Cambodia

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Former Royal Palace, Phnom Penh
Courtesy Bill Herod

Independence Monument in Phnom Penh
Courtesy Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Hammerquist

Phnom Penh Hill
Courtesy Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Hammerquist

In 1987 the two Cambodian regimes continued to compete for respect and for legitimacy, and they both continued to proclaim a foreign policy based on peaceful coexistence, neutrality, and nonalignment. The CGDK, however, had the major share of international recognition as de jure representative of Cambodia, even though it did not possess supreme authority within the borders of Cambodia. De facto control of national territory was in the hands of the PRK, but, because the PRK had originated during the Vietnamese invasion and occupation of Cambodia, it was unable to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the United Nations. The United Nations would not validate an illegal act consummated by force of arms (see Cambodia in Turmoil , this ch.). Recognizing the PRK regime would be contrary to the UN Charter, which calls for peaceful settlement of all conflicts and for nonintervention in the internal affairs of sovereign and independent nations. In July 1982, the Phnom Penh regime, recognizing the futility of challenging the legality of the CGDK, announced that "in the immediate future" it would not seek "to reclaim the Kampuchean seat at the United Nations."

Data as of December 1987