C

Cam Ranh Bay is situated on the central coast of Vietnam some twenty miles to the south of Nha Trang. It provides good natural anchorages and was used in 1905 by the ill-fated Russian fleet on their way to engage the Japanese. The Cao Dai is a quasi-religious sect which sprung up in southern Vietnam after the First World War. It originated from psychic experiments conducted by clerks in Saigon-Cholon who claimed to have established contact with Cao Dai, the all powerful master of the universe. Cham in Cambodia, who numbered fewer than 100,000, sustained a distinct identity under French rule which began to be challenged by Prince Norodom Sihanouk's regime. They suffered cruelly from the Khmer Rouge, however, who sought to extinguish their separate cultural existence, decimating their communities in the process. Chamlong Srimuang played a critical role in mobilizing popular protest against the former army commander-in-chief General Suchinda Krapayoon in May 1992.