Hi! I am currently writing an alternate history timeline in which the KMT defeated the Communists and re-united China (including Taiwan and the Diaoyu Islands but not Mongolia and Tuva). In this timeline, Tibet is a Chinese protectorate, as China chose to vassalize Tibet instead of annexing it.
Timeline of the Drug Wars of Southeast Asia (1949-1973):
1949: As the KMT hunted down the remaining Communist loyalists in China, a large group of Communist guerillas covertly fled to the Shan States of Burma, then a disorganized and divided Republic. It was just like the long march, albeit the KMT was so focused on defeating the Northern Communists that they somehow managed to ignore the large caravan of Communist fighters trekking south.
1952: During a failed invasion of Yunnan, the remaining Communist forces were decimated by the hardened KMT Army, who had just finished fighting in Korea against the Korean Communists from 1950 to 1951. Disorganized and crumbling, the leadership of the CCP remnants gathered the remaining loyal supporters to discuss plans for revenge against Chiang's regime. Recognizing a need to make money to survive, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) remnants started growing opium in the hills of Shan state. Moreover, the CCP remnants received covert funding from the USSR to punish China and its allies for the destruction of the DPRK.
1953: As time passed, an increasingly noticeable problem was growing in Kunming. Opium dens, as vile as they were, started appearing like sore pimples throughout Yunnan and Guangxi, especially in the capital of Yunnan, Kunming. Recognizing a potential threat, the KMT started increasing their patrols at the Burmese-Chinese border, especially near the Burma Road. Moreover, the KMT also launched a wide crackdown on opium in Southern China to rid China of drug addicts. Rumors like the urban legend of a gigantic poppy farm operated by the CCP in the Shan States spread like wildfire throughout Southern Yunnan province. However, the KMT brushed these rumors off as mere tall tales. Moreover, thousands of CCP remnants illegally crossed into Laos to join the Viet Minh in their fight against the French colonial government.
1954: After a long guerilla war, the Viet Minh won. The French public had enough of the wasteful campaign in Indochina, and support for the Republic of France was dwindling. However, Vietnam was divided into two nations, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The KMT, recognizing an opportunity, negotiated with France to allow the VNP, a KMT-loyalist party, to rule over the newly formed Republic of Vietnam. However, the US government instead negotiated to have Ngo Dinh Diem, a devout Vietnamese Catholic politician, installed as the President of the Republic of Vietnam. After long talks, it was unanimously agreed that Ngo was the best choice, albeit the KMT preferred the VNP to the Can Lao party led by the Ngo family. As a result, Ho Chi Minh and the VCP unanimously agreed to support the Viet Minh loyalists and fighters of Vietnam who quickly reformed themselves into the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, or Viet Cong for short.
1955: As the USSR was rapidly developing North Vietnam into a Communist forward operating base in Southeast Asia, Ho Chi Minh, as the main ally of the Viet Cong, agreed to supply the Viet Cong with weaponry. However, the Viet Cong ITTL was instructed by the VCP to act less aggressively until they were told to act more aggressively and brazenly in 1965, unlike OTL, because Ho Chi Minh was afraid of the Republic of China and the USA intervening in Vietnam. This means that the Vietnam War only escalated in 1965 due to Ho Chi Minh recognizing the weakness of the Republic of Vietnam after the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem ITTL in 1965 by a disgruntled Vietnamese farmer whose land was seized by Ngo.
1956: The newly independent Kingdom of Laos suddenly became a narcotics hub, once the drug cartels and gangs of the Shan states started setting up operations in the weak and disorganized Laos. Additionally, the Pathet Lao, a Laotian Communist militia, was rapidly gaining strength in Laos.
1957: Recognising a need to expand their trade, the drug cartels and gangs of the Shan states began expanding their operations from Shan state, Kachin state, Kayah state, Kayin state, and Northwestern Laos to the Northwestern provinces of Thailand. This expansion coincided with the rise of amphetamine production in Thailand which was started by local gangs who smuggled narcotics out of Thailand. To combat the growing drug trade, the Royal Thai Police purchased surplus WW2-era IJA weaponry from China to combat the local gangs in the areas surrounding Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.
