Quest to Transform Southeast Asia } 231
rising tide of revolution in Southeast Asia would encourage Chinese to “make
revolution” in China by struggling against hidden revisionists who wanted
to “take the capitalist road.” The image of the fire of revolution spreading
at China’s doorstep would help inspire Chinese to overcome the setbacks of
the Great Leap Forward and participate, instead, in the ideological revival of
China’s revolutionary élan.
Still another way to look at the thirty-year-long contest outlined in this
chapter is as a struggle by two great powers, the People’s Republic of China
and the United States of America, to direct the development of Southeast Asia
along lines compatible with their values and interests. US strategists envi-
sioned a community of liberal, democratic, and capitalist states friendly to
the United States. PRC strategists envisioned a community of Leninist pro-
letarian dictatorships building socialism and moving toward a transition to
communism.