50. Editorial Note
On February 6, 1962, Philip Bridgham of the Bureau of International Security Affairs, Department of Defense, prepared a paper entitled “North Vietnam and Sino-Soviet Relations” for several officials, including the Assistant Secretary for International Security Affairs. Covering the period 1949-1961, it made the point that North Vietnam in varying degrees had cast its lot ideologically with China more than with the Soviet Union, but had tried to mediate the growing dispute between the two in 1960 and 1961. It closed with the following paragraph: [Page 102]
“In sum, North Vietnam in the years 1960-1961 achieved a new status of independence and influence within the Communist bloc. As a major beneficiary of the Sino-Soviet dispute in the form of vastly augmented economic and military assistance from both Moscow and Peiping during this period, the North Vietnamese party leadership have every reason to persist in their chosen role of mediator and neutral in the deepening conflict between the Soviet Union and Communist China.” (Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OASD/ISA Files: FRC 69 A 6214, Vietnam (North and South))