The Kampuchean‑Vietnamese Conflict

Abstract

. Introduction On 31 December 1977 Radio Phnom Penh denounced as an aggressor what it termed the so-called Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV). It alleged the SRV had expan sionist designs on Kampuchean territory, and plans to incorporate Kampuchea into a Vietnamese controlled Indochina Federation (Phnom Penh Radio [hereafter PP], 30 December 1977 [GMT]). The broadcast came at a time when elements of eight divi sions of the Vietnam Peoples Army (VPA), operating with co-ordinated air, armour and artillery support, were engaged in vicious fighting with the Kampuchean Revolu tionary Army on Kampuchean territory (Los Angeles Times [hereafter LAT], 10 January 1978). This large scale bottle was only the culmination of an escalatory spiral of armed clashes that had in fact begun during the time of these two armies' against the U.S. and its client r?gimes in Kampuchea and Vietnam. The had continued sporadically, but with ever-increasing scope and intensity, since the victo ries of Vietnam and Kampuchea over these enemies in April 1975. In his statement, Khieu Samphan announced a temporary suspension of Kampuchean diplomatic rela tions with Vietnam and exhorted Kampuchean armed forces to fight a people s war to throw back the Vietnamese. It was obvious from Khieu Samphans 31 December statement that, although a border conflict was a crucial element of the hostilities, more fundamental issues revolving around the nature of the proper relationship between Kampuchea and Vietnam as communist and Indochinese states and of these two countries' relations with other communist as well as noncommunist states were also deeply involved. Indeed, it seems that, although the border conflict was a critical irritant that even tually sparked an explosion, the more basic issues of the subsequent were to be found elsewhere: in the contradictions between two very different models of revolution and two very different views of the world scene, and against a background of conflict ing interest between two communist movements originating in different historical eras and operating in different socio-economic and political settings. These problems created profound suspicions that exacerbated the border conflict and transformed it into a violent struggle for survival, especially in the case of Kampuchea.