The
Republic of China (ROC), commonly known as "Nationalist China" or "Taiwan", supported
South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
. Both were
anti-communist Asian nations fighting against rival communist regimes, the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
North Vietnam
North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...
(Democratic Republic of Vietnam).
From November 1967, the ROC secretly operated a cargo transport detachment to assist the US and the ROV. It was based on existing formation of the 34th squadron of ROC Air force. The unit's strength included two cargo aircraft, seven flight officers and two mechanics, even though a higher number of military personnel was involved through rotation. It was tasked with air transportation, airdrop and electronic reconnaissance. Some 25 members of the unit were killed, among them 17 pilots and co-pilots, and three aircraft were lost. Other ROC involvement in Vietnam included a secret listening station, special reconnaissance and raiding squads, military advisers and civilian airline operations (which cost a further two aircraft due to Vietnamese individually operated AA missiles).
The ROC also provided military training units for the South Vietnamese diving units. The ROC trained units would eventually become the Lien Doi Nguoi Nhai (LDMN) or ''Frogman unit'' in English.
In addition to the diving trainers there were several hundred military personnel.
Military commandos from the ROC were captured by communist forces three times, on 16 July 1961, July 1963 and again on 23 October 1963, trying to infiltrate North Vietnam.
17 commandos were made prisoners during this time.
The island of Taiwan was a popular
R&R location for US military service members.
See also
*
Kuomintang in Burma
References
Bibliography
*
{{VietnamWar-stub
Vietnam War
Taiwan–Vietnam relations
South Vietnam–Taiwan relations
Military history of Taiwan
Foreign relations of Taiwan