17th parallel (Vietnam)
17도선
The provisional military demarcation line that divided Vietnam under the 1954 Geneva Accords, together with the demilitarised zone on either side. Article 1 of the armistice fixed the line, regrouped the People's Army of Viet-Nam to its north and the French Union forces to its south, and created a demilitarised zone up to 5 kilometres on each side. The actual line ran along the Bến Hải River in Quảng Trị province near the 17th parallel north. It hardened into a de facto border when the 1956 reunification elections were not held and disappeared with reunification in 1976.
In depth
Article 1 of Chapter I, "Provisional military demarcation line and demilitarised zone", of the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Viet-Nam reads:
Article 1. A provisional military demarcation line shall be fixed, on either side of which the forces of the two parties shall be regrouped after their withdrawal, the forces of the People's Army of Viet-Nam to the north of the line and the forces of the French Union to the south.
The provisional military demarcation line is fixed as shown on the map attached (see map No. 1).
It is also agreed that a demilitarised zone shall be established on either side of the demarcation line, to a width of not more than 5 kilometres from it, to act as a buffer zone and avoid any incidents which might result in the resumption of hostilities.
Article 1. Une ligne de démarcation militaire provisoire sera fixée, de part et d'autre de laquelle seront, après leur repli, regroupées les forces des deux parties : les forces de l'Armée populaire du Viêt-nam au nord de cette ligne, les forces de l'Union Française au sud de cette ligne.
La ligne de démarcation militaire provisoire est fixée comme il est indiqué sur la carte jointe (voir carte n° 1).
Il est également convenu qu'une zone démilitarisée sera créée de part et d'autre de cette ligne de démarcation, à une distance de 5 kilomètres au maximum de cette ligne, pour servir de zone tampon et éviter tous incidents qui pourraient amener la reprise des hostilités.
The border between North and South was 76.1 kilometres long. It ran east in a straight line from the tripoint with Laos to the village of Bo Ho Su on the Bến Hải River and then followed the river north-east to the Gulf of Tonkin. Although called "the 17th parallel", it never actually followed that line of latitude but only straddled its general area. The forces of both sides had 300 days to move to their regroupment zones (Article 2), and the mobile teams of the International Commission for Supervision and Control watched the zone.
The Final Declaration of the Geneva Conference stated that the line was provisional and should not in any way be interpreted as a political or territorial boundary, and provided for general elections in July 1956 under international supervision. But neither the United States nor the State of Vietnam signed anything, and Ngô Đình Diệm refused to hold the elections, arguing that his government had not signed the accords and that free elections were impossible in the communist North.
After war between North and South broke out in 1955 the zone hardened into a de facto international boundary. During the Vietnam War it was the battle line between the two states; in January 1968 the intelligence staff of the US 3rd Marine Division estimated North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong strength in the DMZ area at 40,943. The border ceased to exist de facto with the fall of the South Vietnamese government in 1975 and de jure with the reunification of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on 2 July 1976. It is distinct from the 38th parallel and the demilitarised zone in Korea.