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Epilogue

 The International Conference on Cambodia was convened at the Kleber Conference Centre in Paris from 30 July to 30 August 1989. Failed to resolve the conflict.^1 Had it succeeded, it would have been an even more memorable year for the French as 1989 was also the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. That the conference failed was unfortunate but not a surprise (as explained later) although some participants, such as the British, held the view that ‘there was … every reason to hope and expect’ the conference ‘to succeed’ for reasons such as improvement in Sino-Soviet relations. Vietnam’s serious economic problems, and the impulse of national reconciliation between the Cambodian faction and Sihanouk, which was ‘the key factor … behind whom all Cambodians and factions could unite’. We may recall from our discussion in Chapter 5 that the Cambodian conflict could only end if four interconnected elements of the conflict were resolved: (1) mutual threat perceptions of Vietnam and Ca...

The Long-Drawn Endgame

‘Wars are easy to start and hard to end’, as Stephen Walt observed.1 How did the other ASEAN countries envisage the Cambodia problem would end? Based on their words and actions throughout the decade, it is reasonable to conclude that their thinking did not deviate far from Singapore’s. Singapore did not envisage an eventual military solution to the Kampuchean problem. As Nathan said, it was a political, rather than a military, war which was being waged in Kampuchea.2 Defence Minister Goh Keng Swee made a similar point. The Vietnamese, he said, would have to seek a political settlement in Cambodia.3 The biggest problem was how to prevent civil war and banditry as all the Cambodian factions had large military forces. Minister for Foreign Affairs S. Rajaratnam explained that ‘all wars must end and end through a political act. The political warfare in Kampuchea needed to be maintained. The Vietnamese would only give up the fight when they were convinced that they were not winning the war, ...