In the beginning, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam were part of French Indochina ruled by French colonial rule. In the beginning of the Vietnam War, the rest of Indochina was not involved until Nixon commanded American troops to invade Cambodia in order to hinder North Vietnamese supplies and also to destroy Viet Cong camps. Ultimately, Nixon is the cause for dragging both Laos and Cambodia into the Vietnam War. Here is his speech addressing America about the invasion of Cambodia
Cambodia was involved in a series of military excursions which were a result of Nixon’s policy. Thirteen major operations took place by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in hopes of defeating the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the National Liberation Front (NLF) who had settled on the eastern border of Cambodia. Cambodia’s neutrality and lack of military strength made Cambodian territory a safe place for Vietnamese communists to make camps and bases for their cause. Luckily, there was a change in Cambodian government that allowed for destruction of these communist base camps when General Lon Nol, a United States supporter came into power. The United States, in order to maintain their policy of containment, allied with Cambodia to destroy the Vietnamese communist camps. However, many of the military operations to try and abolish these camps or capture the mysterious headquarters – the Central Office for South Vietnam – were unsuccessful.