Cambodian History (Part 41): The 1954 Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference began on May 8th, 1954. There were delegations from the USA, USSR, China, France, Britain, Cambodia, Laos, and north & south Vietnam (Communist & anti-Communist respectively).
The main topic was the negotiation of settlements from the Vietnamese & Korean wars. Cambodia was very much a small side player here, but Sihanouk had instructed the delegates (Nong Kimny, Sam Sary & Tep Phan). When North Vietnam (backed by China) proposed to seat representatives of the Communist-dominated “resistance movements” from Laos & Cambodia (including the KPLA), the delegates were on their feet, objecting strongly. It became clear that this was a no-compromise issue for Cambodia, and Vyacheslav Molotov (USSR) & Zhou Enlai (China) persuaded Pham Van Dong (NViet) to drop it. An early victory for Cambodia.
By mid-July, the delegates had come to an agreement on most of the Indochina topics. But Sihanouk wasn’t happy with the final proposals. They guaranteed Cambodia’s neutrality - but he wanted the Viet Minh to completely withdraw, and the KPLA to be disarmed. The final proposals also prevented Cambodia from entering into a military alliance with any country.
Late-night debates ensued. But eventually, the Soviet & Chinese delegates pressurized the Vietnamese Communists to agree with Cambodia’s terms. Cambodia signed the final agreement on July 21st. Another victory for Cambodia.
Not long afterwards, Sihanouk came to an understanding with China and NVietnam. They both agreed to respect Khmer sovereignty, and Sihanouk promised that US military bases wouldn’t be set up in Cambodia.
The USA was not pleased with this, and they threatened to withhold all aid. But in 1955, they changed their mind, and promised large amounts of military assistance. They also pledged their support for Cambodia’s sovereignty and neutrality.
In 1955, Sihanouk attended the Bandung Conference. This was a conference of non-aligned nations. Here, he met with people such as Jawaharlal Nehru (first Indian PM), Ahmed Sukarno (first Indonesian president), and Josip Tito, and was hailed as a leader of the Third World anti-colonial struggle.
The Communist-bloc countries began to give aid on better terms than the USA or other capitalist countries. However, American aid was still larger than all the others combined.