The National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (Viet Cong) is founded to oppose the South Vietnamese government.
North Vietnam forms Group 559 to build a supply network through Laos and Cambodia to the South along the Trường Sơn range.
The US Air Force sprays herbicides, including dioxin-contaminated Agent Orange, over large areas of South Vietnam, with lasting health and environmental effects.
Tunku Abdul Rahman proclaims the Federation of Malaya's independence from Britain at Merdeka Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.
A smaller Viet Cong force repels an attack by South Vietnamese troops with US advisers near Mỹ Tho.
Monk Thích Quảng Đức burns himself to death in Saigon in protest at the Diệm government's treatment of Buddhists; the photograph shocks the world.
Malaya unites with Singapore, Sabah (North Borneo) and Sarawak to form Malaysia.