1958: The drug trade was becoming a serious epidemic in Burma. However, the incompetent and corrupt Burmese government can barely stop the drug trade in Burma. At the same time, the drug cartels and gangs of Burma began growing a lucrative crop in the hills of Northeastern Burma, marijuana. Albeit illegal in Burma, Thailand, and Malaysia, Cannabis, as a narcotic, was widely used in Southern China, Laos, Cambodia, and even Vietnam. Due to this, many Southeast Asian nations noticed a surge in marijuana usage. The marijuana epidemic had even spilled over into China, which made the KMT crack down on Marijuana and officially criminalize it in 1959. As a result, Marijuana, Opium, and Amphetamines become the predominant narcotics in Asia.
1960: There were allegations that Ngo Dinh Diem was allied to a drug cartel in Burma, but these allegations were quickly crushed by the Can Lao party. Ever since 1955, the corrupt Ngo Dinh Diem had been collaborating with Vietnamese gangs that specialized in smuggling opium. Bribes consistently flowed into the Can Lao party headquarters every fortnight. ARVN scouts reported discovering marijuana fields, poppy plantations, and amphetamine labs during their anti-Communist operations. However, the narcotics-related discoveries were dismissed as Communist-led criminal activity, and the fields, plantations, and labs were destroyed as soon as they were discovered without checking for evidence. Moreover, cargo shipments filled with drugs were allowed to enter Vietnamese ports, as long as the port authority received a grand gift of tens of millions of Dongs for Tet.
1963: Khun Sa, a Burmese militia leader from Shan state, reformed his small militia into a local home guard unit that quickly gained power in Shan state. At the same time, Khun Sa started to expand his drug production and trafficking operations rapidly. As Khun Sa had received training from the CCP remnants, he and his drug cartel won dozens of battles against Burmese authority and other criminal organizations as his gang had superior training and weapons. Moreover, there were rumors of Khun Sa and other drug lords making deals with extremely wealthy European businessmen with accents that could only be found in Harbin city. Nonetheless, by 1967, Khun Sa was a powerful drug lord whose cartel was operating in Northeastern Burma, Northern Thailand, and Northeastern Laos. His cartel was unmatched, and he had CCP remnants as his allies.
1965: Ngo Dinh Diem was assassinated by a disgruntled farmer who had his land seized by the South Vietnamese government. As a result, South Vietnam fell into Chaos, with President Lyndon B. Johnson forced to support the military coup that followed suit. Although hated by many Vietnamese, Ngo Dinh Ngo Dinh Diem was the most competent leader, even if he was a corrupt and crooked politician who only cared about Catholicism, the Ngo family, and the Vietnamese Catholics. As a result, criminal activity in Vietnam skyrockets out of control due to the lack of a powerful authority to control criminal activity. Moreover, Ho Chi Minh allowed the Viet Cong to start acting more aggressively, as he recognized the weakness of the post-Ngo government of South Vietnam. With no other choice, President Johnson began escalating US troop presence in Vietnam and Laos. At the same time, the increasingly corrupt high-ranking ARVN officers began selling arms to criminals.
1967: After long talks, President Chaing Kai Shek agreed to station 500000 ROC Armed Forces personnel in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. China and the US agreed that China will focus on destroying the Pathet Lao in Laos with the help of the Royal Lao Armed Forces and US Army MACV-SOG troops, and the Khmer Rouge with the help of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. On the other hand, America, Korea (united under the ROK ITTL), Australia, and New Zealand would focus on destroying the Viet Cong in South Vietnam with the help of local militias and the ARVN. At the same time, the Laotian government managed to negotiate a deal with the KMT to crush Khun Sa's drug empire. As a result, the ROC Armed Forces stationed in Laos also helped the Royal Lao Police to combat the ever-growing presence of the drug cartels and gangs of Northwestern Laos.
1969: The Tet Offensive ITTL began during Tet in 1969, and ended with an anti-Communist forces victory in October 1969. The ROC Armed Forces managed to destroy the Khmer Rouge with the help of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, and severely weaken the Pathet Lao with the help of the Royal Lao Army, MACV-SOG, and local militias. In addition, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam, the ROK Armed Forces, and the US Armed Forces managed to kill most of the Viet Cong forces and eliminate thousands of PAVN troops who joined the fight against the anti-Communist forces. At the same time, the CIA and Juntong were spying on the USSR to figure out whether or not the USSR would intervene if Vietnam were to be invaded. The reports from the CIA and Juntong suggested a 10% chance of retaliation through conventional warfare. As a result, the anti-Communist forces planned on starting an invasion of Vietnam during the Tet of 1970 as revenge for the Tet Offensive of 1969.
