Why did Vietnam bomb Cambodia?

Nixon believed North Vietnam was transporting troops and supplies through neighboring Cambodia into South Vietnam. He hoped that bombing supply routes in Cambodia would weaken the United States’ enemies. Nixon claimed that the soldiers were protecting the United States’ withdrawal from South Vietnam.

Why did President Nixon invade Cambodia?

Nixon speaks He announced his decision to launch American forces into Cambodia with the special objective of capturing COSVN, “the headquarters of the entire communist military operation in South Vietnam.”

Why did Cambodia want independence?

The king was very in tune to the wish of the Khmer population, which was to obtain full independence from France. To avoid the situation in Cambodia from deteriorating further, King Sihanouk decided in March 1953 to go to France and asked the French President to grant complete independence to Cambodia.

What happened in Vietnam’s forgotten war with Cambodia?

Vietnam’s forgotten Cambodian war. Less celebrated is Vietnam’s quiet retreat from its own deeply unpopular foreign war that ended 25 years ago this month. A war where Vietnamese troops, sent as saviours but soon seen as invaders, paid a steep price in lives and limbs during a gruelling decade-long guerilla conflict.

Do Cambodians consider Vietnamese troops as occupiers?

Years later, however, Vietnamese troops were still in Cambodia and by then, many Cambodians considered them occupiers. Cambodia was an unpopular war for Vietnam, said Carlyle Thayer, an expert on Vietnam and emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra.

Did the Vietnamese treat the Khmer Rouge as liberators?

Those that survived the Khmer Rouge regime initially greeted the Vietnamese as liberators. Years later, however, Vietnamese troops were still in Cambodia and by then, many Cambodians considered them occupiers.

Why did Vietnam keep trying to annex Cambodia?

However, Vietnamese attempts to annex Cambodia began in the 17th century when Vietnamese forces helped Cambodian dissidents topple its only Muslim King, Ramathipadi I. From then on, Vietnam frequently intervened in Cambodia.