International Relations 1962-66 Flashcards
What and when was the Cuban Missile Crisis?
October 1962. A crisis when the USA discovered USSR nuclear warheads in Cuba, 90 miles from US
mainland. Kennedy threatened Khrushchev with war if they were not removed, and Khrushchev eventually
did.
What was the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty?
An agreement between the main nuclear powers to stop nuclear testing in the atmosphere (1963).
Why did Sino-Soviet relations worsen in 1962-63 (4)?
1) The Cuban Missile Crisis.
2) The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
3) Xinjiang border dispute.
4) The provision of USSR military aircrafts and diplomatic support to India against China in 1962.
Why did Mao criticise the USSR’s handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis (2)?
1) He believed that the USSR acted recklessly placing the missiles in Cuba.
2) He criticised Khrushchev for withdrawing under US pressure, seeing it as a surrender.
What were the origins of the Xinjiang border dispute (C1949-C1960)?
After the CCP victory in 1949, the PRC and the USSR had an agreement to cooperate to develop Xinjiang’s
mineral wealth. Soviet experts and the Chinese worked together 1950-55, until the joint projects were ended
by the Chinese. The Soviets withdrew.
What were the events of the Xinjiang border dispute (1962-64)?
1) In 1962, approx. 60,000 Uighurs fled to Soviet Tajikistan to escape the severe famine.
2) China accused the USSR of deliberately encouraging this to destabilise Chinese control of Xinjiang.
3) In 1964, both sides agreed to settle the border dispute, but both increased military presence along the
border. These negotiations lasted many years.
What were the key nuclear developments in China (1957-69) (5)?
1) In 1957, the USSR and China signed an agreement where the USSR would help China to develop their
own nuclear weaponry.
2) After the Soviet experts were withdrawn in 1960, Chinese scientists, at Qinghai and Ningxia continued
their research.
3) In 1964, China underwent its first test explosion of an atomic bomb, and in 1967 tested a more powerful
hydrogen bomb.
4) China carried out these tests in the atmosphere, as they had not signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of
1963.
5) The USSR were concerned that China had upset the strategic balance of the world. In 1969, it is reported
the USSR was considering a nuclear strike on China during a period of border clashes.
What and when was the Golf of Tonkin incident, and what was its significance?
A clash between an American warship (supported by aircraft) and North Vietnamese naval ships in the Gulf
of Tonkin, just off the Vietnamese coast (1964).
After this, the US Congress authorised President Johnson to increase US involvement in Vietnam,
committing army, airforce, and naval units to fight alongside the South Vietnamese against the Vietcong.
What was the National Liberation Front (NLF), and who were the Vietcong?
A Vietnamese political organisation established in South Vietnam, 1960, with the aim of reuniting Vietnam
under Communist leadership. The Vietcong were the military wing of the NLF, mostly partaking in guerrilla
warfare.
Why did the USA intervene on the side of President Diem/North Vietnam?
They feared another part of southeast Asia falling under Communist rule.
Why were the Chinese cautious in their approach to the Vietnam War, providing no direct military
involvement (3)?
1) They did not want a South Vietnam/USA capitalist victory.
2) They did not really want a North Vietnam victory either, do the close ties to the USSR.
3) They did not want a repeat of the Korean War, where the USSR had started it, but left China to do most of
the fighting.
Who was Luo Ruiqing?
A longstanding CCP member since 1928, and a leading member of the PLA. He became Chief of General
Staff of the PLA in 1959, and was responsible for a PRC victory against India in 1962.
How did the PRC aid North Vietnam (4)?
1) They trained North Vietnamese pilots.
2) They supplied the North Vietnamese with arms.
3) As war escalated in 1965, they sent anti-aircraft and engineering units of the PLA to North Vietnam to help
with defence and prepare damages.
4) The Chinese units freed North Vietnamese soldiers, but the Chinese troops were not directly involved in
the fighting.
How did the escalation of the Vietnam War in 1965 create divisions in the PRC leadership?
They did not like the prospect of being drawn into the War, especially amongst military leadership. Lin Biao
wanted to focus on increasing the role of the PLA in politics, and remould the PLA to become more Maoist.
He saw the War as a distraction.
How did Lin Biao and Luo Ruiqing disagree over the prospect of the Vietnam War spreading to China’s
south-eastern border, and what was the outcome?
