This was affirmed by Deputy Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Le Huy Vinh in an article published on the People’s Army Newspaper. The defense leader recalled that during the resistance wars against the common enemies of French colonialists and U.S. imperialists, the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and advisors stood side by side with the Lao people and troops to overcome hardships and difficulties and achieve remarkable feats-of-arm.
According to Gen. Vinh, building and promoting the effectiveness of the Vietnam-Laos combat alliance was the responsibility of the entire Party, military, and people, and the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and advisors were the direct force to actualize the Party's guidelines and policies on supporting the Lao revolution, as well as building, consolidating, and developing the special solidarity of the two countries. The Vietnamese Party determined, “The Lao revolution must be carried out by the Lao people themselves. Vietnam helps Laos by creating conditions for them to gradually take on the historical mission of their country,” emphasizing the need to “truly respect the sovereignty” of Laos. In addition, “Vietnamese officers and soldiers working in Laos must obey the Lao government, respect and unite with Lao officials; in joint activities, there must be agreement from the leadership of both Vietnam and Laos.”
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General Vo Nguyen Giap (third from the left), Prince Souphanouvong (third from the right), and Vietnamese and Lao troops discussing plan to open Upper Laos Campaign in 1953 |
President Ho Chi Minh advised officials and soldiers performing international duties in Laos to consider “helping the people of the neighboring country is like helping ourselves.” He added that to fulfill the combat mission, the Vietnamese soldiers should overcome all difficulties; bravely fight; uphold the international spirit; respect the sovereignty, customs, and traditions of Laos and love the Lao people; strictly maintain discipline and uphold the reputation of the Vietnam People's Army (VPA).”
In response to the request from the Provisional Independent Government of Laos (Lao Issara), from 1945 to 1947, the Party Central Committee and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam established units for overseas Vietnamese (the predecessor of the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers) to support the Lao revolution. Under the decision of the Standing Committee, military forces in Laos operated separately following the VPA’s system and were called volunteer soldiers. This decision held significant importance, allowing for unified and direct leadership and direction for the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers, making support efforts more effective, and creating a stronger Vietnam-Laos alliance.
Following the Party’s guidelines, various units were formed to operate in the Upper Laos, Central Laos, and Lower Laos regions. The establishment of volunteer soldier units marked a substantial development in organization and structure, creating new momentum to help the Lao revolution conduct larger-scale operations and coordinate with regular Vietnamese military units to launch such major campaigns as Upper Laos (1953), Central Laos, Lower Laos-Northeast Cambodia, and Upper Laos (1954). These efforts contributed significantly to the victory in the resistance war in Laos and the overall success of the people of the three Indochinese nations.
After the Geneva Agreement, the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers gradually withdrew from Laos. However, the U.S. quickly replaced French colonialists, invading Vietnam and Laos with a new form of colonialism. In response to the call of the Lao Party and Resistance Government, the Vietnamese Party, State, and Ministry of National Defense (MND), sent volunteer soldiers and advisors to assist Laos in building forces, consolidating liberated zones, and conducting campaigns of different scales.
After the victory in 1975, Laos entered a new phase of national building and defense. However, international reactionary forces continued to conspire with domestic counter-revolutionaries, inciting political unrest in several localities, aiming to overthrow the revolutionary government and implement their scheme to dominate Vietnam. In that situation, in December 1976, Laos officially requested Vietnamese troops to return and assist the Lao people in stabilizing security and order. On September 22, 1977, a defense cooperation agreement was signed between the Vietnamese MND and the Lao Ministry of National Defense, legally formalizing the presence of Vietnamese troops in Laos. Vietnamese volunteer soldiers continued to stand side by side with the Lao people in national building and defense until their complete withdrawal in 1987, fulfilling their historical responsibility.
