Kampuchea in 1982: Political and Military Escalation

Abstract

THE LARGEST SERIES of Vietnamese military actions in Kampuchea since 1979 marked the December 1981-April 1982 dry season. The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) tried to pin down and destroy large elements of Khmer resistance forces or, at least, force them to flee into Thailand. The PAVN regained the initiative, limiting both Khmer Rouge and noncommunist resistance actions, but failed in its larger goals. Politically and diplomatically the resistance held the initiative, fulfilling the promise of their September 1981 tripartite decision in principle to create a coalition government. The Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK) was formed on June 22, 1982. Prince Norodom Sihanouk, once again Chief of State of Cambodia, proclaimed the coalition government's existence on July 9, 1982, during his visit to Thailand and to resistance bases in western Cambodia. The new body was given an enhanced victory on the issue of Cambodian credentials at the UN General Assembly by opponents of Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia. It ensured an even wider margin of support for the General Assembly resolution of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to return peace, independence, and self-determination to Cambodia. The need for massive food relief to Khmer living in zones controlled by PAVN and the Vietnamese-created People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) ended. But questions of serious malnutrition among children and