PURPORTED VC INSTALLATIONS AT CHANTREA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01676R001400040057-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 17
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 5, 2004
• Sequence Number: 57
• Publication Date: April 28, 1964
• Content Type: MF

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28 April 1964
MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
THROUGH 'Deputy Director (Intelligence)
SUBJECT Purported VC Installations at Chantrea
1. This memorandum is an evaluation of'a reported
major Viet Cong military area on the Cambodia-South
Vietnam border near Chantrea. The reported installa-
tion covers a nine square kilometer area and consists
of nine separate encampments or concentrations. NPIC
has made a comparative study of the photography of
four recent missions and has concluded:
a. That the area is primarily agricultural,
is typical of other agricultural areas established
throughout this lowland section; and is under
active cultivation;
b. That trenching and possible weapons emplace-
ments, indicating former military activity, are,
now mostly overgrown and show no evidence of any
vehicle movement;
c. That six of the nine separate installations
are in South Vietnam, one is in Cambodia, and two
are on the border;
d. That there is no evidence of any military
activity; and
e. That while Viet Cong forces may be using
this area, it is not possible to confirm this from
the photography.
2. NPIC's conclusions, and the lack of any other
confirming evidence of the presence of a Viet Cong
military installation, leave us essentially with the
same situation as previously. We suspect that the Viet
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Cong are in this area; extensive and repeated photo-
graphic search of the area has disclosed a number of
installations which may belong to Viet Cong forces.
The photography, however, can neither confirm that
these are Viet Cong installations nor show what mili-
tary use is being made of them.
Background
3. The "Duck's Beak" sector of the Cambodian
South Vietnamese border for years has been particu-
larly suspect as a Viet Cong safehaven and staging
area. Viet"Cong elements, have crossed into this
area of Cambodia on several occasions since 1961
when hard pressed by South Vietnamese security forces.
Frequent border incidents have occurred,in this gen-
eral area as a result of hot pursuit and security
sweeps or airstrikes conducted by South Vietnam.
4. The most recent large-scale incident was
the 19 March action at Chantrea, which developed
when a South Vietnamese security force flushed a
company of Viet Cong at the border in Kien Tuong
Province and then pursued it into Cambodia. Chantrea
is approximately five miles northwest of the suspect
area under present discussion.
5. The temporary use of Cambodian border areas
by the Viet Cong as a safehaven has been admitted
on several occasions by the Cambodian government.
Phnom Penh has from time to time publicly announced
that its armed forces or security guards have en-
countered armed bands of "foreigners." On 7 Septem-
ber 1961 Cambodia announced the capture of, a 100-man
band, and quoted one member as admitting being a
"captain of the Viet Cong," who had been carrying
on "combat exercises on our territory since 31 August."
The destruction of the Viet Cong encampment. of about
50 shelters was also reported. Earlier this year the
government sentenced a small group of Viet Cong to a
year in prison for violating the border.
6. The presence of any large scale, permanent
Viet Cong installation on Cambodian territory has
never been proven despite frequent South Vietnamese
government allegations that bases and training areas
exist in Cambodia with Phnom Penh's collusion. Past
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aerial photographs of the border area have also shown
a number of suspicious installations, although some
of these were subsequently identified by ARVN J-2 as
inside. Vietnam. In 1961 the US chief of MAAG in
Cambodia was shown several map locations, apparently
corresponding to suspected sites shown on oblique
photographs of Cambodian territory. He identified
these. locations as Cambodian Army installations he
had recently visited.
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7. The most publicized charges of permanent
Viet Cong installations on Cambodian soil were pub-
lished in November 1961 in the New York Times by
Robert Trumbull, and were based on documents-shown
him by South Vietnamese.. government officials. Trum-
bull was subsequently invited by Cambodia to inspect
the areas cited with Cambodian authorities. He later
publicly retracted his first article, stating he
found no evidence to support South Vietnam's charges.
Privately, he told US officials in Phnom Penh he had
been duped by Vietnamese intelligence.
