Vietnamese border raids in Thailand

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Vietnamese border raids in Thailand
Part of the Cambodian–Vietnamese War and the Cold War
Date1979–1989
Location
Result
  • Destruction of numerous guerrilla bases and refugee camps along the Thai–Cambodian border
  • Isolated outbreaks of open hostility between Vietnamese and Thai troops
  • Withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from the border in 1989
Belligerents
Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam
Flag of the People's Republic of Kampuchea.svg People's Republic of Kampuchea (1979–89)
Flag of the State of Cambodia.svg State of Cambodia (1989)

Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand
Flag of Democratic Kampuchea.svg CGDK [1]

Commanders and leaders
Flag of Vietnam.svg Lê Duẩn
Flag of Vietnam.svg Trường Chinh
Flag of Vietnam.svg Võ Nguyên Giáp
Flag of the People's Republic of Kampuchea.svgFlag of the State of Cambodia.svg Heng Samrin
Flag of the People's Republic of Kampuchea.svgFlag of the State of Cambodia.svg Hun Sen
Flag of Thailand.svg Bhumibol Adulyadej
Flag of Thailand.svg Prem Tinsulanonda
Flag of Thailand.svg Chavalit Yongchaiyudh
Flag of the Khmer Republic.svg Son Sann
Flag of Democratic Kampuchea.svg Son Sen
Flag of Democratic Kampuchea.svg Pol Pot
Flag of Democratic Kampuchea.svg Khieu Samphan
Flag of Democratic Kampuchea.svg Ieng Sary
Flag of Democratic Kampuchea.svg Nuon Chea
Flag of Cambodia.svg Norodom Sihanouk
Flag of Cambodia.svg Norodom Ranariddh
Casualties and losses
~1,000–3,000[ citation needed ] ~5,500–8,000[ citation needed ]

After the 1978 Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia and subsequent collapse of Democratic Kampuchea in 1979, the Khmer Rouge fled to the border regions of Thailand, and, with assistance from China, Pol Pot's troops managed to regroup and reorganize in forested and mountainous zones on the Thai-Cambodian border. During the 1980s and early 1990s Khmer Rouge forces operated from inside refugee camps in Thailand, in an attempt to de-stabilize the pro-Hanoi People's Republic of Kampuchea's government, which Thailand refused to recognise. Thailand and Vietnam faced off across the Thai-Cambodian border with frequent Vietnamese incursions and shellings into Thai territory throughout the 1980s in pursuit of Cambodian guerrillas who kept attacking Vietnamese occupation forces.

Contents

Causes

Border camps hostile to the People's Republic of Kampuchea; 1979-1984. Cambodia anti-PRK border camps.png
Border camps hostile to the People's Republic of Kampuchea; 1979–1984.

Thailand's suspicion of Vietnamese long-term objectives and fear of Vietnamese support for an internal Thai communist insurgency movement led the Thai government to support United States objectives in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. [2]

In 1973 a new civilian government in Thailand created a chance for some degree of reconciliation with North Vietnam, when it proposed to remove United States military forces from Thai soil and adopt a more neutralist stance. [2] Hanoi responded by sending a delegation to Bangkok, but talks broke down before any progress in improving relations could be made. [2] Discussions resumed in August 1976, after Hanoi had defeated the South Vietnamese and united the country under its rule. [2] They resulted in a call for an exchange of ambassadors and for an opening of negotiations on trade and economic co-operation, but a military coup in October 1976 ushered in a new Thai government less sympathetic to the Vietnamese communists. [2] Contact was resumed briefly in May 1977, when Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos held a conference to discuss resuming work on the Mekong Development Project, a major cooperative effort that had been halted by the Vietnam War. [2] Beginning in December 1978, however, the conflict in Cambodia dominated diplomatic exchanges, and seasonal Vietnamese military offensives that included incursions across the Thai border and numerous Thai casualties particularly strained the relationship. [2]

In 1979, in retaliation for constant border raids on Vietnam’s border, Bangkok allied itself with the genocidal Khmer Rouge, an adversary of Vietnam, and looked to Beijing for security assistance. [2] Thailand's actions hardened Hanoi's attitude toward Bangkok. [2] As the ASEAN member most vulnerable to a hypothetical Vietnamese attack [2] for having given shelter to the Khmer Rouge in camps within its territory, [3] Thailand was foremost among the ASEAN partners opposing Vietnam's 1978 invasion of Cambodia. [2]

