Editing Mayaguez incident (section)

==Background==
In 1939 during the [[French Indochina|French colonial period]] an administrative line was drawn between Cambodia and [[French Cochinchina]] known as the Brevie Line, named after then governor-general of French Indochina [[Jules Brévié]]. While not intended to determine sovereignty, the Brevie Line became the de facto maritime border between Cambodia and Vietnam.<ref name=Becker>{{cite book|last=Becker|first=Elizabeth|title=When the war was over Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution|publisher=Public Affairs|year=1986|isbn=1891620002}}</ref>{{rp|195}} In 1967 Prince [[Norodom Sihanouk]] then [[Prime Minister of Cambodia]] agreed with [[North Vietnam]] that the borders of Cambodia and Vietnam were those drawn by the French in order to prevent any further Vietnamese claims on Cambodian territory.<ref name=Becker/>{{rp|195}}

Following the Fall of Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975 the [[Khmer Rouge]] moved to take control of all of Cambodia from the residual Khmer Republic forces. With the [[Fall of Saigon]] on 30 April 1975 the Khmer Rouge demanded that all [[People's Army of Vietnam]] (PAVN) and [[Viet Cong]] forces leave their base areas in Cambodia, but the PAVN refused to leave certain areas which they claimed were Vietnamese territory. The PAVN also moved to take control of a number of islands formerly controlled by the now-defunct [[South Vietnam]] and other territories and islands contested between Vietnam and Cambodia.<ref name=Becker/>{{rp|195}}

On 1 May 1975 Khmer Rouge forces landed on [[Phú Quốc]] which was claimed by Cambodia but controlled by South Vietnam.<ref name=Farrell>{{cite book|last=Farrell|first=Epsey C.|title=The Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Law of the Sea: An Analysis of Vietnamese Behaviour within the Emerging International Oceans Regime. The Hague: Kluwer Law International|year=1998|isbn=9041104739|page=195|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers }}</ref> On 10 May the Khmer Rouge captured the [[Thổ Chu Islands]], where they evacuated and later executed 500 Vietnamese civilians. The PAVN launched a counterattack evicting the Khmer Rouge from Phú Quốc and Thổ Chu and attacked Cambodia's [[Poulo Wai]] island.<ref name=Farrell/>

As part of these island battles, the Khmer Navy actively patrolled Cambodian coastal waters both to stop Vietnamese incursions and also for fear that merchant ships could be used by the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) to supply opponents of the new Khmer Rouge regime. On 2 May the Khmer Navy captured seven Thai fishing boats. On 4 May the Cambodians pursued a South Korean freighter after which the South Korean Transportation Ministry put out a warning about shipping in the area. On 7 May they held a Panamanian vessel near Poulo Wai and questioned its crew before releasing them and their ship after 36 hours. They fired on a Swedish vessel in the same area. On 12 May the Khmer Rouge sent a force to occupy Poulo Wai.<ref name=Becker/>{{rp|195}}<ref name=Chun>{{cite book|last=Chun|first=Clayton K.S.|title=The Last Boarding Party The USMC and the SS ''Mayaguez'' 1975. Osprey Raid Series #24|publisher=Osprey Publishing|year=2011|isbn=978-1849084253}}</ref>{{rp|10}}<ref name=paust-1976>{{cite journal |url=https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6372&context=ylj |title=The Seizure and Recovery of the Mayaguez |author=Jordan J. Paust |journal=The Yale Law Journal |volume=85 |issue=6 |pages=774–806 |date=May 1976 |doi=10.2307/795719 |jstor=795719 |access-date=22 July 2020}}</ref> Despite these actions no general warning was issued to U.S. merchant shipping.<ref name=Chun/>{{rp|11}}

Cambodia had claimed {{convert|12|nmi}} of [[territorial waters]] since 1969 and had boarded ships on this basis. The U.S. did not recognize 12 nautical mile territorial waters claims in 1975, recognizing only {{convert|3|nmi}}, and categorized the waters near Poulo Wai as international sea lanes on the high seas.<ref name=Chun/>{{rp|11}}<ref name=Behuniak>{{cite journal|title=The Seizure and Recovery of the S.S. Mayaguez: Legal Analysis of United States Claims, Part 1 |author=Major Thomas E. Behuniak |journal=Military Law Review |volume=82|publisher=Department of the Army |date=Fall 1978|issn=0026-4040|url=https://www.loc.gov/law/mlr/Military_Law_Review/27588F~1.pdf|access-date=4 April 2020}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>{{rp|104}}