Chapter Twelve - Gimme Shelter
“In Thailand’s history there have been dissensions from time to time, but in general, unity has prevailed."
When North Vietnam and the United States (and, forcibly, South Vietnam) came to a peace agreement in 1970, it was considered one of the most momentous occasions of Cold War history. The next South Vietnamese election, in which the Viet Cong could participate, was scheduled for 1971, the reunification referendum that had been canceled in 1956 was rescheduled for 1972, and the South Vietnamese dictator, Nguyen Van Theiu, had fled the country to Taiwan, replaced by his Vice President, and bitter rival, Nguyen Cao Ky.
On paper, it seemed that Eugene McCarthy had brought peace to a region crippled by war for decades.
In reality, the region remained crippled by war, as it had for decades.
Although a ceasefire had been agreed to, the Viet Cong had been ‘allowed’ to retain control of all the land and military installations they had occupied in South Vietnam. With American soldiers quickly withdrawing from Vietnam, huge gaps appeared in the South Vietnamese line that the Viet Cong weren’t afraid to take advantage of. At the same time that thousands of Vietnamese desperately attempted to flee the country for fear of a Viet Cong takeover, thousands more found their towns and hamlets occupied by the Viet Cong. Some celebrated the approaching final victory over the Americans, others joined anti-communist militia that were often crushed without South Vietnamese or American backing. Most were apathetic, and just wanted to see an end to the fighting, no matter who was in charge.
For his part, Nguyen Cao Ky by no means de-escalated the conflict. The South Vietnamese military remained on high alert and combat ready, and fighting had barely slowed down. The upcoming election was guaranteed to be rife with corruption and ballot-stuffing on both sides, and Ky intended to go down swinging.
Nguyen Cao Ky: Third and last President of the Republic of (South) Vietnam
Meanwhile, with the United States throwing South Vietnam to the wolves, another regional power sought to protect its own interests.
The Kingdom of Thailand had greatly benefited from the Vietnam War. Ruled by King Bhumibol Adulyadej and governed by the military dictator Thanom Kittikachorn, Thailand was harshly anti-communist, and closely aligned with the United States and their regional interests. Thailand had received millions in funding from the United States to act as a reliable regional power; money that was in turn spent on the rapid modernization of the country’s economy, infrastructure, and military. Americanization of the local culture had also become more common, with many American soldiers going on leave to take advantage of the many pleasures of Bangkok. At the same time economic growth skyrocketed, so too did criminal violence, prostitution, drug use, and rampant government corruption. The government’s attempts to improve the lot of the rural Thai population had been a failure, and peasant revolts happened with increasing frequency, culminating in Prime Minister Thanom declaring a self-coup: seizing emergency powers to root out “communist infiltrators.”
It was in this unstable political atmosphere that Thailand decided to take a more active role in destroying communism in neighbouring Cambodia and Laos. Vietnam was the traditional nemesis of Thailand, and considered a lost cause by the Thai military general staff, but it still considered it possible to ‘save’ Cambodia and Laos. In a process occasionally referred to as the “Thailandization” of American influence in South-East Asia, the pro-American military dictatorship of General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak was propped up in Cambodia, while the right wing ‘neutralist’ faction of Prince Souvanna Phourma in Laos was given the same treatment. Sustained by American dollars, Thai military expertise, and Vietnamese stubbornness, fighting continued well throughout the year in what was once French Indochina. As McCarthy began to cut down on arms sales to other countries through the Defense Department and the CIA, Thailand was one of the few exceptions on the list that continued to get unlimited sales access.
Thai Prime Minister and Military Dictator Thanom Kittikachorn (seen here acknowledging a crowd) was a vehement anti-communist who sought to delay, if not prevent, the spread of communism in South-East Asia.
Meanwhile, things were heating up on the Indian subcontinent. In the 1970 Pakistan General Election, the Awami League, a socialist and Bengali nationalist party from East Pakistan led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, had won a majority in the legislature. It was unprecedented in more ways than one: not only was it the first election in Pakistani history since independence in 1947, but it was the first time an East Pakistani party was capable of forming government. The ruling President of Pakistan (and military dictator) Yahya Khan, as well as the prominent and influential West Pakistani socialist party, the Pakistan Peoples Party, were unwilling to allow an East Pakistani government, and delayed the transfer of power. Many East Pakistanis (the vast majority of whom were ethnic Bengalis) saw the delay as further West Pakistani discrimination against the Bengali people, despite the fact that the Bengali people made up the majority of the population of Pakistan. The Bengali protests, increasing in intensity, culminated in Mujibur declaring independence for the new country of Bangladesh.
