Восточная Азия: факты и аналитика (Jun 2024)

The features of the Vietnamese-Cambodian relations in the historical retrospect

  • Kobelev E.V.

DOI
https://doi.org/10.24412/2686-7702-2024-2-94-103
Journal volume & issue
no. 2
pp. 94 – 103

Abstract

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This essay examines two mutually exclusive positions on the origins and development of the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP). The first is the position of the Pol Pot ‒ Ieng Sary group: the revolutionary movement in Cambodia developed and won independently. The second is the position of the healthy forces of the KPRP: the Cambodian revolution is a part of the revolutions in Vietnam and Laos. The revolutions in the three countries ‒ Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia ‒ took different paths and triumphed at different times, allowing Pol Pot's group to claim that the Kampuchean revolution had no connection with the Indochinese Communist Party. After France conquered Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in the second half of the 19th century, the three countries became part of the Indochina Federation, with Vietnam playing a leading role. The author shows that the national liberation movement in Cambodia developed within the framework of the Indochina Union. The Indochinese Communist Party (ICP), created by Ho Chi Minh in 1930, also included Cambodian communists, so at that time the relations between the anti-colonial forces of Cambodia and Vietnam were of a close fraternal nature. Thanks to the help of the Workers' Party of Vietnam and the CPSU, the revolution in Cambodia was ahead of events in Vietnam and Laos. The anti-people actions of the Pol Pot regime caused wide discontent among the population. Pol Pot's authorities made public the essence of their conflict with Vietnam, declaring at press conferences and in the mass media that Vietnam was seeking to include Kampuchea in the Indochina Federation controlled by Vietnam. In 2017, Cambodia and Vietnam signed a framework agreement to connect the economies of the two countries. In 2022, Cambodia, with the support of Vietnam, became the chairman of ASEAN. 2022 was declared the Year of Vietnam- Cambodian Friendship. The allied experience of Cambodia and Vietnam can be useful for modern Russia.

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