“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…

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

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

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…

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.

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

In a letter to @UN SC, Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister IENG Sary claims that the KR government and army are still functioning and that Vietnam “can not exercise control over even 10,000 people” and alleges massacres, rape & the looting of Angkor Wat by the Vietnamese. https://t.co/TJ5FOnSMD0

Broadcasting from China, Khmer Rouge radio quotes KR officials commanding “each guerrilla unit to kill 3 Vietnamese a day” and highlighting various guerrilla tactics (1). The Salvation Front’s SPK agency meanwhile called for “redoubled vigilance” against the KR. (2) https://t.co/Pco02jYO1A A Thai news reporter crosses into Cambodia from Tapraya district & walks to a Khmer Rouge camp. Its 35-year-old leader says their morale is high despite lacking supplies. White or red clothes tied on the barrel of the rifles lets them identify other KR soldiers.

Reporting from the Thai-Cambodian border, H. Kamm wonders why Thailand is not seeing the expected surge in Cambodian refugees, as only a couple of hundreds have crossed since the beginning of the large‐scale fighting: https://t.co/gaVe2Zthul The Vietnamese army is facing serious resistance from guerrilla Khmer Rouge units, which also “punished” Cambodians who collaborated with 🇻🇳, reports @nytimes. Fear of revenge is believed to be inhibiting the growth of widespread popular support for the Vietnamese. Chinese government media reports that Vietnamese soldiers killed four Chinese frontier guards and wounded seven others in the border areas of Yunnan and Guangxi of China.

After the US refused Sihanouk asylum & France conditioned it on the cessation of all political activities (and no monetary support), Chinese Vice- Premier Deng convinces Sihanouk to return to Beijing after promising that he doesn’t need to work with the Khmer Rouge https://t.co/gUvru1moPb