Asia 915
Coding changes: Start Date changed from April 18, 1975.
MID#4004
Dispute Number: 4004
Date(s): January 24, 1996 to July 24, 1996
Participants: 816 Vietnam/811 Cambodia
Outcome (and Settlement): Victory for side A (Imposed)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: This dispute between Cambodia and the Republic of Vietnam followed
a year of relative cooperation by the two countries. However, on January 24, 1996,
Vietnamese troops moved into six villages in the Suay Rieng province of Cambodia,
about two to three miles inside Cambodian territory, and forced the evacuation of the
local population. The Vietnamese then set up fortifications to make their removal from
the area more difficult. Cambodia dispatched approximately 300 troops and police to
block any further advance of Vietnamese forces.
The Cambodians claimed that the actions of the Vietnamese were ploys to get the
Cambodian soldiers to open fire on them, increasing the tensions in the region. The
Cambodians also felt that this attack and subsequent occupation violated an agree-
ment that the two nations signed in Hanoi in January 1995 that stated that that the
two countries would respect the existing borders until a joint border committee could
determine the location of a permanent border. Both countries still claimed this area.
Vietnamese officials did not officially recognize that there was a dispute in the region,
but stated that if there was such a dispute, it should be settled by local officials. On
February 1, Cambodian officials announced that they would travel to Vietnam in
March in an attempt to resolve the border disputes between the countries. Until the
talks took place, the Vietnamese continued to occupy the Cambodian villages as an
imposed settlement.
Coding changes: End Date changed from January 30, 1996.
811 CAMBODIA/817 REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
MID#1214
Dispute Number: 1214
Date(s): February 1956
Participants: 817 Republic of Vietnam/811 Cambodia
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: South Vietnamese planes violated Cambodian airspace, and South Viet-
namese patrol boats seized several Cambodian fishing boats. The Cambodian presi-
dent claimed that the actions were in response to Cambodia’s refusal to join SEATO.