Editing Mayaguez incident (section)

==Khmer Rouge seize the ''Mayaguez''==
The crisis began on the afternoon of 12 May 1975, as the U.S. [[container ship]] {{SS|Mayaguez}}, owned by [[Sea-Land Service|Sea-Land Service Inc.]], passed nearby Poulo Wai en route from [[Hong Kong]] to [[Sattahip]], Thailand. U.S. military reports state that the seizure took place {{convert|6|nmi}} off the island,<ref name="Behuniak" />{{rp|124}} but crew members brought evidence in a later legal action that ''Mayaguez'' had sailed about {{convert|2|nmi}} off Poulo Wai and was not flying a flag.<ref name="Paust">{{cite journal|url=http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1576&context=iclr|title=More Revelations About Mayaguez (and its Secret Cargo)|author=Jordan J. Paust|journal=Boston College International and Comparative Law Review|volume=4|issue=1|year=1981|access-date=27 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727200552/http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1576&context=iclr|archive-date=27 July 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

At 14:18, a Khmer Navy [[Fast Patrol Craft|Swift Boat]] was sighted approaching the ''Mayaguez''.<ref name="Wetterhahn">{{cite book|last=Wetterhahn|first=Ralph|title=The Last Battle: The Mayaguez Incident and the end of the Vietnam War|publisher=Plume|year=2002|isbn=0-452-28333-7}}</ref>{{rp|26}} The Khmer Rouge fired across the bow of ''Mayaguez'' and when [[Sea captain|Captain]] Charles T. Miller ordered the engine room to slow down to manoeuvring speed to avoid the machine-gun fire, the Khmer Rouge then fired a [[rocket-propelled grenade]] (RPG) across the bow of the ship. Miller ordered the transmission of an [[SOS]] and then stopped the ship.<ref name="Wetterhahn" />{{rp|27}} Seven Khmer Rouge soldiers boarded ''Mayaguez'' and their leader, Battalion Commander Sa Mean, pointed at a map indicating that the ship should proceed to the east of Poulo Wai.<ref name="Wetterhahn" />{{rp|29}}

One of the crew members broadcast a [[Mayday (distress signal)|Mayday]] which was picked up by an Australian vessel.<ref name="Wetterhahn" />{{rp|30–31}} ''Mayaguez'' arrived off Poulo Wai at approximately 16:00 and another 20 Khmer Rouge boarded the vessel. Sa Mean indicated that ''Mayaguez'' should proceed to [[Ream Naval Base|Ream]] on the Cambodian mainland, but Captain Miller showed that the ship's radar was not working and mimed the ship hitting rocks and sinking. Sa Mean radioed his superiors and was apparently instructed to stay at Poulo Wai, dropping anchor at 16:55.<ref name="Wetterhahn" />{{rp|31–32}}

''Mayaguez'' was carrying 107 containers of routine cargo, 77 containers of government and military cargo, and 90 empty containers, all insured for $5 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|5|1975|r=0}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}).<ref name="Behuniak" />{{rp|47}} The Khmer Rouge never inspected the containers, and exact contents have not been disclosed, but ''Mayaguez'' had loaded containers from the [[Embassy of the United States, Saigon|U.S. Embassy in Saigon]] nine days before the fall of Saigon. The captain had a U.S. government letter only to be opened in certain emergency circumstances, which he destroyed.<ref name="Paust" />