‘Fighting While Talking’: The Republic of Vietnam and the Negotiations with Hanoi and Washington, 1972
Item type:Journal Article
Author:Ha Trieu Huy
Citation:Ha, T. H. (2022). ‘Fighting While Talking’: The Republic of Vietnam and the Negotiations with Hanoi and Washington, 1972. The International History Review, 45(2), 391–415.
Abstract:This research paper aims to rectify a deep-rooted notion of the role of Nguyen Van Thieu and his diplomatic delegate at the Paris Conference in the key year of the Vietnam War, 1972. This year was a time that was arduous for the Republic of Vietnam (RVN). Sino-American détente featured a volta-face of the foreign policy of capitalist countries, leading to a plummet in support for the RVN. Alongside, Hanoi unrelentingly organised several military attacks along the provisional demarcation line and major controlled Corps of the ARVN with the hope of vocalising its benefits at Paris sessions. While grappling with domestic fatigue, the RVN confronted the coercion of Hanoi to transplant a coalition government into the elected government of Thieu. Although frowning on this point, South Vietnamese diplomats strived to redress the misconception of democracy and earn international support to perform its legitimacy in international relations. While seeking to stand at an independent position rather than a diplomatic intervention of the US, the RVN was determined to let diplomacy go hand in hand with domestic resistance to elevate its role in Paris Conference and voice over international relations. This paper unveils a vast number of declassified documents of Independence Palace housed at National Archives Centre II in Ho Chi Minh City along with desk research materials and employs a chronological approach of historical studies to posit that the RVN was an active entity to fulfil its responsibility in Paris and retain previous close diplomatic relations with its major alliance and patch up new friends or deepen established ties. Simultaneously, Thieu reinforced his relations with non-communist states in Southeast Asia, East Asia, and military organisations in the Asia Pacific Ocean and enthusiastically joined an international forum to bolster his political power in the war. It is indicated that the RVN had a direct target to take advantage of diplomatic power for disentangling its problems since the Hanoi-Washington peace talks gradually gained a cease-fire.
