Triangular diplomacy
In political science, triangular diplomacy is a foreign policy of the United States, developed during the Vietnam War (1955–1975) by Henry Kissinger, as a means to manage relations between the contesting communist powers, the Soviet Union and China.
[1]” Conceived in a period of American political weakness, Kissinger's doctrine argues that foreign policy needed to rely on a combination of diplomacy and military power in order to bring benefits to all relevant players, and subsequently ensure international stability.
[4] Entering into the White House during the height of the Vietnam War, one of Kissinger's primary intentions with his policy was to gain Soviet and Chinese assistance in softening North Vietnamese troops, and withdrawing from the conflict with dignity.
[6] The first instance of this rapprochement and the beginnings of triangular diplomacy within US policy is reflected in a 14 August 1969 National Security meeting, in which Nixon positioned his intentions to victimise China within the Sino-Soviet split and seek to offer assistance.
Historian Raymond Garthoff argues that triangular diplomacy held a significant bearing on the settlement of the Vietnam War,[10] whilst Jussi Hanhimäki contends that the policy played a critical role in bringing about changes in North Vietnamese negotiation strategy.
[12][13] He reasoned that it was better for the United States “to be closer to either Moscow or Peking than either was to the other.”[14]Key outcomes of triangular diplomacy during this period include the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT), the signing of the Shanghai Communiqué and the Camp David Accords.
[16] The signing of the 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship represented a diplomatic effort by Russia and China to strengthen their position in their dealings with the United States, and marked a return to the triangular diplomacy.
[citation needed] The foreign policy of the Trump administration has found similarities with that of triangular diplomacy; in particular, regarding American involvement in the Asia-Pacific region in an attempt to balance out the power of China.
[25] Washington Post writer Marc Thiessen argues that this is to be achieved through free trade agreement and upgrading the state's political representation, following Trump's unstable position regarding the One China policy.
[28] Hence, reflecting the formation of a coalition between the United States and China in response to the growing power of the Soviet Union within the Vietnamese sphere, in order to achieve a level of global stability through détente.
