tension in asia

• The early tensions which developed in Europe after the Second World War led to the superpowers supporting opposite sides in various conflicts in Asia, including Korea, China, and Vietnam.
• Korea was divided into North and South in 1948, with the U.S. supporting the anti-communist South and the Soviet Union supporting the communist North.
• In 1950, North Korea invaded the South, leading to the Korean War, which was the first example where the invasion between East and West were played out in physical conflict.
• Both the superpowers used the Korean War to experiment with their new weapons, such as advanced jet aircrafts and faster tanks, and the war quickly became a stalemate, leading to a peace treaty being signed in 1953.
• Between 1945 and 1954, Vietnam was under control by France, but the group of communist fighters known as the Vietcong rebelled against the French rule.
• The United States provided financial aid to France to fight the communists in 1954, leading to the French removing their control in Vietnam and temporarily dividing the country into North and South.
• The U.S. continued to send aid to the anti-communist South Vietnam, while the North was supported by the Soviet Union and China.