Laos: Sovereign State or Soviet/Vietnamese Dependency?

Laos's significant economic dependence on the Soviet Union and growing military dependence on Vietnam (which has over 30,000 troops stationed in Laos) has seen those two countries come to dominate many aspects of Lao internal affairs. Major national decisions are now made by a Council that is one-third Soviet, one-third Vietnamese and one-third Laotian in composition.

The Vietnamese especially care little for the desire of ordinary Laorians to make their own decisions independently of a Vietnamese-dominated "special relationship". Recently a Lao Comminust Party member complained that numerous blueprints for re-organising Laotian society were "simply Vietnamese documents translated into Lao and implemented without regard for our feelings".

Vietnamese arrogance is increasingly finding its counter in the anger of Lao peasants and Pathet Lao troops. "There have been persistent reports of clashes between Vietnamese troops and Pathet Lao soldiers. In Sayaboury province, a Pathet Lao army unit opened fire last month on a Vietnamese detachment that had camped nearby when the Vietnamese refused to hoist the Laotian flag alongside their own." (Newsweek, May 22, 1978)

Alongside the Vietnamese a contingent of Soviets has arrived in Vientiane. They are hated even more than the Vietnamese. They have behaved contemptuously of the Lao Government, openly hoarding scarce food supplies and black marketeering. They act just like the old western imperialists. One Pathet Lao official denounced them strongly: "The Russians are fat and ugly, running around madly trying to buy up American throwaways. They're just like second-rate Americans."

Vietnam's "special relationship" in practice has meant lessened independence and increased foreign domination for Lao tians. Having kicked out US imperialism Laos now faces a new threat to its independence and sovereignty - from Vietnamese hegemonism.