Troubles with the newly formed Vietnamese government further progressed in early 1978 when Thắng approached the Soviet Union for help in deposing the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, which was aligned with People's Republic of China (PRC). The situation seemed like a golden opportunity for the Soviet Union because they knew that the Vietnamese army could easily defeat Cambodian forces. A Vietnamese victory would weaken the only aligned nation with the People's Republic of China in Southeast Asia and demonstrate the superiority of being aligned with the Soviet Union. The growing tensions between the PRC and the Soviet Union had drastically escalated the situation in the area. The Soviet Union was anxious about the future outcome of a war by proxy between Vietnam and Cambodia.
