SUMMARY
The border conflict between Laos and Thailand dates back to 1975 when clashes took place in the border areas, following disputes over the demarcation of the joint border. In 1986-1988 the conflict escalated into heavy fighting, but a full-scale war was eventually avoided by a ceasefire agreement in February 1988. The ceasefire has continued to hold even though the border is yet to be fully demarcated.
IN DEPTH
Background to the conflict
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 in February 1970. Thailand argued that the Franco-Thai agreements from 1904, 1907 and 1926 no longer were valid. At the time, there were a number of intellectuals in Thailand 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 a later stage.
In 1975, there were communist victories in conflicts 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 in Laos. The attachés were released ten days later, easing the tensions somewhat and fighting eventually ceased. In response, Thailand expelled a number of leaders of the Meo tribes’ people, who were engaged in anti-Pathet Lao activities. At the time, about 54 000 Meo refugees were living in Thailand.
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 the 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.
Escalation of border clashes in 1986-1988
In 1986, the tensions between Thailand and Laos regarding the joint border 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.
In late 1987, fighting escalated even further and heavy fighting took place in a border hill region. Prior to the events in late 1987, Laos had accused Thailand of increasing its troop presence in northern Thailand in order to protect illegal logging activities. Following these accusations, made in May 1987, Lao troops allegedly attacked and killed several Thai loggers. Accusations continued and in August Thailand claimed that about 200 Lao troops had attacked a Thai paramilitary post at Ban Rom Klao. The disputed area was about 80 square kilometers and consisted of mainly forest-covered hills. In this case, both countries referred to the 1907 Franco-Siamese treaty. The treaty stated that the border followed the Hoeng River, located to the east of the conflict area. However, Laos used one of the river’s two tributaries, the Hoeng Nga as the border marker, while Thailand used the other tributary, Hoeng Parman.
The fighting continued into 1988 and in mid-January, Thailand claimed to have regained control of more than 70 percent of the disputed area. However, some Lao troops remained in the area and engaged in close combat and laid landmines. It was reported that about 700 Lao and Thai troops had been killed in the fighting since 1987.
Ceasefire in 1988 despite unresolved border disputes
On 16-17 February 1988, talks were held in Bangkok, Thailand, between Gen. Sisavat Keobounphan, the Chief of the General Staff of the Lao Peoples Army, and Gen. Chaovalit Yongchaiyut, the Commander in Chief of the Thai Army. The talks led to the signing of a ceasefire agreement, which urged both countries to initiate political talks within 15 days, in order to resolve the border conflict. The ceasefire was implemented by both sides on 19 February. Both countries also pulled back their troops back 3 km from the battle front.
Further talks were held in Bangkok on 3-4 March and also on 17-18 March in Vientiane, Laos. Both rounds, however, ended without a resolution of the border conflict. The ceasefire continued to hold, however, even though the relations between the two countries were strained in the following years. In March 1991, an agreement was reached between the two countries includeding the withdrawal of troops from the disputed border areas. In connection to this agreement, a general border committee was formed in order to deal with border disputes. Despite the establishing of this committee, as well as of general border peacekeeping cooperation committees in 1996, the problems with demarcating the border continued. In May 1997, a two-year timeframe for the settlement of the land portion of the border was agreed upon (excluding the disputes along the Mekong River). Some progress had been made by January 1998, but in the following month, Thailand unilaterally suspended the demarcation process, citing budgetary pressures. A new border dispute arose in August 2000 as Lao troops seized two islands on the Mekong River and evicted nearly 50 Thai farming families. However, this time the dispute did not result in any casualties and it was resolved through talks in the beginning of September 2000. In early February 2009, both governments agreed to a timeframe which stipulated that the demarcation of the whole border should be completed by 2010.
