1867–1980 France and Siam signed a treaty on 15 July 1867 once preceded an effort to establish a
French protectorate of Cambodia, the territorial disputes of Indochinese peninsula for the expansion of
French Indochina which led the
Incident of Rattanakosin Era 112. The Siamese agreed to cede
Laos to
France on 3 October 1893 as part of French Indochina with the Treaty of Peace and Convention in Bangkok, which was ratified on February 2, 1894. The treaty established the Mekong as the frontier between the two countries between the French explorer
Auguste Pavie and
King Rama V of Siam. During
World War II, Laos was invaded and controlled by
Vichy France,
Thailand,
Imperial Japan and
Free France which led the
Surrender of Japan in French Indochina following the two
Atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Laos obtained independence in 1949 and has completed independence from France on 22 October 1953, followed by Cambodia on 9 November.
Kaysone Phomvihane, the leader of
Lao People's Revolutionary Party joined
Pathet Lao as of
Marxist-Leninist movement.
Pol Pot ("Saloth Sâr") who was once educated in
Paris,
France to join the
French Communist Party from 1 October 1949 to 13 January 1953. He established a new communist party as the "Workers' Party of Kampuchea" in 1960, later renamed as the "Communist Party of Kampuchea" in 1966, which led the beginning of the
Cambodian Civil War in 1967. The
Khmer Rouge ("Cambodian Reds") ideology combined elements of
communism, heavily influenced by Maoism, with a strong form of Khmer nationalism. In 1970,
Sihanouk was overthrown by the
United States-led
Khmer Republic during the
coup of
Lon Nol. By 1971,
Angkar had launched a military operation as
Chenla II supported by the
Viet Cong and the
North Vietnamese. By 1974, Angkar and the Khmer Rouge had captured the city of
Kampot against Lon Nol's Khmer Republic government. Both Laotian and Cambodian communists on the orders of
Chairman Mao and the
People's Liberation Army to overthrow not just Sihanouk or Lon Nol of the Khmer Republic, but
King Sisavang Vatthana and the
Royal Family of Laos which is until the fall of
Vientiane during the
Laotian Civil War on 2 December 1975 as the
Royal Lao Army surrendered to Pathet Lao after long years of civil war defeating the American imperialism, especially eight months after the
Fall of Phnom Penh that surrendered to the Khmer Rouge and the beginning of
Year Zero. On 5 January 1976, Cambodia has been proclaimed and
constituted as
Democratic Kampuchea which had very close ties with
China and
North Korea as a
special relationship between the two countries. In 1975, following the proclamation of
Lao People's Democratic Republic, the
Royal Lao Government disbanded as the country became
one-party Marxist–Leninist state, behind
Maoist government backings of the
PRC had re-established relations a complex relationship with Laos that includes economic, political, and military cooperation after the
death of Mao Zedong in September 1976. Both Thailand and Laos try to avoid each other, other than to keep open communication for economic and environmental reasons. The royals were taken to re-education camp called
Camp Number One in
Xam Neua where they are forced to do hard labor which led the King in 1980, the queen
Khamphoui in 1982 and Vatthana all died of starvation in the camp. Thailand sealed its long river border with Laos in 1980.
1980– In 1980, a minor incident involving live fire between patrol boats led
Thailand to close its border with
Laos. More significant border disputes and military clashes followed in 1984 and 1987 in
Sainyabuli Province. These conflicts originated in rival claims to forest resources based on maps from the early days of the French
protectorate. This action was criticized by
Human Rights Watch and the
US State Department. Despite their shared cuisine, language and border, scholars have noted that anti-communist ideology after the 1950s encouraged the idea of "
Thainess", and a persistent belief in Thai superiority, leading "the population of central and southern Thailand [to] look to their northern borders with contempt". After achieving independence under a Communist rule, the present Laotian government has been pro-Vietnam. Thailand's influence is suspect in the views of the pro-socialist Laotian community. ==Mutual assistance==