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6 March 1979
At the request of the US, the @UN SC discusses “The situation in Southeast Asia & its implications for peace & security” The US wants a withdrawal of foreign forces; the Soviet Union seeks an arms embargo for🇨🇳;China stresses the limited scale of its counterattack: https://t.co/szN5Y59drm
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5 March 1979
As Cambodia’s lacks its own supplies, Vietnam has to send rice for its troops, further aggravating its prospective shortage of 3 to 4 million tons of rice this year. Vietnam also struggles to set up an effective civil administration, reports @nytimes.
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3 March 1979
Cambodian refugees return to Prey Veng on foot down Highway 1. The new government in Cambodia encourages people to return to their farms & villages from which the Khmer Rouge had expelled them. The film also shows mass graves. https://t.co/agqbNXbJZc Ha Van Lau, Vietnam’s @UN ambassador explains with maps, that Vietnam has been invaded by the Chinese on 26 points. He says Vietnamese troops are inflicting heavy casualties. Reports that Chinese forces are withdrawing are false, says Lau. https://t.co/4TfvLDMBSo
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1 March 1979
Seven Thai reporters venture into Cambodia to secure an interview with a high-ranking Khmer Rouge commander about the war. Waving a white flag, the reporters called out to a group of 10 Pol Pot soldiers a good distance away but the soldiers open fire: https://t.co/fDLiiFbQW5 Vietnam and Cambodia sign a 25-year “Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation”, similar to the one Vietnam signed with Laos in 1976 and which legalizes the presence of Vietnamese troops (currently 16 divisions) in Cambodia. https://t.co/utvLlw0Hwb Vietnam urges China to stop its “war of aggression”, the Khmer Rouge’s @UN ambassador demands a discussion of Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia at the SC; the Soviet Union says…
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28 February 1979
“We are opposed to both the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia and the Chinese invasion of Vietnam. We call for the immediate withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from Cambodia and Chinese troops from Vietnam,” says the United States State Department. In retaliation for toppling the Khmer Rouge and occupying Cambodia, China invades Vietnam with about 200,000 troops, supported by tanks in what China describes as a “counterattack” in response to Vietnamese border attacks. https://t.co/9FvghbvRxe Prince Sihanouk tells a US diplomat: “I reject China’s idea of me heading a Pol Pot government”, & outlines his preferred solution for Cambodia: A Geneva type conference, which sponsors supervised free elections, in which Pol Pot, Heng…
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27 February 1979
After small scale Khmer Rouge attacks had forced a postponement of his trip, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Van Dong arrives in PhnomPenh, where he wants to assess the new government’s aid requirements and sign treaties. https://t.co/Qy0DRMhdmt
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26 February 1979
On the first day that China could have officially announced the termination of the 1950 Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Deng Xiaoping declares that China plans a limited attack on Vietnam.🇨🇳complains to @UN that it had tried to settle disputes with negotiations: https://t.co/DOX7qDiezi
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24 February 1979
Sihanouk, speaking on a stopover in Tokyo, on way to China (“my second homeland & best friend”) says he will not cooperate with the Pol Pot regime and “not share responsibility with any side for war in my country” but will be “available” for diplomatic solutions A Thai reporter who slipped into Cambodia, says Khmer Rouge soldiers prepare to attack Ban Nimit, near the Thai border. The Khmer Rouge radio claims it killed 250 Vietnamese soldiers in various guerrilla attacks all over Cambodia – in Kratie & along Route 6 & 19. We hope foreign embassies can return to Phnom Penh “in the not too distant future”, Heng Samrin, Chairman…
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20 February 1979
Even though @UNESCAP had prepared a statement of the @UN’s legal arguments for seating the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot’s envoy Pech Bunreth failed to appear. Observers speculate the Khmer Rouge was just testing reactions with their announced intention to take their seat. Interviewing Cambodian refugees in Thai refugee camps, American diplomats conclude that despite the Fall of the Khmer Rouge most still want resettlement to third countries.
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18 February 1979
Feb.7, 1979: “China has behaved with restraint, but Vietnam must be punished for invading Cambodia,” Chinese Vice Premier Deng tells the Japanese PM. However, he stopped short of threatening direct military intervention. Washington Star reports the Soviets moved a “war fleet” off the Vietnamese coast, as China formed a potential Chinese invasion force. China amassed a force of five armies, but Vietnam’s side of the border is lightly garrisoned, as its army isfighting the Khmer Rouge