The memoir of Trần Quang Cơ (1927-2015), former member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), brings to light the intense diplomacy among great powers and regional players over the continued conflicts in Indochina after the unification of Vietnam as well as the bitter disagreements within the Vietnamese leadership over the country’s political priorities during the period of 1975-1993.

Cơ put together his memories and thoughts on “many sensitive developments” in Vietnamese foreign relations that he believed had been “intentionally or unintentionally” forgotten (rơi rụng) in the state-endorsed history “to ‘smooth over’ (tròn trĩnh) the historical record.”  Completed in Vietnamese in 2001 (updated in 2003) and informally circulated on the internet, Merle Pribbenow’s English-translation makes this valuable historical source available to wider audiences.

Zhou Enlai and Pham Van Dong discuss North Vietnam's support for revolutions in South Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos.

Zhou Enlai and Ho Chi Minh discuss preparations for the second Asian-African Conference and the potential participation of countries such as the Soviet Union, Malaysia, and India.

Deng and Tanaka discuss Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, and ASEAN, among other subjects.

Deng and Ohira discuss developments in Indochina and on the Korean Peninsula, as well as relations with the United States.

Deng Xiaoping and Fukuda Takeo discuss Sino-Japanese relations, the Soviet Union, Vietnam, and Soviet-American negotiations over nuclear weapons.

Conversation between the East German and Soviet ambassadors to Vietnam, on the Sino-Vietnamese relationship. Shcherbakov expresses his belief that China is increasingly using Vietnam as a pawn, and that, as a result, the Chinese are pushing the Vietnamese towards talks of negotiations with the United States.

Instructions to Soviet ambassadors discussing the growing military cooperation between China and the United States.