West Pakistan did not react well.
President Khan launched Operation Searchlight in March of 1971: a military occupation of East Pakistan, with the intention of committing genocide against the Bengali people to force them into submission and crack down on demands for self-determination. What he didn’t expect was the level of fierce resistance from Bengal guerrilla bands. The harder of the Pakistani military cracked down, the more military defections there were, and the more popular support the guerrilla's gained.
By late 1971, the Far East was a perfect storm of diplomatic controversy for the United States. American ambassadors in Bangladesh went into grizzly detail on the level of violence being perpetrated against the Bengali people by America’s ally, Pakistan, and McCarthy was wont to agree. McCarthy publicly made it clear that the United States didn’t support Pakistan’s ‘course of action.’ This in turn left the door open for the Soviets. Initially cautious of American support of Pakistan, the Soviets had discouraged India from taking an active military role in the war for fear of retaliation, but once it was clear McCarthy didn’t intend to support Pakistan, just as he hadn’t supported South Vietnam, the Soviets gave the go-ahead [1]. It was obvious to everyone that India was going to become directly involved: it was only a matter of when.
During the Pakistani occupation and Bangladeshi Genocide, between 300,000-3,000,000,000 Bengals were killed, and 8,000,000-10,000,000 fled the country. India would, in part, go to war with Pakistan, because it was economically simpler than having to deal with all the refugees.
Funnily enough, strong relations with Pakistan had been one of the few things that the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China had in common; the US for ideological and geopolitical reasons, and the PRC for geopolitical reasons alone, what with their various disputes with India. Along with most of the Muslim countries of the Middle East, the PRC protested the US’ distancing from Pakistan under the McCarthy administration. The PRC had limited options to complain, however, as the Republic of China, the nationalist regime of Chaing Kai-Shek exiled to Taiwan, was technically the ‘official’ representative of the Chinese people in the United Nations.
Regardless, the People’s Republic of China had bigger fish to fry.
Mao Zedong was dead.
“Attention: Our leader, Mao Zedong, is dead. A state of emergency has been declared by Chairman Lin Biao. Do not be alarmed. Counter-revolutionary activity will be punished. The perpetrators will be brought to justice.”
[1] IOTL, Nixon and Kissinger fully supported Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War, and threatened the Soviets and their fellow traveler, India, with a possible nuclear escalation if there was any large-scale outside involvement.
- King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand
When North Vietnam and the United States (and, forcibly, South Vietnam) came to a peace agreement in 1970, it was considered one of the most momentous occasions of Cold War history. The next South Vietnamese election, in which the Viet Cong could participate, was scheduled for 1971, the reunification referendum that had been canceled in 1956 was rescheduled for 1972, and the South Vietnamese dictator, Nguyen Van Theiu, had fled the country to Taiwan, replaced by his Vice President, and bitter rival, Nguyen Cao Ky.
On paper, it seemed that Eugene McCarthy had brought peace to a region crippled by war for decades.
In reality, the region remained crippled by war, as it had for decades.
Although a ceasefire had been agreed to, the Viet Cong had been ‘allowed’ to retain control of all the land and military installations they had occupied in South Vietnam. With American soldiers quickly withdrawing from Vietnam, huge gaps appeared in the South Vietnamese line that the Viet Cong weren’t afraid to take advantage of. At the same time that thousands of Vietnamese desperately attempted to flee the country for fear of a Viet Cong takeover, thousands more found their towns and hamlets occupied by the Viet Cong. Some celebrated the approaching final victory over the Americans, others joined anti-communist militia that were often crushed without South Vietnamese or American backing. Most were apathetic, and just wanted to see an end to the fighting, no matter who was in charge.
For his part, Nguyen Cao Ky by no means de-escalated the conflict. The South Vietnamese military remained on high alert and combat ready, and fighting had barely slowed down. The upcoming election was guaranteed to be rife with corruption and ballot-stuffing on both sides, and Ky intended to go down swinging.
Nguyen Cao Ky: Third and last President of the Republic of (South) Vietnam
Meanwhile, with the United States throwing South Vietnam to the wolves, another regional power sought to protect its own interests.
The Kingdom of Thailand had greatly benefited from the Vietnam War. Ruled by King Bhumibol Adulyadej and governed by the military dictator Thanom Kittikachorn, Thailand was harshly anti-communist, and closely aligned with the United States and their regional interests. Thailand had received millions in funding from the United States to act as a reliable regional power; money that was in turn spent on the rapid modernization of the country’s economy, infrastructure, and military. Americanization of the local culture had also become more common, with many American soldiers going on leave to take advantage of the many pleasures of Bangkok. At the same time economic growth skyrocketed, so too did criminal violence, prostitution, drug use, and rampant government corruption. The government’s attempts to improve the lot of the rural Thai population had been a failure, and peasant revolts happened with increasing frequency, culminating in Prime Minister Thanom declaring a self-coup: seizing emergency powers to root out “communist infiltrators.”
