UCDP

General information

Part of Conflict: Laos - Thailand

Date of first stated goals of incompatibility: 1975-06-01
Comment on date of first stated goal of incompatibility: The border between Laos and Thailand follows the Mekong River from the point where Burma, Laos and Thailand meet in the north to the point where Cambodia, Laos and Thailand meet in the south. Ever since the end of World War II, successive Thai governments have tried to change the location of the border between Thailand and Laos, which is about 1750 km long. Thai proposals of border negotiations were made for example in July 1955 and also in February 1970. Thailand argued that the Franco-Thai agreements from 1904, 1907 and 1926 no longer were valid. There were a number of intellectuals in Thailand at the time who argued that no agreement that had been negotiated before the end of the absolute monarchy and the implementation of a constitutional democracy in 1932 could be considered valid. Laos did not agree to this and tried to delay talks by proposing that other issues, such as commercial ones, should be discussed first and that border committees could be formed at later stage.

In 1975, there were communist victories in conflict in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The changing regional dynamics worried Thailand who struggled to thwart their own communist rebel groupings. The leftist Pathet Lao’s takeover in Laos in 1975 also led to a wave of Lao refugees crossing the border into Thailand. The flow of refugees and the border disputes worsened the already strained relations between the two countries. In the first half of 1975, diplomatic relations were broken off and border crossings were closed. The tensions escalated to daily clashes in June, leading to several casualties.

Date of first use of armed force: 1975-06-01
Comment on date of first use of armed force: In 1975, there were communist victories in conflict in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The changing regional dynamics worried Thailand who struggled to thwart their own communist rebel groupings. The leftist Pathet Lao’s takeover in Laos in 1975 also led to a wave of Lao refugees crossing the border into Thailand. The flow of refugees and the border disputes worsened the already strained relations between the two countries. In the first half of 1975, diplomatic relations were broken off and border crossings were closed. The tensions escalated to daily clashes in June, leading to several casualties. On 5 August, two Thai military attachés were arrested by Laos. The attachés were released ten days later and the tensions eased somewhat after this and fighting eventually ceased. In response, Thailand expelled a number of leaders of the Meo tribes’ people, leaders who were engaged in anti-Pathet Lao activities). At the time, about 54 000 Meo refugees were living in Thailand.
First Battle Related Death: 1982-06-16
Comment on First Battle Related Death: Ever since the end of World War II, Thailand had wanted to change the Thai-Laos border. Laos rejected Thailand’s proposals of border talks and fighting eventually broke out in June 1975. The fighting was preceded by the leftist Pathet Lao takeover earlier the same year, which had led to a large number of refugees crossing the border into Thailand. Daily clashes were reported during the summer of 1975, but since their were no reports of actual battle-related deaths (only vague references about “casualties”), it was not possible to set the date of the first battle related death to the year of 1975.

Since the clashes in 1975, the relations between Laos and Thailand had improved somewhat with the help of some reciprocal ministerial visits. However, on 16 June 1982, it was reported that Lao troops stationed on the Don Sangkhi island in the Mekong River had fired on the Thai village of Ban Mae, killing two villagers. New shots were fired on the following day when Thai patrol boats passed the area. Lao troops sank one of the boats while the other one ran aground. Two Thai crew members were killed in the incident. An additional shooting were reported in 22 June. Following these incidents, the Thai ambassador to Laos delivered an official protest and the border was closed. However, no further armed clashes were reported in 1982.

Date when dyad reached 25 battle releated deaths: 1986-12-31
Comment on date when dyad reached 25 battle related deaths: In 1984, a new border dispute arose between Laos and Thailand. Previously, the disputes had mainly revolved around the Mekong River. In mid-1984, the conflict came to include the rights to three villages (Ban Mai, Ban Klang and Ban Sawang) located on both sides of the border between Xainyaburi province in Laos and the Uttaradit province in Thailand. Laos based its claims to the villages on the 1907 Franco-Siamese border treaty, while Thailand based its territorial claim on an American survey from 1978 which allegedly placed the villages on the Thai side. The dispute led to a larger clash in June 1984, and was later followed by a series of several small-scale clashes. However, there were no reports of specific battle-related deaths during the clashes in 1984.

In 1986, the tensions once again escalated into fighting. According to the Bangkok Post, Lao troops had crossed the Mekong River on 1 February and launched a rocket attack on villages located in the Khemaral district. Five people were reported to have been killed in the attack. The Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on 11 February denying the attack. Later the same year, Thai government officials accused Lao troops of having attacked a Thai border settlement located near Chiang Khan on 14 June. 35 people were claimed to have been killed in the attack. This was the first time that the border conflict between Thailand and Laos reached the threshold of 25 battle-related deaths in one year.

Conflict issues

Annual information

This section contains annual information systematically collected by the UCDP.