« Back to Accord

Withdrawal of Troops: Framework for a Comprehensive Political Settlement of the Cambodia Conflict

Implementations

Withdrawal of Troops – 1991

The military invasion of Cambodia by the Vietnamese troops resulted in the removal of Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. After their defeat, the Khmer started a guerilla insurgency. In this context, the 1991 Paris agreement called for the withdrawal of foreign forces, advisers, and military personnel remaining in Cambodia.

In a news conference, Hun Sen, who was the Chairman of the Council of Ministers and a member of Supreme National Council, addressed the questions related to Vietnamese residents in Cambodia and Vietnamese troops referring statistics on ethnic minorities. He informed SNC that “Vietnamese residents in the country before 1970 under Samdech Norodom Sihanouk’s rule numbered from 400,000 to 500,000. They were mostly rubber plantation workers; some lived along the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap. Under Lon Nol’s repression, a number of them fled to Vietnam. Under Pol Pot’s repression, some fled to Vietnam along with a number of Cambodians. According to the 1987 statistics, there were 130,000. Thus, compared to the 500,000 residents in 1970, it is very different. Following the withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from Cambodia, a number of Vietnamese residents, afraid that Pol Pot might be back, returned to Vietnam. There are now over 90,000 Vietnamese residents in Cambodia.”¹ This statement can be taken as a verification of the withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from Cambodia.

A complete withdrawal of Vietnamese troops, however, was contested by the Khmer Rouge.

(Note: According to a Khmer Rouge Radio (the Great National Union Front of Cambodia radio) report, “the National Army of Democratic Kampuchea had captured a two- star Vietnamese officer around O Ta Sek along the Stoeng Sen river below Kompong Thom provincial town.” The captured officer was said to have disguised himself as a Cambodian civilian and led the lead Vietnamese forces.² Khmer Rouge Radio cannot be taken as authentic information provider.)

“HUN SEN HOLDS NEWS CONFERENCE IN PHNOM PENH,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, November 20, 1991.
“CAMBODIA; Khmer Rouge radio gives details of captured Vietnamese officer in Cambodia,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, December 30, 1991.

Withdrawal of Troops – 1992

The Khmer were not convinced that the UNTAC and the government of Cambodia did enough to make sure the infiltration of Vietnamese troops did not occur along the Vietnam-Cambodia border. The Khmer demanded UNTAC deploy its troops along the border.³

On June 5, 1992, the Voice of Vietnam external service reported that the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry sent two notes confirming that no Vietnamese troops were left in Cambodia and that the Vietnamese military aid to Cambodia had been cut out. The notes added that by the end of 1989, Vietnam had completed the withdrawal of its troops, weapons, and military equipment from Cambodia. This confirmation had made an important contribution to the signing of the Paris agreement in Cambodia. Since the signing of the peace accord on Cambodia, Vietnam has consistently implemented the agreement. Now, as in the past, Vietnam has not infiltrated its troops and equipment into Cambodia. Prince Sihanouk himself has affirmed this fact. The head of the UN office in Cambodia also pointed out that there was no evidence of the Vietnamese military presence in Cambodia.⁴

In the SNC meeting held on July 23, 1992, the UNTAC chief recalled the Vietnamese government’s statement that “all Vietnamese troops left Cambodia between 17th July 1982 and 26th September 1989. This statement named the divisions, regiments and battalions involved; the places from where those troops were withdrawn; the types of materiel; the dates; numbers of troops; and the roads they took to return to Vietnam. That statement emphasized that Vietnam no longer had any troops, weapons or materiel left on Cambodian soil, and that Vietnam has not sent troops, weapons or materiel back to Cambodia.”⁵ In the same meeting, the UNTAC chief told SNC that the UNTAC had personally supervised Cambodia’s national defense institution and arranged a number of measures to verify that all foreign troops, advisers and military personnel had left Cambodia and would not be able to return absolutely. Checkpoints had been set up along the borders between Cambodia and its three neighboring countries. Mobile military units had also been employed to monitor and investigate whether foreign troops remained in Cambodia.

In the SNC meeting on December 10, 1992, Tran Huy Chuong, a Vietnamese ambassador accredited to the SNC, affirmed that Vietnam had withdrawn all its volunteer troops from Cambodia in September 1989.⁶ Because there were no Vietnamese troops in Cambodia, Australia and Japan lifted the trade sanctions on Vietnam.⁷ As of 1992, there were no Vietnamese troops in Cambodia.

“KHMER ROUGE SLOGANS CONDEMN VIETNAM AND URGE UNTAC DEPLOYMENT ALONG BORDER,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, March 18, 1992.
“Vietnam ”has never infiltrated its troops and equipment into Cambodia”,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, June 9, 1992.
“UNTAC HEAD ADDRESSES SNC ON FOREIGN TROOPS, IMMIGRANTS,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, July 27, 1992.
“Vietnamese ambassador denies troop presence in Cambodia,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, December 16, 1992.
“Japan to lift trade sanctions against Vietnam, Report From Japan,” United Nations, January 6, 1992.