Singapore was one of the strongest opponents of Vietnam's occupation of Cambodia, defending the principle that small states must not be invaded.
Singapore saw Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia in 1978 as a direct threat to small states. If a stronger neighbour could overthrow a government by force and get away with it, Singapore's own survival could be at risk.
Singapore took a hard line within ASEAN. It argued against accepting the Vietnamese-installed government and worked to keep the issue on the world's agenda.
At the United Nations, Singaporean diplomats were active in ASEAN's campaign for a Vietnamese withdrawal. In 1982 Singapore helped build the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea. It joined non-communist groups with the Khmer Rouge. The coalition kept Cambodia's UN seat out of the hands of the Vietnamese-backed regime.
In 1979 Lee Kuan Yew wrote to President Carter that Vietnam had changed the "ground rules" of interference by invading openly. Singapore pressed the great powers to make sure that aggression did not pay.
- Lee's letter
- March 1979: Vietnam changed the ground rules.
- CGDK
- 1982, with Singapore's support.
- Principle
- Small states must not be invaded by stronger neighbours.
Worked example: Linking national interest and principle
Why did Singapore oppose the occupation so strongly?
- Principle: sovereignty and non-interference protect small states.
- Interest: Singapore's survival depended on that principle.
- Region: support for Thailand, the frontline state.
- Method: diplomacy through ASEAN and the UN.
Watch out for this
Singapore supported the Khmer Rouge because it approved of its policies.
Singapore opposed Vietnam's use of force. It backed a coalition including non-communist groups to deny legitimacy to the occupation, not to endorse the Khmer Rouge's rule.
Check your understanding
Why did Singapore see the invasion of Cambodia as a threat to itself?
- It undermined the principle that protects small states from stronger neighbours.
- Vietnam had threatened to invade Singapore.
- Cambodia was Singapore's main trading partner.