Although we've mentioned that China did not achieve their goal of ejecting Vietnam from Cambodia and restoring the génocidaire Kmer Rouge with their attack on Vietnam in 1979, five years earlier the Chinese did defeat the Vietnamese in the Battle of the Paracel Islands which established de facto Chinese control over that group of islands.
From the South China Morning Post:
Vietnam has been building up its defences in the Spratly Islands over the past two years to “ensure it can strike Chinese facilities” in the disputed archipelago, a report by a Washington-based think tank said.
Emplacements for air and coastal defence systems have been installed on most of Vietnam’s bases in the Spratlys, with the most significant upgrades at West Reef and Sin Cowe Island, according to the report released on Friday by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies’ Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.
It said the recent building work underscored Vietnam’s efforts to make its facilities in the area more resilient against China, and to make sure Chinese bases were within striking range.
Both countries lay claim to the Spratlys in the South China Sea – claims that overlap with those of the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan – and occupy outposts there. Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea and tensions have escalated over its increasing assertiveness in the region, which has become a flashpoint with the United States....
....MUCH MORE
Both groups of islands are within China's ridiculous "Nine-Dash-Line" claim (here with many more dashes):
If interested see also:
"Report: Chinese Vessel Rams Vietnamese Fishing Boat in S. China Sea"
I'm tellin' ya, China wants their military to get some battle
experience before they do anything with Taiwan and Vietnam looks like a
target.
Vietnam Rising: "US-China trade war pushing Vietnam’s manufacturing industry to capacity"
A major piece on the country The Diplomat says will be the testing ground for China's military, prior to an invasion of Taiwan. See last month's "China Will Attack Vietnam".
Throw in Vietnam's undeveloped rare earth resource base, tied with Brazil for #2 in the world (combined they match China) and the risk it poses to China's lock on prices and Vietnam has suddenly gotten very interesting.
Oh, and China is still smarting from being unable to achieve their goals during the 1979 invasion of Vietnam....
"Philippines President Duterte Threatened Beijing with Military Action":
When the Chinese stopped laughing they reflected and gave thanks it wasn't Vietnam* making the threat....He outlived all his adversaries.
****...The Vietnam line is in reference to the fact that General Võ Nguyên Giáp, possibly the greatest general of the 20th century, defeated in turn, the French empire, the U.S.A. Cambodia and China in 1954, 1975, 1978 and 1979 respectively.
That last conflict was the result of China's invasion of Vietnam in an attempt to force Vietnam out of Cambodia which Vietnam had invaded in 1978, putting Pol Pot and the Kmer Rouge génocidaires out of business. It didn't work, Vietnam stayed in Cambodia until 1989.
The General died in 2013 age 102.
