ABSTRACT
The invasion and the decade-long occupation of Cambodia by Vietnamese forces from December 1978 posed the most serious security challenge to ASEAN since its inception. Not only did ASEAN see Vietnam’s action as a blatant violation of its norms, but the Cambodia conflict also tested intra-ASEAN relations, thereby threatening its emerging culture of unity and consensus. Differences among ASEAN members as to how to deal with the conflict challenged ASEAN’s professed role in the peaceful settlement of regional disputes without interference by outside powers. This chapter reviews ASEAN’s role in the Cambodia conflict with the particular purpose of ascertaining the extent to which it contributed to the consolidation of ASEAN’s norms and conformed to its professed goal of providing a ‘regional solution to the region’s problems’.
