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Laos - US Relations

The United States opened a legation in Laos in 1950. Before 1950, citizens of the United States had, at most, very limited relations with residents of what is today the nation of Laos. Relations became more regular only after Laos gained its independence from the French Empire following World War II. The United States established full diplomatic relations with Laos in 1955, following its full independence from France in 1954. Within a few years, Laos entered into civil war, and the United States supported the country’s royal government. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Laos sought to improve relations with other countries. The U.S. relationship with Laos has developed steadily since the restoration of full diplomatic relations in 1992. More than ever, the Lao Government was growing more open and responsive to U.S. engagement.

Laos was a crisis that the Eisenhower administration passed on to the Kennedy administration. For the first year and a half of the Kennedy administration, Laos was the most pressing crisis in Southeast Asia. After the conclusion of the Geneva Conference on Laos in July 1962, events in Vietnam came increasingly to dominate the administration's policy toward Southeast Asia. The Kennedy administration produced an inordinate amount of contingency plans for Laos, most of which were never implemented.

The United States increasingly became involved in fighting a war against Pathet Lao/North Vietnamese forces in Laos during the Johnson administration. Laos, a small, poor, sparsely-populated kingdom, became entangled in the Vietnam war because of its geographic position. The Kennedy administration had hoped to neutralize Laos and insulate it from the conflict, but failed because of North Vietnam's insistence on controlling the infiltration routes into South Vietnam. During 1964-1968, Laos became part of the main conflict in Southeast Asia as both the United States and North Vietnam struggled for control of the Ho Chi Minh trail and the northern highlands. Despite continued differences of opinion among US policy makers, after 1965 the trend was one of steady escalation of the war in Laos.

Since the Hmong population was located in a very strategic place along the mountainous Laos/Vietnam border, many thousands of Hmong were recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency to fight against the invading North Vietnamese Army (NVA). The Hmong became known as the CIA's ``secret army'' and were formed into Special Guerilla Units, which were used to sabotage enemy supply lines along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, call in bombing strikes, and help rescue downed American pilots. This was all done at great risk to the Hmong. Towards the end of the war, the Hmong had suffered so greatly that they had to sacrifice children as young as 10 years old to become soldiers, since many of the older recruits had either been killed or wounded. At the time, the U.S. government did not acknowledge America's role. It was a secret war, and for years, the American people did not know.

Although diplomatic relations were never severed, US-Lao relations deteriorated during in the post-Indochina War period after 1975. After the proclamation of the founding of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR) in December 1975, the United States downgraded its chief of mission in Vientiane from Ambassador to Chargé d’Affaires ad interim. On January 9, 1987, this position was designated as Chargé d’Affaires.

The relationship remained cool until 1982 when efforts at improvement began. Full diplomatic relations were restored in 1992 with a return to ambassadorial-level representation. Accounting for Americans missing in Laos from the Vietnam War has been a special focus of the bilateral relationship. Since the late 1980s, joint US and Lao teams have conducted a series of excavations and investigations of sites related to cases of Americans missing in Laos. In 2009, the US and Laos exchanged Defense Attaches.

The United States posted its first Ambassador to the LPDR when Ambassador Charles B. Salmon Jr. presented his credentials to the Lao Government on August 6, 1992. The United States granted Laos a national interest waiver in April 1994 for counternarcotics cooperation. It was later determined to be necessary to also engage in cooperation on issue of unaccounted-for United States military personnel. Cooperation on this and with regards to counternarcotics operations led the United States on 12 May 1995, to removed Laos from its list of countries prohibited from receiving foreign assistance funds for reasons of national interest, making development aid an option.

Accounting for American personnel missing in Laos and clearing unexploded ordnance (UXO) from the war were the initial focuses of the post-war bilateral relationship. Since that time the relationship has broadened to include cooperation on a range of issues including counter-narcotics, health, child nutrition, environmental sustainability, trade liberalization, and English language training. This expansion in cooperation has accelerated since 2009, with the launch of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI), which serves as a platform to address complex, transnational development and policy changes in the Lower Mekong sub-region. The United States and Laos share a commitment to ensuring a prosperous and sustainable future for the Mekong sub-region.

Counternarcotics activities are also an important part of the bilateral relationship. The United States and Laos cooperate closely on opium crop control projects that helped to bring about a 95% decline in poppy cultivation, from 26,000 hectares in 1998 to 1,100 hectares in 2007. Laos, however, remains on the U.S. list of major opium producers amid signs of some recent increase in poppy cultivation. U.S.-sponsored demand reduction programs have increased Laos' capacity to treat both opium and amphetamine addiction. The U.S. also provides law enforcement assistance to help contend with the rapid growth in methamphetamine trafficking and associated crime that has occurred in Laos since 2003.

The US Government provided about $12 million in foreign assistance (US Department of State and US Agency for International Development) to Laos in FY 2010, in areas including unexploded ordnance clearance and removal, counternarcotics, infectious disease prevention, food security, education, trade policy, and governance.

In December 2004, President George W. Bush signed into law a bill extending normal trade relations to Laos; in February 2005, a Bilateral Trade Agreement between the United States and Laos entered into force. There has been a consequent rise in Lao exports to the U.S., although the volume of trade remains small in absolute terms. Bilateral trade reached $71.1 million in 2010. The Lao Government is working to implement the provisions of the Bilateral Trade Agreement while simultaneously seeking to join the World Trade Organization. In July 2010, Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Thongloun Sisoulith met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the first-ever visit of a Lao foreign minister to Washington; the U.S. and Laos signed an “Open Skies” civil aviation agreement the same day.

The Lao PDR and the United States increased the number of high-level visits between their respective leaders. In March 2010, Assistant Secretary of State for EastAsian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell for the first time led the U.S. side of an annual Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue. In July, Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Thongloun Sisoulith visited Washington at the invitation of Secretary Clinton; and this was the highest-level visit from Laos since 1975. These visits reflected the broader areas of cooperation that had developed in bilateral relationship with Laos.

Assistant Secretary Russel’s visit built on this trend. In recognition of the deepening partnership between the United States and the Lao PDR, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel R. Russel visited the Lao PDR on December 17 and 18, 2015. Addressing the Institute of Foreign Affairs, Assistant Secretary Russel told a capacity audience that, “We’re writing a new chapter in relations between Laos and the U.S., between our governments and our people.”

"This partnership on issues vital to both of our nations spans inclusive economic growth, health, education, and environmental protection.” He pointed to visits, planned for later this year, of President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry as opportunities to push the relationship to a higher level. “We’ve revitalized our relations with the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, culminating in President Obama’s visit, less than a year away.”