During its 70 years of building, combating and maturing, the Lao People’s Army (LPA) has always asserted its core role in the struggle for national liberation and the cause of Homeland defense. Amidst more demanding requirements, the LPA exerts itself to become comprehensively strong, successfully fulfilling its assigned tasks and deserving to be the loyal and reliable political and combat forces of the Party, the State and the people of Laos.
Amidst more demanding requirements of the revolutionary struggle by Laotians for independence, freedom and national liberation from the fetters and yoke of slavery, Comrade Kaysone Phomvihane announced the joining of armed groups in a number of localities into the Free Laotian Army (now the LPA) in Xiengkhor (Houaphan province) on January 20th, 1949 under the leadership of the Indochinese Communist Party. The formation of the Free Laotian Army was a historic event, adding a new step forward to the Lao revolution in general and the Lao armed forces in particular under the leadership of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party headed by Comrade Kaysone Phomvihane.
After its inception, the Free Laotian Army unceasingly developed its combat capabilities and closely cooperated with Vietnamese voluntary soldiers in mounting small-to-large-scale operations, achieving significant victories in Xiengkhor and Ma River operations (1949). Those victories motivated Pathet Lao forces to continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Vietnamese soldiers in launching attacks against enemies in Upper, Middle and Lower Laos, liberating and seizing vast territories, including provinces of Sam Nuea, Phongsaly and Xiangkhouang. During the 1953-1954 winter-spring campaign, Pathet Lao forces closely cooperated with Vietnamese voluntary soldiers in attacking enemies on different battle fronts in North Laos, Central Laos and West Laos, annihilating 8,000 enemy troops, capturing plenty of enemy weapons and equipment, liberating half of Lao territory. This Campaign dealt a decisive blow to enemies, greatly contributing to the victory of the peoples of three Indochinese countries, forcing the French colonialists to sign the 1954 Geneva Accords on ending the war, restoring peace in Indochina and recognizing the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, acknowledging the Pathet Lao to be Laos’ armed forces whose rendezvous zones were located in the provinces of Houaphanh and Phongsaly.
However, no sooner had the 1954 Geneva Accords been signed than the American neo-colonialists characterized by bellicosity intervened in Indochina in place of the French, plotting to occupy Laos. They provided the rightists in Laos with full supports as their lackeys in order to sabotage the Lao revolution. Against this backdrop, Pathet Lao forces led by the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party focused on building up their strength, waging legal struggles in parallel with military struggles and heavily defending their rendezvous zones. For less than 2 years (from October, 1954 to August, 1956), Pathet Lao forces repelled 685 attacks by the rightists backed by the US, successfully defending revolutionary forces and their rendezvous zones, annihilating nearly 5,000 enemy troops, forcing them to sign the 1957 Vientiane agreement in order to form the first coalition government. Nevertheless, after the signing of the 1957 Vientiane agreement, the US reneged on it by providing the rightists with materiel and military advisors, establishing a far-right government and implementing the “special warfare” strategy. In order to defeat this strategy, the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party combined political struggles with armed struggles with the latter as the cornerstone, built up military strength and closely combined offensives by the armed forces with uprisings by the masses. As a result, many major parts of Laos were liberated such as Vientiane, “the Plain of Jars” in Xieng Khouang. Heavy defeats in military, political and diplomatic terms, particularly in the battle of Luang Namtha, forced the US to deescalate the war by signing the 1962 Geneva Accords on Laos and accepting a three-party coalition government in Laos.
The ink was barely dry on the 1962 Geneva Accords when the US ramped up their attacks, even aerial bombings, on major battlefields and liberated zones in Laos. In response, the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party launched an all-out people’s war, and conducted a series of campaigns on different scales such as Nam Bac (1968), Plain of Jars - Xiengkhuang (1969-1971),Lam Son 719 (1971), thereby facilitating the liberation of the whole country and the formation of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. As Laos embarked on the period of national construction and defense, the LPA successfully fulfilled its tasks of safeguarding the revolutionary government and the people’s peaceful life and proactively cooperated with Vietnamese voluntary soldiers in smashing hostile forces’ sabotage plots and artifices. Prime examples included the quelling of riots in West Laos, the extermination of the Vang Pao bandits and the prevention of border encroachments, contributing to firmly defending independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, the Party, the State and the people of Laos.
In Southeast Asia in general, Indochina in particular, while peace, cooperation and development remain the prevailing trend, there exist complicated and unpredictable developments. Exploiting the international integration trend and domestic difficulties in Laos, hostile forces are frenziedly ramping up “peaceful evolution” and subversion while provoking divisions among the Party, the State, the LPA and the people of Laos. They are also plotting to divide the long-standing traditional friendship among Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia so as to send Laos into their orbit. In order to foil their plots and to contribute to firmly preserving political security, defending the Homeland, and creating a stable and peaceful environment for national construction and development, the LPA has and is adopting measures with emphasis being placed on the following.
First, concentrating on strengthening the LPA politically in order to contribute to successfully fulfilling the task of Homeland defense. To this end, Party committees and commanders throughout the LPA should continue to thoroughly grasp and fully implement the Resolution of the 10th National Congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, the Resolution of the 4th Party Congress of the Lao Ministry of National Defense. It is necessary to better communicate to Lao military personnel their assigned tasks; fiendish plots, sabotage activities and the conspiracy by hostile forces to depoliticize the armed forces while urging them to increase their vigilance and to adhere to Marxism – Leninism and the revolutionary line by the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party. Importance should be attached to strengthening Party committees, Party organizations and a contingent of cadres who are capable of their assigned tasks. It is essential to maintain and enhance the Party’s leadership over the military while promoting the LPA’s core role in defending independence and territorial sovereignty as the loyal and reliable political and combat forces of the Party, the State and the people of Laos.
Second, continuing to enhance the LPA’s quality of training and combat readiness. The LPA should continue to comprehensively reform training and combat readiness in terms of curricula and methodology in line with its military units’ specific circumstances. Training and education should enable military personnel to thoroughly grasp military theories and operational art and to master modern materiel. At the same time, combat readiness and regular patrols should be strictly maintained. Also, importance should be attached to drills and plans for operational coordination in order to enable the LPA to effectively deal with contingencies and to avoid being caught off guard. In addition to the enhanced quality of training and combat readiness, the LPA should step up the maintenance of discipline and make elaborate preparations in logistic and technical terms while actively studying and developing the military art for the sake of Homeland defense.
Third, expanding international defense cooperation and enlisting external resources for the purpose of building the LPA. On the basis of thoroughly grasping the foreign policy of openness by the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party amidst trends in intensive and extensive international integration, the LPA has and is promoting international defense cooperation, thereby enlisting external resources in order to consolidate national defense under new circumstances. Cooperation has been focused on cadre training, transfer of military technology, defense industry, etc. Laos prioritizes its cooperation with ASEAN members and neighboring countries, particularly Vietnam and China. International defense cooperation enables Laos to exchange information with countries, to closely cooperate with them in dealing with possible security/defense incidents, to learn the organization of forces, training and drills from them, to develop military techniques, as well as to consolidate its traditional friendly relations with them, thereby facilitating Homeland defense from afar.
Bringing into full play its 70-year heroic traditions, the LPA is striving to effectively adopt measures for its enhanced combat readiness capabilities in order to firmly defend independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity as well as to create a stable and peaceful environment for socio-economic development, contributing to building a beautiful, civilized and prosperous country.
Maj. Gen. Saisamon Salépseng, Director of the Department of Propaganda and Training, the General Department of Politics, the LPA