(28 Feb 1979) RR7909A CHINA AND VIETNAM THE BORDER WAR In mid-February 1979 fighting between two Communist countries, China and Vietnam, had reached border war proportions. Behind the conflict: a history of worsening relations dating back to the end of the Vietnam war when Vietnam moved closer towards an alliance with the Soviet Union. More seeds were sown when Vietnam was instrumental in the overthrow of the Maoist "Khmer Rouge" regime in neighbouring Cambodia. Ostensibly in retaliaion for