8. Subsequent efforts by US officials to sub-
stantiate. extensive Viet Cong use of Cambodian ter-
ritory similarly uncovered no hard evidence. In
photo reconnaissance of a 7-kilometer wide
strip o he "Duck's Beak" suggested the presence
of fox-holes and gun emplacements on the Cambodian
side of the frontier, predominately within a 5-kilo-
meter radius of the extreme southern tip. Subsequent
low altitude reconnaissance of this area identified
numerous man-made holes and trenches, apparently
used as irrigation sink holes, although some were
considered of possible military value. Trenches
were visible in and around villages, but no weapons
were seen. Ruins of gun emplacements and blockhouses
have existed on both sides of the border since the
Indochina war.
9. Although the presence of well-camouflaged
Viet Cong installations .on the Cambodian side of the
border cannot be firmly ruled out, the,Cambodian
government's past record suggests it has no knowledge
of any such installations. In May 1961, Cambodia's
Foreign Minister proposed increasing the number of
ICC personnel and establishing fixed .points along
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its borders. Since that time Cambodia has repeated
on numerous occasions--and again only just recently--
its willingness to permit international inspection
of border areas.
R. J. SMITH
Assistant Director
Current Intelligence
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N P I C/R- 1184/64
April 1964
EVALUATION OF
REPORTED MILITARY ACTIVITY,
CHANTREA AREA, CAMBODIA
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This document contains information affecting
the national defense of the United States,
within the meaning of Title 18, sections
793 and 794, of the U.S. Code, as amended.
Its transmission or revelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is
prohibited by law.
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EVALUATION OF
REPORTED MILITARY ACTIVITY,
CHANTREA AREA, CAMBODIA
N P I C/R-1184/64
April 1964
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T Hf A I LA N
~~~?~ I~Samrong
Cheom Ksan
.'hum Rovi
Pya m""
(Cham Yeam)
K A M P
Veal Renh
"" ILE QE PHU Rach Gia'
QUOG
(Adminstrotive bwndary ILES OE POULO
established by the Govern, DAMA
General of htdochino, 1939,)
POINTE OE
CA MAU
Bounder ras and names ore not necessarily
those recognized by the U.S. Government.
Kompohg
hhnang
Phum
Troun
Thala Bt
e!
y Sre
Khtum d
Snoul4'/ ?.
'H N01
PENH
'Penreyg
i V
Banam
akeo'~;'.L.,
.'Kampot 't l,!?ha
KAS RONG SAM LEM?yAle' Dec
SitlanO~ Ream Ha Tien
KAS TANG Long Xuyer
Duongg 0 'yam
Dong \ ! Hon ChongP'
S.0
Tay inhy , ~
V /
Can Tho'9L
eune Sal i-7_
ndaung }'rich?
(Bo heo)
,fit- T H
Chon Thanh
Go CIng
My Tho ^
oBen Tre
IL?S OE
POULO CONDORE
Poulo Condore
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 This report, prepared at the request of the
Department of State, represents an NPIC evalua-
tion of a reported military area in Cambodia,
adjacent to the South Vietnam border and in the
vicinity of UTM coordinates XS290947 1/. A
location map is provided in Figure 1. The area,
located 5 nm SSE of Chantrea, Cambodia (10-
52N 106-04E), is generally flat, marshy land,
and is predominantly agricultural.
NPIC/R-1184 /64
1. Area 1 (See Figure 2), reported as a
probable command post/headquarters 1/, is a
major local farming development as evidenced
by a pattern of continued cultivation during the
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period of photographic coverage
The referenced report lists
one possible bunker located in the center of the
area, 3 revetted storage buildings, 2 possible
storage areas containing a total of 3 buildings
and 2 support buildings, a barrier of approxi-
mately 35 foxholes, approximately 15 AW em-
placements, a sawtooth trench and numerous
dispersed foxholes.
All coordinates and the border delineation
have been derived from AMS Series L509, sheet
NC 48-7, scale: 1:250,000.
The 13th Reconnaissance Technical Squad-
ron (RTS) report referenced above refers
to nine possible installations. Each of
these is commented on in the body of this
report.
area shows that those areas of established local
farming development have this windbreak pat-
tern. Similar orderly rows of holes can be ob-
served in several of the areas depicted in the
referenced report. The sawtooth trench appears
to be partially obscured by vegetation. The vege-
tation and the absence of track activity in the
vicinity indicate that the trench is probably
little used.