1970: During Tet of 1970, the anti-Communist forces (China, USA, Laos, South Vietnam, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and the Philippines) led by China and America, invaded North Vietnam with the strategic aim of destroying the VCP. By July, the anti-Communist forces were victorious in doing so, having captured Hanoi after a joint US-Chinese naval bombardment of Haiphong. The USSR condemned the USA's actions, but it was mostly powerless to intervene in Vietnam, only managing to secure a humanitarian corridor via Nam Dinh. ITTL, the hippies were very pacifistic and were not militant at all. Therefore, they protested the war, but the anti-war movement was not very powerful, unlike OTL. As a result, Vietnam veterans were not treated as poorly as in OTL once they returned home, but they did receive hatred and harsh criticism. However, there was still a looming drug problem in America during the late 1960s and the 1970s, just like in OTL. After the capture of Hanoi, the Republic of Vietnam declared the reunification of Vietnam under the Saigon government. The Saigon government was now controlling all of Vietnam.
1971: By 1971, the Vietnam War had turned into a policing action. America began pulling out troops in 1971 after President Nixon promised to withdraw most American servicemen from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia by 1972.
1972: By 1972, the remaining Communist guerillas in Laos and South Vietnam were mostly eliminated. In 1972, China started to pull out troops. North Vietnam remained problematic, and many former Communist guerillas were joining the ever-increasing drug gangs and cartels of Southeast Asia. A tsunami of small arms flooded the black markets of Southeast Asia as a result of the Vietnam War. As a result of this influx of arms, the Union of Burma, which was still recovering from a Socialist coup attempt in 1962, had to deal with an increasing number of heavily armed and powerful gangs and cartels in its Northeastern regions. By 1972, the USA has pulled out most of its troops from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
1973: During Tet of 1973, all of the foreign anti-Communist forces have already pulled out the last of their troops from Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Laos and Cambodia received aid worth billions of Yuan from China. On the other hand, the US shipped billions of dollars worth of aid to Vietnam. At the same time, the drug crisis in Burma and Thailand was at an all-time high. Thailand and Burma worked to quash the gangs and cartels, but the gangs kept on returning, sometimes even armed to the teeth. On the other hand, Laos was making strong inroads against the gangs and cartels. Due to many Laotian police officers and soldiers being hardened by the Vietnam War, the Laotians managed to fight the cartels and gangs much more efficiently than the Thais and Burmese. Additionally, China increased the number of patrols near the Laos-China border and the Burma-China border to reduce gang activity, drug smuggling, and arms trafficking.
Timeline of the Drug Wars of Southeast Asia (1949-1973):
1949: As the KMT hunted down the remaining Communist loyalists in China, a large group of Communist guerillas covertly fled to the Shan States of Burma, then a disorganized and divided Republic. It was just like the long march, albeit the KMT was so focused on defeating the Northern Communists that they somehow managed to ignore the large caravan of Communist fighters trekking south.
1952: During a failed invasion of Yunnan, the remaining Communist forces were decimated by the hardened KMT Army, who had just finished fighting in Korea against the Korean Communists from 1950 to 1951. Disorganized and crumbling, the leadership of the CCP remnants gathered the remaining loyal supporters to discuss plans for revenge against Chiang's regime. Recognizing a need to make money to survive, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) remnants started growing opium in the hills of Shan state. Moreover, the CCP remnants received covert funding from the USSR to punish China and its allies for the destruction of the DPRK.
1953: As time passed, an increasingly noticeable problem was growing in Kunming. Opium dens, as vile as they were, started appearing like sore pimples throughout Yunnan and Guangxi, especially in the capital of Yunnan, Kunming. Recognizing a potential threat, the KMT started increasing their patrols at the Burmese-Chinese border, especially near the Burma Road. Moreover, the KMT also launched a wide crackdown on opium in Southern China to rid China of drug addicts. Rumors like the urban legend of a gigantic poppy farm operated by the CCP in the Shan States spread like wildfire throughout Southern Yunnan province. However, the KMT brushed these rumors off as mere tall tales. Moreover, thousands of CCP remnants illegally crossed into Laos to join the Viet Minh in their fight against the French colonial government.
1954: After a long guerilla war, the Viet Minh won. The French public had enough of the wasteful campaign in Indochina, and support for the Republic of France was dwindling. However, Vietnam was divided into two nations, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The KMT, recognizing an opportunity, negotiated with France to allow the VNP, a KMT-loyalist party, to rule over the newly formed Republic of Vietnam. However, the US government instead negotiated to have Ngo Dinh Diem, a devout Vietnamese Catholic politician, installed as the President of the Republic of Vietnam. After long talks, it was unanimously agreed that Ngo was the best choice, albeit the KMT preferred the VNP to the Can Lao party led by the Ngo family. As a result, Ho Chi Minh and the VCP unanimously agreed to support the Viet Minh loyalists and fighters of Vietnam who quickly reformed themselves into the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, or Viet Cong for short.