Refugee camps on the Cambodia-Thailand border allowed the growth of several anti-Vietnamese guerrilla organizations dedicated to regaining power in Cambodia. In addition to the Khmer Rouge armed forces (known as the NADK), the MOULINAKA, the KPNLF and its armed forces, the KPNLAF, and the Armée Nationale Sihanoukiste supporting Norodom Sihanouk all recruited and trained troops in the border refugee camps, striking at Vietnamese military targets. Because Thailand was offering protection to these groups, the Vietnamese felt justified in attacking Thai military units as well as the refugee camps, which they shelled and assaulted with disregard to the safety of civilian refugees and international humanitarian aid workers. [4] Between 1986 and 1989, the Vietnamese enacted the K5 Plan, a massive network of trenches, wire fences, and minefields along the length of the Cambodia-Thailand border. [5]

Timeline

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

See also

Notes

  1. since 1982, the KR, the KPNLF and the ANS formed the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Cima, Ronald J. (1989). "Foreign relations: Thailand". In Cima, Ronald J. (ed.). Vietnam: a country study. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. p. 231. OCLC   40294997. PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  3. Puangthong Rungswasdisab, Thailand's Response to the Cambodian Genocide
  4. Shawcross W. The Quality of Mercy: Cambodia, Holocaust, and Modern Conscience. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984
  5. French LC. Enduring Holocaust, Surviving History: Displaced Cambodians on the Thai-Camobodian Border, 1989-1991. Harvard University, 1994, pp. 176-77.
  6. "Cambodia Refugee Crisis: History". Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  7. Pilger, John, Heroes, South End Press, Cambridge, MA, 2001, p. 421
  8. "Thai / Cambodian Border Refugee Camps History" . Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  9. Henry Kamm, New York Times, 24 June 1980, cites Associated Press figures of 130 Thai soldiers, 72 Vietnamese, and up to 400 refugees killed; Time Magazine, 7 July 1980 claims 22 Thais killed and 100 Vietnamese.
  10. Mason L, Brown R. Rice, Rivalry and Politics: Managing Cambodian Relief. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1983, p. 76.
  11. "Star-News - Google News Archive Search". Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  12. ""Courage that Spelt Relief for the Starving," Coventry Evening Telegraph, March 10, 1981". Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  13. Vietnam Said to Seize Photographers and Relief Workers at Thai Border; U.S. Envoy Asks Halt Border Is Reported Crossed Repatriation Is Denounced, 27 June 1980, Friday; Page A6, 647 words
  14. "Spokane Daily Chronicle - Google News Archive Search" . Retrieved 27 June 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  15. Thais Report 2 Troops Slain Repelling Vietnamese Force, UPI, Published: 4 January 1981
  16. Thai Troops Placed on Alert After Raid by Vietnamese, UPI, Published: Monday, 5 January 1981
  17. Vietnam Attacks Thai Plane, UPI, Published: 21 October 1982
  18. Van der Kroeff, J. "Refugees and Rebels: Dimensions of the Thai-Kampuchean Border Conflict", Asian Affairs, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Spring. 1983), pp. 19–36.
  19. 1 2 "Vietnam Troops Attack Cambodia Refugee Camp", Reuters, Tuesday, 1 February 1983.
  20. The Bangkok Post, 1 April 1983, quoted in Justus van der Kroef, "Kampuchea: Southeast Asia's Flashpoint", Parameters, Journal of the US Army War College, Spring 1984, p. 62.
  21. "THAIS SAY VIETNAM RAIDS CAMBODIANS". No. April 1, 1983. Arthur Ochs "Punch" Sulzberger Sr. New York Times. 1 April 1983. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  22. "Vietnamese Battle Thais", AP, Sunday, 3 April 1983
  23. Kenneth Conboy, The NVA and Viet Cong, (1992) p. 29.
  24. "Vietnam Moves Troops Into Thai Border Area", Reuters, Tuesday, 27 December 1983
  25. Kampuchea Between China and Vietnam, p. 153
  26. Asia: Non-PC Crises, p. 557
  27. Conboy, p. 29.
  28. "Vietnamese Attack Cambodian Rebel Base", Reuters, Sunday, 15 April 1984
  29. "Kampuchean Villagers Flee for Shelter", Xinhua Radio News, Beijing, August 10, 1984, 14:31 GMT.
  30. "Thai Border Police Capture Vietnamese Soldiers", Bangkok Post, 29 October 1984, Section A.
