Analysis Of The Reasons Of The Lon Nol Coup In Cambodia In 1970

On March 18,1970, Cambodian Prime Minister Lon Nol collaborated with Deputy Prime Minister Sirik Matak to take the coup for deposing the head of state Sihanouk. After the coup, China, the two sides of Vietnam, the United States were involved in the civil war in Cambodia one by one, which not only undermined its own normal course of development in Cambodia but also provided an opportunity to change the structure of Cold War in Southeast Asia. Internally, the Kampuchea embarked on a 20-year history of turmoil from then on,which included a period of civil war, the Khmer Rouge massacre and being controlled by Vietnam; Externally, the communist camp took the opportunity to expand their own influence in the peninsula of the southeast,which also led to subsequent relation changes among China,Vietnam, Cambodia and America. The re-analysis of Lon Nol coup can not only restore the picture of the coup,but also make us better understand the changes in the history of Cambodia and in the pattern of The Cold War in Southeast Asia.In the context of the Cold War, Lon Nol Coup is given special significance. According to memoirs and reports, most scholars insist that the reason for the Coup is that Americans want to expand the Vietnam War and fight against communist forces,so that they can control the Southeast Asia at last. However, according to declassified US diplomatic documents and CIA documents, there is no exact historical data that can demonstrate the view that the US government or the CIA instigates the Lon Nol Coup. Assistant of the President of the United States, the CIA leaders, defense minister insisted that the United States should not be involved in the coup. The research in Sihanouk’s memoirs and some scholars do not have any powerful new evidences to support it.By sorting the historical data, the author gradually discovers that the domestic situation in Cambodia is the most direct reason why The Coup is taken. In late 1960s, Cambodia broke out a series of serious political, economic and diplomatic crisis. On the way to solve the crisis in the country, the Cambodia elites led by Prime Minister Lon Nol and Deputy Prime Minister Sirik Matak had a conflict with Sihanouk,Sihanouk clung to political authoritarian, he wanted to stick the nationalization policy in Cambodia; Lon Nol and others wished to implement liberal reforms to ease country’s crisis.The conflict was irreconcilable, eventually leading to the outbreak of the Coup. Therefore, it is not a secret activity called expanding the Vietnam War directly instigated by the United States, nor is it a democratic reform which is against Sihanouk’s authoritarian. Based on the local environment, it is only a government officials’conflict triggered by who have the different governing philosophy for saving Cambodia’s dilemma but failing to solve problems effectively.