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The historic joint victory on January 7, 1979 not only helped Vietnam defend its southwestern border but also enabled the Cambodian people and armed forces to overthrow the genocidal Pol Pot regime, standing as a milestone of pure and faithful international solidarity between the two nations.
According to the Khmer Times, after coming to power in April 1975, the Pol Pot regime plunged Cambodia into a national tragedy as it murdered more than three million innocent civilians in just three years, eight months and twenty days, dismantling the country’s social facilities and pushing the "land of pagodas" to the brink of an unprecedented genocide in human history.
Beyond its atrocities against its own people, the regime pursued a hostile policy toward Vietnam, undermining the precious bilateral relationship. Despite Vietnam’s goodwill and efforts to preserve friendly neighbourliness and revolutionary achievements of both countries, Pol Pot incited anti-Vietnam sentiment, launched bloody attacks, violated Vietnam’s sovereignty along the southwestern border, and committed grave crimes against Vietnamese people.
In response to these acts of aggression and genocide and answering the urgent appeal of the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation and the Cambodian people, Vietnam exercised its legitimate right of self-defence. Despite facing post-war devastation and foreign embargoes, Vietnam joined Cambodian forces and people to overthrow the genocidal regime on January 7, 1979. This action was lawful and moral, reflecting a noble spirit of internationalism and continuing the long tradition of solidarity between the two peoples in the face of common enemies.
The Khmer Times quoted President of the Cambodian Senate and President of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) Samdech Techo Hun Sen as repeatedly affirming that January 7 is the Cambodian people’s “second birthday”, and that Vietnam’s dispatch of volunteer troops to save Cambodia from genocide has been recorded by history. The victory went down in history as a milestone of their pure and faithful solidarity, and marked a new chapter in bilateral friendship.
Without the victory, Cambodia would not have been what it is today; it is an unchangeable historical fact, the newspaper said.
Following the event, the Kampuchean People’s Revolutionary Council was established and requested Vietnam’s volunteer troops to help pursue remaining Pol Pot forces and consolidate the new revolutionary government. Vietnam also sent experts to assist in building grassroots administration and provided material support to help the neighbour with socio-economic recovery from the devastation left by the genocidal regime.
The Khmer Times emphasised that without the decade-long presence (1979–1989) of Vietnamese volunteer troops and experts helping Cambodia rebuild a functioning society and restore the country, it would have been difficult to prevent the return of genocide. Millions of Cambodians were saved from the Pol Pot regime and remain deeply grateful to those who helped save their lives.
