Vietnam-Cambodia relations from the Paris Peace Conference (1991) to membership of ASEAN

Abstract

This paper traces Vietnam–Cambodia relations from the Paris Peace Conference in 1991 to 1999. It shows that Vietnam and Cambodia have been unable to resolve their differences over land and sea borders, and over the ethnic Vietnamese refugees residing in Cambodia. The Cambodians’ deep distrust of the Vietnamese and the unstable political situation in Cambodia were major obstacles. Some progress has been made towards settling their differences since 1998. Vietnam was the strongest supporter of Cambodia’s admission into ASEAN at the sixth ASEAN summit in December 1998. Cambodia became the tenth member of ASEAN in April 1999. The paper also looks at the role of China and the implications of Cambodia’s membership in ASEAN for its relations with China.