France was just keeping up with European traditions at the time, the usual colonies: Britain's America, Australia; France and Spain's America; Germany, Belgium, Portugal's Africa; Britain's India; etc.
Japan was engaged with conquests, which required "stepping stones"; Indochina was one of them. Japan was moving rapidly in nearly all directions, as was Germany; North (Alaska), South towards Australia, and west towards India (they were stopped in India at Imphal).
Indochina was but a base for future campaigns (operations). Example: The British battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse were both sunk from Japanese bombers which took off from airfields located in the former "South Vietnam."
Bottom line: France was for prestige and financial gain (Colonies=business ventures). Japan was for conquest expansion. Although, it should be noted that with any conquest, from any nation; Rome, Ghengis Khan, Attila the Hun, Napoleon, Hitler, North Korea, etc. "prestige & riches (financial gain)" are automatically inherent to those conquests."
China, France, Japan; in that order.
France and Japan.
Chiang Kai-shek wanted to gain political concessions from France.
Japan wanted to control China for land and natural resources. The Japanese thought they were the "superrace" and wanted other countries to fear them.
haung he
China controlled Vietnam and after a little bit of warfare, relinquished their control to France during the 1860's.
Just before the Vietnam Conflict, Vietnam was a colony under French rule. Before that time, China had control over much of Eastern and Southeastern Asia.
China, France, Japan; in that order.
France and Japan.
France, China, Japan and the US have all attempted to control Vietnam, I'm sure there are others.
China, France, Japan; in that order.
Did france loose the Vietnam war?
Chiang Kai-shek wanted to gain political concessions from France.
China, France, Japan...then the Vietnam War involving the US.
France ran Vietnam as a colony before the First Indo-China War in the early 1950's . Vietnam gained independence in 1954.
During World War II, Japan controlled the Northern Marianas including Guam, Cambodia, Korea, Laos, Vietnam, and part of China. They wanted to control them-and they did.
in ww2 they fought and wanted freadom