1955: As the USSR was rapidly developing North Vietnam into a Communist forward operating base in Southeast Asia, Ho Chi Minh, as the main ally of the Viet Cong, agreed to supply the Viet Cong with weaponry. However, the Viet Cong ITTL was instructed by the VCP to act less aggressively until they were told to act more aggressively and brazenly in 1965, unlike OTL, because Ho Chi Minh was afraid of the Republic of China and the USA intervening in Vietnam. This means that the Vietnam War only escalated in 1965 due to Ho Chi Minh recognizing the weakness of the Republic of Vietnam after the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem ITTL in 1965 by a disgruntled Vietnamese farmer whose land was seized by Ngo.
1956: The newly independent Kingdom of Laos suddenly became a narcotics hub, once the drug cartels and gangs of the Shan states started setting up operations in the weak and disorganized Laos. Additionally, the Pathet Lao, a Laotian Communist militia, was rapidly gaining strength in Laos.
1957: Recognising a need to expand their trade, the drug cartels and gangs of the Shan states began expanding their operations from Shan state, Kachin state, Kayah state, Kayin state, and Northwestern Laos to the Northwestern provinces of Thailand. This expansion coincided with the rise of amphetamine production in Thailand which was started by local gangs who smuggled narcotics out of Thailand. To combat the growing drug trade, the Royal Thai Police purchased surplus WW2-era IJA weaponry from China to combat the local gangs in the areas surrounding Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.
1958: The drug trade was becoming a serious epidemic in Burma. However, the incompetent and corrupt Burmese government can barely stop the drug trade in Burma. At the same time, the drug cartels and gangs of Burma began growing a lucrative crop in the hills of Northeastern Burma, marijuana. Albeit illegal in Burma, Thailand, and Malaysia, Cannabis, as a narcotic, was widely used in Southern China, Laos, Cambodia, and even Vietnam. Due to this, many Southeast Asian nations noticed a surge in marijuana usage. The marijuana epidemic had even spilled over into China, which made the KMT crack down on Marijuana and officially criminalize it in 1959. As a result, Marijuana, Opium, and Amphetamines become the predominant narcotics in Asia.
1960: There were allegations that Ngo Dinh Diem was allied to a drug cartel in Burma, but these allegations were quickly crushed by the Can Lao party. Ever since 1955, the corrupt Ngo Dinh Diem had been collaborating with Vietnamese gangs that specialized in smuggling opium. Bribes consistently flowed into the Can Lao party headquarters every fortnight. ARVN scouts reported discovering marijuana fields, poppy plantations, and amphetamine labs during their anti-Communist operations. However, the narcotics-related discoveries were dismissed as Communist-led criminal activity, and the fields, plantations, and labs were destroyed as soon as they were discovered without checking for evidence. Moreover, cargo shipments filled with drugs were allowed to enter Vietnamese ports, as long as the port authority received a grand gift of tens of millions of Dongs for Tet.
1963: Khun Sa, a Burmese militia leader from Shan state, reformed his small militia into a local home guard unit that quickly gained power in Shan state. At the same time, Khun Sa started to expand his drug production and trafficking operations rapidly. As Khun Sa had received training from the CCP remnants, he and his drug cartel won dozens of battles against Burmese authority and other criminal organizations as his gang had superior training and weapons. Moreover, there were rumors of Khun Sa and other drug lords making deals with extremely wealthy European businessmen with accents that could only be found in Harbin city. Nonetheless, by 1967, Khun Sa was a powerful drug lord whose cartel was operating in Northeastern Burma, Northern Thailand, and Northeastern Laos. His cartel was unmatched, and he had CCP remnants as his allies.
1965: Ngo Dinh Diem was assassinated by a disgruntled farmer who had his land seized by the South Vietnamese government. As a result, South Vietnam fell into Chaos, with President Lyndon B. Johnson forced to support the military coup that followed suit. Although hated by many Vietnamese, Ngo Dinh Ngo Dinh Diem was the most competent leader, even if he was a corrupt and crooked politician who only cared about Catholicism, the Ngo family, and the Vietnamese Catholics. As a result, criminal activity in Vietnam skyrockets out of control due to the lack of a powerful authority to control criminal activity. Moreover, Ho Chi Minh allowed the Viet Cong to start acting more aggressively, as he recognized the weakness of the post-Ngo government of South Vietnam. With no other choice, President Johnson began escalating US troop presence in Vietnam and Laos. At the same time, the increasingly corrupt high-ranking ARVN officers began selling arms to criminals.
