Between The Elephant And The Dragon 4: World War II

This is part 4 of a history series exploring the relationship between Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Winds of War

By the 1930's events taking place north of Indochina would have serious repercussions for the region for the next six decades.

The winds of war were blowing across Asia long before September 1939. Between 1904-05 Japan had inflicted an embarrassing defeat on a major European power, Russia. This new expansionist 'supernova in the east' took control of the Korean peninsula and set eyes on China, moving in from 1931 and arguably beginning the Second World War following the 'Marco Polo Bridge Incident' and Japanese capture of Beijing, Shanghai and the Chinese capital of Nanjing in 1937 .

The Chinese Community

The 19^th and early 20^th century had seen massive upheaval in China, rebellions, war and famine finally ended the 2000 year old Qing dynasty in 1912. A mass exodus of Chinese, mostly young men, spread across the whole Pacific region during this period.

A 1937 French census showed there were almost 10 times as many Chinese immigrants in Indochina than there were French-born.

Follow the story at https://cne.wtf/2020/05/01/between-the-elephant-and-the-dragon-4-world-war-ii/

Between The Elephant And The Dragon 3
https://khmerlife.com/between-the-elephant-and-dragon-part-3-indochina/