The Burmese War was a Cold War conflict fought officially between 1974 and 1976, but which in reality began much earlier and did not find closure until the early 1980's. In 1974, the Chinese government assisted in the toppling of the powerful, French-backed Burmese government and instantly a violent civil war started. Funded with modern French chemical weapons, the rebels, known as Exiles, launched deadly attacks into Chinese territory and with foreign money, employed the forces of a violent private army from Cambodia and Siam known as the Southeast Asian Mercenary Army (SEAMA).