2. Area 2 (See Figure 3) was reported as
a possible munitions storage area containing 10
dispersed storage bunkers interconnected by a
canal system. A central probable control point
comprises 2 main buildings, several support
buildings, 14 AW emplacements, 2 sawtooth
trenches (one forming a triangle) and numerous
A comparison of this area wit
nd LUCKY DRAGON
reveals the following: The
reported bunker contained a dwelling which has
been removed on photography of
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The reported revetted storage buildings
appear to be farm buildings and outbuildings.
The purpose of the approximately 35 irregularly
spaced and aligned excavations, reported as a
barrier of 35 foxholes, has not been determined;
however, they may be used in planting trees for
a windbreak. Trees planted in these holes would
form a barrier against the prevailing summer
monsoon winds, a windbreak pattern common in
the delta area. A search of the surrounding
scattered foxholes.
A comparison of this area with
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reveals the following: The
area is a probable former agricultural area con-
taining 10 raised building foundations (buildings
have been removed) interconnected by raised
paths and 4 buildings which were formerly asso-
ciated with the agricultural activity in this area.
The sawtooth trenches are almost obliterated by
vegetation on photography of
I and appear to be no longer used.
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The entire area is typical of the agricultural
development observed throughout this marshy
area.
3. Area 3 (See Figure 4) reported as a
possible munitions storage area is an abandoned
agricultural area almost totally obscured by
vegetation.
4. Area 4 was reported as an unidentified
storage area containing 5 possible storage build-
ings interconnected by canals, 2 distinct lines of
foxholes, and numerous scattered foxholes and
AW emplacements. The report also suggests
this installation may house additional head-
quarters and command facilities.
A comparison of this area with Mission
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reveals the following: The two distinct lines of
foxholes appear to be small circular cleared
areas with a shrub-like object projecting up from
the center. The alignment, spacing and orienta-
tion resemble that of a windbreak. The building
pattern, raised foundations and paths, and culti-
vation pattern are similar to those observed in
the other agricultural areas. The numerous
scattered holes generally observed in the area
appear similar to the scattered holes observed
track activity in the vicinity indicates that these
holes are probably not used.
5. Area 5 (See Figure 5) was reported as
a probable training area containing a simulated
outpost and hamlet, numerous scattered foxholes
and several AW emplacements.
A comparison of this area with
J- and
reveals the following: On Mis-
sions ground scarring was ob-
served. On Mission =buildings were ob-
served erected on the scarred areas and con-
nected by paths similar to those observed in the
other areas.
Also observed adjacent to Area 5 but not
included in the annotated area on the 13th RTS
report is the outline of a triangular strongpoint
and possibly associated quarters area. Lack of
track activity indicates the area is probably
abandoned. No evidence of training activity
was noted.
6. Areas 6, 7, 8 and 9 (See Figure 6) were
reported as possible storage areas and unidenti-
fied installations. A comparison of these areas
DRAGON
sioni reveals the typical,
active agricultural pattern found throughout this
low section of the country.
throughout other agricultural areas. Absence of
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The following conclusions have been derived
from an examination of generally poor quality
a. The area is primarily agricultural and
is typical of other agricultural areas
established throughout this lowland
section.
b. Trenching and possible weapons em-
placements indicate former military
photography (with the exception of
currently available at NP IC:
activity in the area; however, growth
of vegetation and lack of track activity
indicate that the trenches and possible
emplacements are currently in disuse.
c. The area may be used by para- military
or military forces such as the Viet
Gong, but such military uses of this area
cannot be confirmed from an examina-
tion of photography currently available
at the NP IC .
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FIGURE 5. ABANDONED STRONGPOINT AND RURAL DWELLINGS UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
-6-
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MAPS
AMS Series L509, sheet NC 48-7, scale: 1:250,000 (UNCLASSIFIED)
AMS Series L605, sheets 220E, 220W, 229E, 229W, edition 6-SG1F, scale: 1:100,000 (UNCLASSIFIED)
1. 13th Reconnaissance Technical Squadron, APO 143, San Francisco, California, Detailed Photo Interpretation
Report, 4 Mar 64 (CONFIDENTIAL)
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