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early 20th centuries Chinese presence was greatly accelerated and deepened with the admission by the Western colonial powers of Chinese labourers, the forerunners of the Overseas Chinese communities to be found in every country of the region. Like its predecessor (and continuing rival in Taiwan) the communist government in Peking established in 1949 sought support from these Overseas Chinese. It also maintained claims to islands throughout the South China Sea; the principal groups are disputed between China and Vietnam and have been the subject of acrimonious public exchanges between
these two countries in the last few years.
5.
The Chinese are sensitive about political developments in S E Asia. They were strongly opposed to the American presence there in the decades immediately after the Second World War and have shown perhaps even more hostility to the Soviet presence in Indo-China in recent years. They may see it as part of a Soviet policy of encirclement, which embraces Soviet military power along China's northern and north-eastern frontiers, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the USSR's friendship with India. Following Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia, Chinese forces attacked Northern Vietnam early in 1979, Peking's main aim being to demonstrate, particularly to the ASEAN countries, its determination to oppose the expansion of Soviet and Vietnamese influence in the area.
6.
Against this historical and psychological background it may be useful to sketch out the dimensions of Sino-Soviet rivalry in SE Asia as it stands at present. This can conveniently be done under four headings strategic, diplomatic, ideological and
economic.
Strategic Rivalry
7. The Soviet Union's strategic position in S E Asia was undoubtedly strengthened when, as a corollary to her support for Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia in December 1978, she was granted
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