  31. Another source cited 3 killed and 31 wounded.Thai/Cambodian Border History
  32. "Thailand Sends Troops To Counter Vietnamese", Reuters, 7 November 1984
  33. "Rebels at Nong Chan Hold Out: Assault by Vietnamese Troops on the Kampuchean Resistance Base", The Guardian, 26 November 1984.
  34. "Vietnamese Suffer Heavy Casualties Near Nong Chan," Xinhua General News Service, 10 December 1984.
  35. "Site K" . Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  36. "VIETNAM ATTACKS CAMBODIAN REBELS NEAR THAI BORDER," Associated Press, 25 December 1984.
  37. "In Cambodia the Resistance Goes On", Letter to the Editor by Sichan Siv, The New York Times, 18 January 1985.
  38. Sichan Siv, 1985.
  39. "Southeast Asia dry-Season Rite", Time, Jan. 7, 1985
  40. "Vietnam Tries to Split Kampuchea Resistance", Christian Science Monitor, 28 December 1984 p. 1.
  41. "Cambodian Rebels Await Major Push by Viet Troops", LA Times, 7 January 1985, p. 10.
  42. "A Rebel Camp in Cambodia Awaits Attack," New York Times, 6 January 1985, p. 1.
  43. "Cambodian Rebels Reported Under Heavy Viet Shelling," LA Times, 4 January 1985, p. 13.
  44. "KPNLF says Vietnamese Using Suffocant Gas", Bangkok World, 4 January 1985, p. 1.
  45. "Ampil's State of Siege," Newsweek, 14 January 1985.
  46. "Fighting at Samet Continues", Bangkok Post, 30 December 1984, p. 1.
  47. "CAMBODIAN REBELS BATTLE HANOI'S TROOPS FOR 7TH DAY", New York Times, Barbara Crossette, 1 January 1985
  48. "Vietnamese battle Cambodians as Thais Prepare Protest", Daily News, 3 January 1985, p. 10A
  49. One source states that 12 tanks and 20 APCs were used in the assault: "Vietnamese Troops Overrun Key Cambodia Rebel Base", William Branigin, The Washington Post, 9 January 1985, p. A1.
  50. "Hanoi Deals Blow to Guerrilla Camp," Paul Quinn-Judge, Christian Science Monitor, 8 January 1985, p. 9.
  51. "Guerrilla Losses are more Military than Political," Paul Quinn-Judge, Christian Science Monitor, 8 January 1985, p. 9.
  52. 1 2 "Guerrillas Rally after Rout by Viets", Chicago Tribune, 9 January 1985, p. 3.
  53. "Vietnamese Attack Cambodia Camp," Barabara Crossette, New York Times, 8 January 1985, p. A1.
  54. 1 2 "Hanoi Goes for the Jugular", Newsweek, 21 January 1985, p. 8.
  55. From Reuters, 8 January 1985.
  56. "Vietnamese Troops Shell Sanror Changan," Xinhua General Overseas News Service,27 January 1985, Item No: 012734.
  57. "Vietnamese Attack Cambodian Rebel Camp", Reuters, 26 January 1985.
  58. "Sihanouk Rejects Offer of Talks With Cambodian Regime", Peter Eng, Associated Press, 31 January 1985, Thursday, AM cycle.
  59. "Viets Accused of Using Gas Against Rebels", Associated Press, 19 February 1985.
  60. "Vietnamese Troops Battle Rebel Resistance", Associated Press, 18 February 1985, AM cycle
  61. "Thais Report a Clash with Vietnamese Troops", Associated Press, 20 February 1985.
  62. "Vietnamese and Thais Battle on the Border", AP, Thursday, 21 February 1985
  63. US Department of State Bulletin, July 1985
  64. "Thais Strike by Air and Ground Against Intruding Viet Forces", Los Angeles Times, 7 March 1985, p. 19.
  65. "THAI FORCES CLASH WITH VIETNAM (Published 1985)". The New York Times. 7 March 1985. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021.
  66. "Thai Forces Still Trying to Drive Back Vietnam Troops; 3 Hills Retaken" 8 March 1985, Washington Post
  67. "Thais Kill Vietnam Soldier", UPI, Published: 6 April 1985
  68. 1 2 3 "Thai Jets, Artillery Pound Viet Intruders". Los Angeles Times. 12 May 1985. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  69. "Thai Troops Force Vietnamese Soldiers Out", UPI, 17 May 1985
  70. "Vietnamese Force Kills 5 Thai Soldiers", REUTERS, 26 May 1985
  71. "Thai-Vietnamese Clash", UPI, 13 June 1985
  72. 1 2 "Vietnamese Artillery Kills 3 at Thai Post", UPI, Saturday, 25 January 1986
  73. "Stop Backing Rebels, Vietnamese Tell Thais" Los Angeles Times
  74. "2 Thai Deals Enlarge China's Asian Arms" Role Los Angeles Times
  75. "Thai Border Clash", New York Times Saturday, 30 May 1987
  76. "Thailand - Potential External Threats" . Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  77. "4 Thais Killed in Border Clash with Vietnamese" Los Angeles Times
  78. VIETNAM SHELLS THAI VILLAGE.
  79. "38 Killed, 42 Wounded in Fierce Thai Border Clash" Los Angeles Times

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