned for a naval expedition against
Malacca Sultanate
and launched naval attacks on Malay ships and sailors. Following the pressure by the
Ming dynasty
, the Vietnamese backtracked and eventually abandoned the plan to conquer Malacca.
[15]
Internal Vietnam
[
edit
]
Champa
[
edit
]
The Kingdom of
Champa
was once an ancient kingdom in what would be modern-day
Central Vietnam
, influenced by the extension of
Indian civilization
. The entity had been historically Vietnam's major rival at first, and had launched an invasion against the infant
đ?i C? Vi?t
, but militarily, it was unsuccessful in deterring Vietnamese military advance.
[16]
[
unreliable source
]
The relationship between two, if not to say, often fluctuated between peace and hostility. However, with the end of the
Fourth Chinese domination of Vietnam
, increasing Vietnamese militarism had led to the demise of Champa and its eventual fate of being conquered at the
1471 war
. Since then, there had been a number of rebellions against Vietnamese rule by the Chams since and was marred by growing
Islamization
of
Chams
, the most severe happened in the 19th century when
Katip Sumat uprising
coincided with
Ja Thak Wa uprising
, where
Islam
was introduced as a weapon of resistance against Vietnamese Empire;
[17]
and in 20th century when the
United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races
(FULRO) was established to fight off Vietnamese persecution. In response, the Vietnamese military began persecuting Chams and drafted them into its rank, while there were persecutions over their Hindu and Islamic faith.
Central Highlands
[
edit
]
The
Central Highlands
was incorporated into Vietnamese territory by the end of 18th century but only got formal control from 19th century onward. For the first decades under
Nguy?n dynasty
, the Vietnamese paid little interest to the region and prohibited Vietnamese settlers from ever going here. But with the French conquest, the Vietnamese had taken significant interests due to large natural resources in the region.
[18]
Its strategic location is also another important reason for Vietnam to begin to increase its control over the land.
[19]
To counter growing
Vietnamese nationalism
, the French supported
Christianization
of
Montagnards
, which would serve as a pretext for future conflict.
Eventually, the outbreak of
Vietnam War
erupted the demographic imbalance when Vietnamese settlers became increasingly populous, displacing the indigenous
Montagnards
. This had influenced these people to take up arms and rebelled against Vietnamese, no matter the north or south. The
United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races
was established with object of fighting against Vietnamese imperialism. In response, both
North Vietnam
and
South Vietnam
maltreated the Montagnards
, and the United States was accused of doing nothing to prevent it.
[20]
The persecution trend continued even after 1975, and remains extremely severe. In addition, to finally reinforce its control, Vietnamese government, both in the past to present, has directly sponsored Vietnamese migration to Central Highlands, much to the dismay of Montagnards.
[21]
Mekong Delta
[
edit
]
The
Mekong Delta
had been historically under the
Khmer Empire
, where the
Khmer Krom
, a subgroup of the larger
Khmer people
, inhabited the land. Up until 17th century, the land had been mostly marked with little interests even during the height of the Khmer civilization. However, due to the
decline of Cambodia
and wars with Siam, the Cambodian court had to take refuge and neglected the Mekong Delta's interests. On the same time, due to southern expansion, Vietnamese settlers had begun to takeover the Mekong Delta. The takeover began with most of its population were settlers, and later doubled by a large number of Chinese refugees fleeing from the Manchu
Qing dynasty
.
[22]
These Chinese refugees went Vietnamized in majority and helped expanding Vietnamese military and political privileges over the Delta with the blessing from
Nguy?n lords
.
[23]
There had been several attempts by Cambodian Court to restrict Vietnamese migration to even recovering of territory, but was unsuccessful.
[24]
As for the result, Cambodia was never able to make any significant step, and lost the territory in the end of 18th century. The conquest meant that Vietnam acquired the longest sea border for any mainland Southeast Asian countries.
The
Khmer Krom
, which had traditionally aligned itself with Cambodia, were dissatisfied with Vietnamese rule and had tried to re-incorporate the land to Cambodia. As a consequence, Emperor
Minh M?ng
decided to Vietnamize the Khmer population "We must hope that their barbarian habits will be subconsciously dissipated, and that they will daily become more infected by Han [Sino-Vietnamese] customs."
[25]
[26]
The trend was not prevented by the French even after French colonization. In 1949, French President
Vincent Auriol
, in a move that favored Vietnamese irredentism, granted the land to Vietnamese control. The Khmer Krom's dissatisfaction led to the fight against Vietnam during the Vietnam War, and allied with the FULRO. Ultimately, Khmer Krom began to face persecution, though in comparison to the Montagnards and Chams, was less severe.
Spratly and Paracel
[
edit
]
Like many nations involving in the islands' disputes, Vietnam has been a major participant. For the Vietnamese, controlling these islands have been instrumental in reinforcing historical claim in a very divisive series of islands' claims containing the
People's Republic of China
, the
Republic of China
(Taiwan), the
Philippines
, Malaysia, and
Brunei
.
In Vietnamese irredentist version, the
Paracel Islands
were first discovered by a group of naval force working under the Nguy?n lords, known as
Hoang Sa group
(hence the Vietnamese name), and this was done at 1686, while China was busy concentrating on its internal affairs.
[27]
The same issue came with Spratly islands, with Vietnamese source claims to have been traced from 17th century.
[28]
[29]
During the Vietnam War, North Vietnam ceded its territorial claim over these islands to China, although China did not have any major military activities there until 1973, probably in order to maintain support from the Chinese and Soviets to reinforce for its military against the south and the United States.
[27]
However, the 1974
Battle of the Paracel Islands
was instrumental on letting the North to eventually withdraw its recognition of China's claims and rekindled back the territorial disputes over these islands, as the unified communist authority of Vietnam decided to inherit both the claim of the late Republic against China.
[30]
Since then, the two nations later fought for control in the
Johnson South Reef Skirmish
, this time ended with another Chinese victory, but has left a denting legacy on eventual tensions between the two countries as
South China Sea disputes
evoked back from 2010s and further boosting irredentist sentiment.
[31]
Further developments
[
edit
]
After the
economic reforms
in 1986, Vietnam focused less on irredentist movement and instead looking to focus on the development of internal economy and society and to overcome the war's trauma. Thus, irredentist movement was disregarded initially in order to develop friendly relations with most of its former rivals and to ensure internal stability. The country's growing economic strength has provided Vietnam significant backup in international profile, though not without controversies.
However, as for the result of growing tensions with China since 2010s, Vietnamese irredentism became increasingly popular among public, where it's also being reinforced by looming nationalist fervors. Advocates of Vietnamese nationalism have sought to re-promote the irredentist claims on southern China and Paracel, Spratly Islands as a counter to growing
Chinese irredentism
.
[32]
There have been criticisms over Vietnamese irredentist claims. Several Vietnamese scholars believed the irredentist claim is nothing more but another version of radical Chinese and Thai irredentism, citing it to be "unrealistic".
[8]
[
unreliable source
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
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.
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