International Cooperation Between Thailand and Democratic Kampuchea

Abstract

This article discusses the cooperation between the Kingdom of Thailand and Democratic Kampuchea in the military, political and economic spheres. Contrary to the popular myth that Democratic Kampuchea was an isolationist country, in reality the country was quite open to the world. Thailand became the first country with which Democratic Kampuchea began to cooperate. Cooperation between the two states began in April 1975, immediately after the victory of the Khmer Rouge over the Khmer Blue regime (better known as the previous ruler Lon Nol), and lasted until the final fall of Democratic Kampuchea under the pressure of the Vietnamese troops in 1979. It can be confidently said that the aspirations of the Thais and Khmers in developing relations were sincere. Thailand has sought to improve relations with its neighbours, and in particular with Kampuchea, undertaking various initiatives even during the standoff from October 1976 to October 1977, not to mention agreeing to border revisions or the joint exploitation of resources along the blurred water border. Democratic Kampuchea also took the initiative and went for rapprochement, and this was especially evident at the eighth Asian Olympic Games, when Kampuchea took part in them only for the sake of Thailand. The period of 1979 was the culmination of the development of friendly relations: from a simply friendly country, Kampuchea became an ally of Thailand. True, in the future, after the withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from Cambodia, Thailand will begin to rapidly move away from the Khmer Rouge, who have become increasingly associated with the “bloody genocide of their people”. Then, Thailand, which went out into the world and joined the global system, wanted to have a good reputation and for this broke with the Khmer Rouge