ABSTRACT
The third dimension of the Kampuchean problem is the larger regional and global context, involving Thailand's Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) partners, China, the United States, and the Soviet Union. For Thailand, Kampuchea is a key element in a potentially destabilizing bloc, the "Indochinese Confederation," which places both Laos and Kampuchea under the domination of Vietnam and is the conduit through which great power influences filter into the region. Vietnam's objectives in Kampuchea are clear: to ensure that its neighbor is a reliable buffer against hostile third-party influences, and that it does not itself turn against Vietnam as during the Pol Pot period. The complex character of Thai-Vietnamese relations was summed up by Vietnam's deputy foreign minister in late 1982: On the one hand dialogue and reconciliation between the two countries tend to make headway. On the other hand there is a state of stagnation, as a result of Thailand's vain hopes in its miscalculations.
