Khmer Rouge's communiqué offering to Release the Mayaguez
Since we liberated Phnom Penh and the entire country, U.S. imperialism had conducted repeated, successive intelligence and espionage activities with a view to committing subversion, sabotage and provocation against the newly liberated New Cambodia nation and people, who have suffered all manner of hardships and grief for more than five years because of the U.S. imperialist war of aggression, the right of survive, to resolve the problems of their economy and build their country on the basis of independence and initiative as an independent, peaceful, neutral and nonaligned nation. Specifically, the U.S. imperialists have tried to block our sea routes and ports as part of the above-mentioned strategic goal.
In the air, U.S. imperialist's planes have been conducting daily espionage flights over Cambodia, especially over Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, Sihanoukville port and Cambodia's territorial waters. They even resorted to an insolent show of force, trying to intimidate the Cambodian people. On the ground, U.S. imperialism has planted its strategic forces to conduct subversive, sabotage and destructive activities in various cities by setting fire to our economic, strategic and military positions and so forth.
On the sea, it has engaged in many espionage activities. U.S. imperialist spy ships have entered Cambodia's territorial waters and engaged in espionage activities there almost daily, especially in the areas of Sihanoukville port, from Pring, Tang and Wai Islands to Pres Island, south of Sihanoukville.
These ships have been operating as fishing vessels. There have been two or three of them entering our territorial waters daily. They have secretly landed Thai and Cambodian nationals to contact their espionage agents on the mainland. Those who were captured have confessed all of this to us.
Some ships carry dozens of kilograms of plastic bombs and several radio-communication sets with which they try to arm their agents to sabotage and destroy our factories, ports and economic, strategic and military positions. These persons have successively confessed to us that they are C.I.A. agents based in Thailand and that they entered Cambodia's territorial waters through Thai waters.
On May 11, 1975 our naval patrol captured on ship near Prince Island facing Sihanoukville port. This ship, disguised as a fishing boat, was manned by a crew of seven heavily armed Thais carrying, among other things, two 12.7 mm machine guns and a quantity of plastic bombs, grenades and mines. At the same time, we found a powerful U.S.-built radio-teletype set capable of maintaining communications from on country to another.
These people have admitted that they are C.I.A. agents sent out to conduct sabotage activities and to make contact with the forces set up and planted by U.S. imperialism before it withdrew from Cambodia. Later on, at down on 12 May, another ship manned by seven Thai nationals and disguised as a fishing vessel reached Pres Island near Sihanoukville port with the same intention as the previous ships. These ships were operating in the territorial waters of Cambodia. At certain points they moved within only four or five kilometers from the coast; at other times they even accosted Cambodian islands and landed at these islands. Such was the case at Pring, Pres, Tang and other islands.
This is a definite encroachment on Cambodia's sovereignty - and encroachment they dare to make because they are strong and because Cambodia is a small and poor country with a small population that has just emerged from the U.S. imperialist war of aggress lacking all and needing everything. The Cambodian nation and people, though just emerging from the U.S. imperialist war of aggression and needy as they are, are determined to defend their territorial waters, national sovereignty and national honor in accordance with the resolution of the N.U.F.C. (National United Front of Cambodia) and of the successive national congresses. Accordingly, Cambodia's coast guard has never ceased its relentless patrols inside Cambodia's territorial waters.
As part of the U.S. imperialists' espionage activities in our territorial waters, on May 7, 1975 a large vessel in the form of a merchant ship flying the Panamanian flags entered deeply into Cambodian territorial waters between Wai and Tang Islands and intruded about 50 kilometers past Wai Island coastward. Seeing that his ship had intruded too deeply in Cambodian territorial water, our patrol than detained it in order to examine and question the crew and then report to higher authorities, who would in turn refer the matter to the R.G.N.U.C. (Royal Government of the National Union of Cambodia) for a decision. We did not even bother to inquire about the ship's cargo.
