ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book attempts to examine the causes and consequences of the Third Indochina Conflict. It explores how crucial the discord between the Kampuchean and Vietnamese Parties over revolutionary strategy was in precipitating open conflict between them. The book shows the strains that have existed between Vietnam and China since at least 1954. It argues that by "failing to mention Hanoi's offer to accommodate the Chinese ships, and raising the Soviet connection, Beijing appeared to have deliberately mapped out a collision course with Hanoi." The book examines the dynamics of the triangle of the United States-China-Soviet Union and the implications of the triangle for the Third Indochina Conflict. For Kampuchea, the concept of proletarian internationalism was merely semantic covering for the idea of a Vietnamese dominated Indochina Federation.
