South Vietnam holds its own?

what if the Administration in the United States in power during the early 1960's decides that for whatever reason South Vietnam is not worth the trouble it presents and does not send military aid in any form, including advisors during this period and withdraws or ceases the aid already being given.

With the United States not involved I would assume this would also cause a lower amount of involvement by the USSR and China in aiding North Vietnam and the Vietcong. If that were the case, would South Vietnam be able to hold its own against the North?
 
what if the Administration in the United States in power during the early 1960's decides that for whatever reason South Vietnam is not worth the trouble it presents and does not send military aid in any form, including advisors during this period and withdraws or ceases the aid already being given.

With the United States not involved I would assume this would also cause a lower amount of involvement by the USSR and China in aiding North Vietnam and the Vietcong. If that were the case, would South Vietnam be able to hold its own against the North?

Fat chance, unless the South Vietnamese government gets its shit together.
 
South Vietnam would require no Ngo Dinh Diem as leader of South Vietnam. The problem is on that front that is Diem was the only competent enough leader to succeed even when the U.S initially wrote him off in 1954. Since there was a fear of "losing" the rest of Vietnam as it were, I don't the U.S could completely abandon the South.

If you are looking for a scenario where the U.S doesn't send troops to fight ala 1964, perhaps you can have the U.S be more stringent on aid, that if Diem doesn't clean up his act the U.S will abandon him.
 
to get SV to survive, the basic first step is to get a government that all those disparate peoples in the area can get behind... something like Tito in SE Asia. Who that would be/how that would happen? Not a clue...
 
to get SV to survive, the basic first step is to get a government that all those disparate peoples in the area can get behind... something like Tito in SE Asia. Who that would be/how that would happen? Not a clue...

Possibly former-Emperor Bảo Đại. He was tainted by his 1945 abdication, so the best POD would be to avoid that... but as a generally acceptable pro-Western leader, I think he's the best you're going to get after the French humiliation at Điện Biên Phủ.
 
what if the Administration in the United States in power during the early 1960's decides that for whatever reason South Vietnam is not worth the trouble it presents and does not send military aid in any form, including advisors during this period and withdraws or ceases the aid already being given.

With the United States not involved I would assume this would also cause a lower amount of involvement by the USSR and China in aiding North Vietnam and the Vietcong. If that were the case, would South Vietnam be able to hold its own against the North?

Just "a bit" hard.

One, Vietnamese never accept an infinite divide like that. They will wage war (politically, economically, military or all of them) to unite the country (with, or without, help/aid from USSR and/or China)

Two, around 1956 (the year the election between both regions SHOULD happen), it was known that Ho Chi Minh is very likely to win. Hence, US-backed Ngo Dinh Diem did not held any election (but no one can say anything, State of Viet Nam did not sign the Geneva Accord) that year. Instead, he (and US) rigged a convention one year earlier.
And just say that many Vietnamese find out about that.

Three, (South) Vietnamese leaders (from mid-50s to 1963) were not competent enough to hold the regime in one piece
 
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