Return to the Mekong River

Former LT Dean Whaanga served with the Royal New Zealand Navy. He was deployed to Cambodia from June 1992 to March 1993 as part of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC).

His first post was to Phnom Penh.

“UNTAC was mandated to restore peace and civil government in a country ruined by decades of civil war and neglect, to hold free and fair elections and to ‘kick-start’ the rehabilitation of the country.”

The Cambodia deployment, at the time, was the largest force of armed troops that had left New Zealand since the Vietnam War. There were communications and engineering personnel (mine-clearing specialists). The communications unit included the first New Zealand women to join a United Nations peacekeeping mission.

“I patrolled the Mekong River in Z Boats initially, but later when I was posted to Kampot, we used a local fishing vessel which we leased, painted it white and a large UN painted on the on the cabin. We only had one local crew member, who was the owner and captain of the vessel. The remaining crew members was made up of British, Kiwi, Philippine, Canadian and Chilean personnel”.

Their aim was to disrupt the illicit commerce on the river. It might be timber floating down the river, or gems being transported to the Thai border for selling and then the procurement of arms.

Dean’s unit also patrolled on foot. They were often in Khmer occupied territories – there to seize weapons and win hearts and minds in the outlying villages. They met with local leaders and handed out sweets to the kids. The rural Cambodians lived in difficult conditions, “We found weapons caches and land mines in villages.”

Dean has fond memories of working with a group of young Cambodians who were trying to improve their English and working with other nations in UNTAC.

“I recall the Brits being particularly patriotic and when leaving the dock playing the ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ on the bagpipes much to the amusement of the other nationals on the vessel”.

However not all experiences were pleasant. “A member of the contingent was held hostage by the Khmer Rouge, and then there were the road and river blocks where they extorted money from you.”

In July 2025 Dean retuned to Cambodia. He wanted to see if the work that he was part of had improved the lives of Cambodians, and the improvements were clear to see.

“Our arrival at Pochentong airport was so different from 1992. We flew in over a skyline of high-rise buildings. The waterways and roading access had been improved, and the local tourist facilities appeared to be trading really well.”

“We came across a tuktuk driver who was in the capital at the time of UNTAC, and he took us to all the locations where UNTAC had been, including the UN HQ, Naval Headquarters.”

The Veterans’ Affairs Commemorative Travel Fund helped Dean return to Cambodia.

Veterans with Qualifying Operational Service (QOS) can apply to the fund to travel back to a place of QOS or to a reunion or commemoration. For more information check out our website.