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K5 Plan
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K5 Plan
The K5 Plan (Khmer: ផែនការក៥), K5 Belt or K5 Project, also known as the Bamboo Curtain, was an attempt between 1985 and 1989 by the government of the People's Republic of Kampuchea to seal Khmer Rouge guerrilla infiltration routes into Cambodia by means of trenches, wire fences, and minefields along virtually the entire Cambodia–Thailand border.
After the defeat of Democratic Kampuchea in 1979, the Khmer Rouge fled Cambodia quickly. Protected by the Thai state, and with powerful foreign connections, Pol Pot's virtually intact militia of about 30,000 to 35,000 troops regrouped and reorganized in forested and mountainous zones behind the Thai-Cambodian border. During the early 1980s Khmer Rouge forces showed their strength in Thailand, inside the refugee camps near the border, and were able to receive a steady and abundant supply of military equipment. The weapons came mainly from China and the US and were channeled across Thailand with the cooperation of the Royal Thai Armed Forces.
From their position of security in hidden military outposts along the Thai border, the Khmer Rouge militias launched a relentless military campaign against the newly established People's Republic of Kampuchea state. Even though the Khmer Rouge was dominant, it fought against the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Armed Forces (KPRAF) and Vietnam People's Army along with minor non-communist armed factions which had formerly been fighting against the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979.[citation needed]
The border war followed a wet season / dry season rhythm. Generally, the heavily armed Vietnamese forces conducted offensive operations during the dry seasons, and the Chinese-backed Khmer Rouge held the initiative during the rainy seasons. In 1982, Vietnam launched a largely unsuccessful offensive against the main Khmer Rouge base at Phnom Malai in the Cardamom Mountains.[citation needed]
The major consequence of the border civil war was that the PRK was hampered in its efforts to rebuild the much-damaged nation and consolidate its administration. The new republic's rule was tenuous in the border areas owing to persistent sabotage by the Khmer Rouge of the provincial administrative system through constant guerrilla warfare.
The architect of the K5 plan was Vietnamese general Lê Đức Anh, commander of the PAVN forces in Cambodia. He formulated five key points for the defence of Cambodia against Khmer Rouge re-infiltration. Letter "K", the first letter of the Khmer alphabet, came from kar karpier, meaning 'defence' in the Khmer language, and number "5" referred to Le Duc Anh's five points in his plan of defence, of which the sealing of the border with Thailand was the second point. Many workers on the project, however, did not know what "K5" stood for.
The K5 Plan began on 19 July 1984. It became a gigantic effort that included clearing long patches of tropical forest by felling a great number of trees, as well as slashing and uprooting tall vegetation. The purpose was to leave a continuous broad open space all along the Thai border that would be watched and mined.[citation needed]
In practice the K5 fence consisted of a roughly 700 km-long, 500 m-wide swath of land along the border with Thailand, where antitank and antipersonnel mines were buried to a density of about 3,000 mines per kilometre of frontage.
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K5 Plan
The K5 Plan (Khmer: ផែនការក៥), K5 Belt or K5 Project, also known as the Bamboo Curtain, was an attempt between 1985 and 1989 by the government of the People's Republic of Kampuchea to seal Khmer Rouge guerrilla infiltration routes into Cambodia by means of trenches, wire fences, and minefields along virtually the entire Cambodia–Thailand border.
After the defeat of Democratic Kampuchea in 1979, the Khmer Rouge fled Cambodia quickly. Protected by the Thai state, and with powerful foreign connections, Pol Pot's virtually intact militia of about 30,000 to 35,000 troops regrouped and reorganized in forested and mountainous zones behind the Thai-Cambodian border. During the early 1980s Khmer Rouge forces showed their strength in Thailand, inside the refugee camps near the border, and were able to receive a steady and abundant supply of military equipment. The weapons came mainly from China and the US and were channeled across Thailand with the cooperation of the Royal Thai Armed Forces.
From their position of security in hidden military outposts along the Thai border, the Khmer Rouge militias launched a relentless military campaign against the newly established People's Republic of Kampuchea state. Even though the Khmer Rouge was dominant, it fought against the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Armed Forces (KPRAF) and Vietnam People's Army along with minor non-communist armed factions which had formerly been fighting against the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979.[citation needed]
The border war followed a wet season / dry season rhythm. Generally, the heavily armed Vietnamese forces conducted offensive operations during the dry seasons, and the Chinese-backed Khmer Rouge held the initiative during the rainy seasons. In 1982, Vietnam launched a largely unsuccessful offensive against the main Khmer Rouge base at Phnom Malai in the Cardamom Mountains.[citation needed]
The major consequence of the border civil war was that the PRK was hampered in its efforts to rebuild the much-damaged nation and consolidate its administration. The new republic's rule was tenuous in the border areas owing to persistent sabotage by the Khmer Rouge of the provincial administrative system through constant guerrilla warfare.
The architect of the K5 plan was Vietnamese general Lê Đức Anh, commander of the PAVN forces in Cambodia. He formulated five key points for the defence of Cambodia against Khmer Rouge re-infiltration. Letter "K", the first letter of the Khmer alphabet, came from kar karpier, meaning 'defence' in the Khmer language, and number "5" referred to Le Duc Anh's five points in his plan of defence, of which the sealing of the border with Thailand was the second point. Many workers on the project, however, did not know what "K5" stood for.
The K5 Plan began on 19 July 1984. It became a gigantic effort that included clearing long patches of tropical forest by felling a great number of trees, as well as slashing and uprooting tall vegetation. The purpose was to leave a continuous broad open space all along the Thai border that would be watched and mined.[citation needed]
In practice the K5 fence consisted of a roughly 700 km-long, 500 m-wide swath of land along the border with Thailand, where antitank and antipersonnel mines were buried to a density of about 3,000 mines per kilometre of frontage.