The crew was composed of Thais, Taiwanese, Filipinos and Americans. It was evident that this ship, having intentionally violated Cambodian territorial waters, had only two possible goals: either to conduct espionage or to provoke incidents. It certainly did not lose it way. If it did it would not have entered our waters so deeply. However, the R.G.N.U.C. has decided to allow this ship to continue its route out of Cambodia's territorial waters. This is clear proof of our goodwill. Though this ship had come to provoke us inside our territorial waters we still showed our goodwill.
Then on 12 May 1975 at 1400 our patrol sighted another large vessel steaming toward our waters. We took on action at first. The ship continued to intrude deeper into out waters, passing the Wai Islands eastward to a point four or five kilometers beyond the islands. Seeing that this ship intentionally violated our waters, our patrol then stopped it in order to examine and question it and report back to our higher authorities so that the later could report to the Royal Government. This vessel sails in the form of a merchant ship code-named Mayaguez, flying American flags and manned by an American crew.
While we were questioning the ship, two American F-105 aircraft kept circling over the ship and over the Wai and Tang Islands until evening. From dawn on 13 May between four and six American F-15's and F-111's took turns for 24 hours savagely strafing and bombing around the ship, the Wai and Tang Islands and Sihanoukville port area. At 0530 on 14 May six U.S. F-105 and F-111 aircraft resumed taking turns strafing and bombing. According to a preliminary report, two of our patrol vessels were sunk. We still have had not precise idea of the extent of the damage done or the number killed among our patrolmen and the American crewmen.
What was the intention, the reason, for this ship entering our territorial water? We are convinced that this American ship did not lose its way, because the Americans have radar, electronic and other most sophisticated scientific instruments. It is therefore evident that this ship came to violate our waters, conduct espionage and provoke incidents to create pretexts or mislead the opinion of the world people, the American people and the American politicians, pretending that the Cambodian nation and people are the provocateurs while feigning innocence on their part.
The world people, the American people and the American politicians have already seen the U.S. imperialists successfully bullying the people of small countries who refused to bow to their will. The U.S. imperialists used to bully Russia in the past. Cuba, China, North Korea, North Vietnam and other countries loving independence and honor were also bullied by them. Now they have invented the incident in Cambodian territorial waters to create a pretext for attacking the Cambodian nation and people. However, we are confident that the world peoples as well as the American people, youth and politicians who love peace and justice will clearly see that the Cambodia people - a small, poor and needy people just emerging from the U.S. imperialist war of aggression - have no intention and no wherewithal, no possibility of capturing an American ship cruising the open seas at large. We were able to capture it only because if had violated our territorial waters too flagrantly, and had come too close to our nose.
Therefore, the charge leveled by the U.S. imperialists - that we are sea pirates - is too much. On the contrary, it is the U.S. imperialists who are the sea pirates who came to provoke the Cambodian nation and people in Cambodian territorial waters, just as they had only fomented subversion in our country, staged a coup d'etat destroying independent, peaceful and neutral Cambodia, and committed aggression against Cambodia causing us much destruction and suffering. Now they are looking for pretexts to deceive world opinion and that of the American people and politicians so as to destroy a country, which refuses to bow to their will. We are confident in the good sense of the world peoples and the American people, youth and politicians who love peace and justice.
Regarding the Mayaguez ship, we have no intention of detaining it permanently and we have no desire to stage provocation. We only wanted to know that reason for its coming and to warn it against violating our waters again. This is why our coast guard seized this ship. Their goal was to examine it, question it and make a report to higher authorities who would then report to the Royal Government so that the Royal Government could itself decide to order it to withdraw from Cambodia's territorial waters and warn it against conducting further espionage and provocative activities. This applies to this Mayaguez ship and to any other vessels like the ship flying Panama flags that we released on May 7, 1975.
Wishing to provoke no one or o make trouble, adhering to the stand of peace and neutrality, we will release this ship, but we will not allow the U.S. imperialists to violate our territorial waters, conduct espionage in our territorial waters, provoke incidents in our territorial waters or force us to release their ships whenever they want, by applying threats....
Hu Nim
R.G.N.U.C. Information and Propaganda Minister
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