The Third Indochina War – comprised of the Vietnam-Kampuchea War from 1978 to 1990 and the brief Sino-Vietnamese War in February 1979 – has received far less scholarly attention than the earlier two Indochina Wars. Ang Cheng Guan utilises a wide range of archival and secondary material, including Vietnamese, Cambodian, Chinese, Soviet, American, British, Australian and ASEAN sources, to provide a comprehensive new analysis of the conflict. By carefully reconstructing its chronology, Ang traces the life-cycle of the war from its origins, through the conduct of military engagements, to its eventual resolution. He focuses on multiple actors simultaneously, highlighting the inter-connected perspectives of the war's major protagonists – Vietnam, Cambodia and China. In demonstrating the roles of the USSR, the US and ASEAN in both prolonging and ending the conflict, he situates the Third Indochina War fully in its Asian, global and Cold War contexts.

‘Of the three wars for Indochina during the second half of the 20th century, the last one remains the least understood. Renowned specialist of Southeast Asian affairs, Aung Cheng Guan has changed that by providing a dispassionate and insightful account of the Third Indochina War. For those looking to understand how former comrades-in-arms could come to blows only a few years after the Americans had left Saigon in 1975, they need look no further.’

Christopher Goscha - professor of international relations at the Université du Québec à Montréal, author of The Road to Dien Bien Phu

‘Ang Cheng Guan masterfully retells the story of Vietnam’s decade-long occupation of Cambodia as he brilliantly details how international actors facilitated both the continuation and the end of the ‘killing fields.’ This is by far the most engaging and comprehensive treatment of the Third Indochina War to date.’

Pierre Asselin - author of Vietnam's American War: A New History, 2nd Edition

‘The first truly international history of the Third Indochina War. Extending from the origins of the war in the 1970s to the final end of the Khmer Rouge in the late 1990s, this book covers all aspects of the confrontation, from Southeast Asian, Chinese, and US perspectives.’

Odd Arne Westad - author (with Chen Jian) of The Great Transformation: China’s Road from Revolution to Reform