South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1955 to 1975, with first international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam. Its capital was located in Saigon, a city in Southern Vietnam. It was a member of the anti-communist and capitalist Western Bloc during the Cold War, especially after the division of Vietnam on 21 July 1954. South Vietnam was bordered by North Vietnam to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and Thailand across the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest. In 1975, it was succeeded by the Republic of South Vietnam, which was de facto controlled by the communist North. On 2 July 1976, South Vietnam and North Vietnam merged to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.