1967: After long talks, President Chaing Kai Shek agreed to station 500000 ROC Armed Forces personnel in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. China and the US agreed that China will focus on destroying the Pathet Lao in Laos with the help of the Royal Lao Armed Forces and US Army MACV-SOG troops, and the Khmer Rouge with the help of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. On the other hand, America, Korea (united under the ROK ITTL), Australia, and New Zealand would focus on destroying the Viet Cong in South Vietnam with the help of local militias and the ARVN. At the same time, the Laotian government managed to negotiate a deal with the KMT to crush Khun Sa's drug empire. As a result, the ROC Armed Forces stationed in Laos also helped the Royal Lao Police to combat the ever-growing presence of the drug cartels and gangs of Northwestern Laos.
1969: The Tet Offensive ITTL began during Tet in 1969, and ended with an anti-Communist forces victory in October 1969. The ROC Armed Forces managed to destroy the Khmer Rouge with the help of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, and severely weaken the Pathet Lao with the help of the Royal Lao Army, MACV-SOG, and local militias. In addition, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam, the ROK Armed Forces, and the US Armed Forces managed to kill most of the Viet Cong forces and eliminate thousands of PAVN troops who joined the fight against the anti-Communist forces. At the same time, the CIA and Juntong were spying on the USSR to figure out whether or not the USSR would intervene if Vietnam were to be invaded. The reports from the CIA and Juntong suggested a 10% chance of retaliation through conventional warfare. As a result, the anti-Communist forces planned on starting an invasion of Vietnam during the Tet of 1970 as revenge for the Tet Offensive of 1969.
1970: During Tet of 1970, the anti-Communist forces (China, USA, Laos, South Vietnam, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and the Philippines) led by China and America, invaded North Vietnam with the strategic aim of destroying the VCP. By July, the anti-Communist forces were victorious in doing so, having captured Hanoi after a joint US-Chinese naval bombardment of Haiphong. The USSR condemned the USA's actions, but it was mostly powerless to intervene in Vietnam, only managing to secure a humanitarian corridor via Nam Dinh. ITTL, the hippies were very pacifistic and were not militant at all. Therefore, they protested the war, but the anti-war movement was not very powerful, unlike OTL. As a result, Vietnam veterans were not treated as poorly as in OTL once they returned home, but they did receive hatred and harsh criticism. However, there was still a looming drug problem in America during the late 1960s and the 1970s, just like in OTL. After the capture of Hanoi, the Republic of Vietnam declared the reunification of Vietnam under the Saigon government. The Saigon government was now controlling all of Vietnam.
1971: By 1971, the Vietnam War had turned into a policing action. America began pulling out troops in 1971 after President Nixon promised to withdraw most American servicemen from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia by 1972.
1972: By 1972, the remaining Communist guerillas in Laos and South Vietnam were mostly eliminated. In 1972, China started to pull out troops. North Vietnam remained problematic, and many former Communist guerillas were joining the ever-increasing drug gangs and cartels of Southeast Asia. A tsunami of small arms flooded the black markets of Southeast Asia as a result of the Vietnam War. As a result of this influx of arms, the Union of Burma, which was still recovering from a Socialist coup attempt in 1962, had to deal with an increasing number of heavily armed and powerful gangs and cartels in its Northeastern regions. By 1972, the USA has pulled out most of its troops from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
1973: During Tet of 1973, all of the foreign anti-Communist forces have already pulled out the last of their troops from Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Laos and Cambodia received aid worth billions of Yuan from China. On the other hand, the US shipped billions of dollars worth of aid to Vietnam. At the same time, the drug crisis in Burma and Thailand was at an all-time high. Thailand and Burma worked to quash the gangs and cartels, but the gangs kept on returning, sometimes even armed to the teeth. On the other hand, Laos was making strong inroads against the gangs and cartels. Due to many Laotian police officers and soldiers being hardened by the Vietnam War, the Laotians managed to fight the cartels and gangs much more efficiently than the Thais and Burmese. Additionally, China increased the number of patrols near the Laos-China border and the Burma-China border to reduce gang activity, drug smuggling, and arms trafficking.
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