It was in this unstable political atmosphere that Thailand decided to take a more active role in destroying communism in neighbouring Cambodia and Laos. Vietnam was the traditional nemesis of Thailand, and considered a lost cause by the Thai military general staff, but it still considered it possible to ‘save’ Cambodia and Laos. In a process occasionally referred to as the “Thailandization” of American influence in South-East Asia, the pro-American military dictatorship of General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak was propped up in Cambodia, while the right wing ‘neutralist’ faction of Prince Souvanna Phourma in Laos was given the same treatment. Sustained by American dollars, Thai military expertise, and Vietnamese stubbornness, fighting continued well throughout the year in what was once French Indochina. As McCarthy began to cut down on arms sales to other countries through the Defense Department and the CIA, Thailand was one of the few exceptions on the list that continued to get unlimited sales access.
Thai Prime Minister and Military Dictator Thanom Kittikachorn (seen here acknowledging a crowd) was a vehement anti-communist who sought to delay, if not prevent, the spread of communism in South-East Asia.
Meanwhile, things were heating up on the Indian subcontinent. In the 1970 Pakistan General Election, the Awami League, a socialist and Bengali nationalist party from East Pakistan led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, had won a majority in the legislature. It was unprecedented in more ways than one: not only was it the first election in Pakistani history since independence in 1947, but it was the first time an East Pakistani party was capable of forming government. The ruling President of Pakistan (and military dictator) Yahya Khan, as well as the prominent and influential West Pakistani socialist party, the Pakistan Peoples Party, were unwilling to allow an East Pakistani government, and delayed the transfer of power. Many East Pakistanis (the vast majority of whom were ethnic Bengalis) saw the delay as further West Pakistani discrimination against the Bengali people, despite the fact that the Bengali people made up the majority of the population of Pakistan. The Bengali protests, increasing in intensity, culminated in Mujibur declaring independence for the new country of Bangladesh.
West Pakistan did not react well.
President Khan launched Operation Searchlight in March of 1971: a military occupation of East Pakistan, with the intention of committing genocide against the Bengali people to force them into submission and crack down on demands for self-determination. What he didn’t expect was the level of fierce resistance from Bengal guerrilla bands. The harder of the Pakistani military cracked down, the more military defections there were, and the more popular support the guerrilla's gained.
By late 1971, the Far East was a perfect storm of diplomatic controversy for the United States. American ambassadors in Bangladesh went into grizzly detail on the level of violence being perpetrated against the Bengali people by America’s ally, Pakistan, and McCarthy was wont to agree. McCarthy publicly made it clear that the United States didn’t support Pakistan’s ‘course of action.’ This in turn left the door open for the Soviets. Initially cautious of American support of Pakistan, the Soviets had discouraged India from taking an active military role in the war for fear of retaliation, but once it was clear McCarthy didn’t intend to support Pakistan, just as he hadn’t supported South Vietnam, the Soviets gave the go-ahead [1]. It was obvious to everyone that India was going to become directly involved: it was only a matter of when.
During the Pakistani occupation and Bangladeshi Genocide, between 300,000-3,000,000,000 Bengals were killed, and 8,000,000-10,000,000 fled the country. India would, in part, go to war with Pakistan, because it was economically simpler than having to deal with all the refugees.
Funnily enough, strong relations with Pakistan had been one of the few things that the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China had in common; the US for ideological and geopolitical reasons, and the PRC for geopolitical reasons alone, what with their various disputes with India. Along with most of the Muslim countries of the Middle East, the PRC protested the US’ distancing from Pakistan under the McCarthy administration. The PRC had limited options to complain, however, as the Republic of China, the nationalist regime of Chaing Kai-Shek exiled to Taiwan, was technically the ‘official’ representative of the Chinese people in the United Nations.
Regardless, the People’s Republic of China had bigger fish to fry.
Mao Zedong was dead.
“Attention: Our leader, Mao Zedong, is dead. A state of emergency has been declared by Chairman Lin Biao. Do not be alarmed. Counter-revolutionary activity will be punished. The perpetrators will be brought to justice.”
- First Bulletin of The National Emergency, September 11th, 1971.
[1] IOTL, Nixon and Kissinger fully supported Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War, and threatened the Soviets and their fellow traveler, India, with a possible nuclear escalation if there was any large-scale outside involvement.
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