Currently, although there are no longer permanent military advisors, many Vietnamese continue to assist Laos in various fields. Particularly, responding to the request of the Lao government, the Vietnamese MND has sent numerous economic experts and technical staff to help Laos build economic-defense cooperation models, contributing to enhancing the partnership with the Lao People's Army in all areas as directed by the leaders of both nations. Thanks to the support from the Vietnamese MND, several companies and economic groups have been established in Laos, contributing significantly to the socio-economic development of the country.
In his article, Gen. Vinh laid stress on the important duties of the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and military advisors in Laos. Firstly, they helped the country build political foundations, revolutionary bases, people’s warfare posture, and whole people’s defense. During that time, the Vietnamese officers and soldiers were determined to stand side by side with the Lao people. They formed information teams to disseminate and educate locals about revolutionary guidelines.
Thanks to the active support of the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and the efforts of the Lao people and troops, by the end of the resistance against French colonialists, the revolutionary bases and liberated areas in Laos had been expanded. Many bases in Laos were connected, creating a continuous system of resistance bases from Northern Laos to Central and Southern Laos. This laid a foundation for the success of the struggle against French colonialism in Laos.
In the resistance war against American imperialists, the Vietnamese Party and MND selected the most experienced volunteer soldiers to form teams of advisors to help Laos build political bases and protect the revolutionary bases and liberated zones.
In peacetime, the Vietnamese MND and Lao Ministry of National Defense have cooperated to actively and practically conduct military-defense task, external affairs work. Defense ties continue to be one of the important pillars in bilateral relations, with cooperation between military regions, border guard and border protection forces remaining a spotlight. Localities along the shared borderline have organized various cooperation programs, enhanced experience sharing, and helped each other build people’s warfare posture and militia force and ensure security and public order.
Another important mission of the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and military advisors was assisting Laos in building its armed forces. During the resistance war against French colonialists, the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers planned to help Laos build the revolutionary armed forces to be capable of combating and protecting bases. Thanks to that, by 1952, Laos had built three military forces.
To further strengthen the Lao armed forces, the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and military advisors paid attention to training human resources for Laos by opening refresher courses. This work was promoted during the resistance war against American imperialists. The Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and military advisors creatively applied their experience in building the VPA to assist Laos in strengthening its military forces; attached much importance to developing the Party and enhanced the Party’s leadership over the military. Thanks to the efforts, by the end of 1975, the Lao armed forces had had more than 30,000 troops and over 50,000 guerillas.
In peacetime, to meet the higher requirement of the building of the Lao People’s Army, the Vietnamese MND has opened refresher courses for Lao officers and cadets. Thousands of the Lao trainees have become key leaders and commanding officers in the military. Together with that, the Vietnamese MND invited representatives of the Lao People’s Army to experiment exercises and organize joint drills on military medicine, search and rescue.
Recognizing the importance of forming the Vietnam-Laos alliance, on October 16, 1945, the two countries signed the "Laos-Vietnam Mutual Assistance Treaty." Based on this, on October 30, 1945, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Provisional Independent Government of Laos signed an agreement on the forming of the Laos-Vietnam alliance. According to the agreement, they fostered cooperation in all fields, especially in the military, to protect the independence of each country. Since the signing of the agreement, the solidarity and combat alliance between Vietnam and Laos strongly developed.
The Vietnamese officers and soldiers stood side by side with the Lao troops and people to successfully conduct battles and campaigns. Feats-of-arms of the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers, advisors, and Lao troops and people greatly contributed to the success of the resistance war against French colonialists and forced the U.S. to sign the Paris Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam (Paris Peace Accords) on January 27, 1973, and Vientiane Agreement on Laos on February 21, 1973.
Notable, the victory of the Spring 1975 General Offensive and Uprising, which liberated the South of Vietnam, inspired and created a historic opportunity for the Lao revolution. Under the leadership of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, on May 5, 1975, the Lao People's Liberation Army, in coordination with the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and the Lao people, simultaneously launched a comprehensive offensive, shattering the counter-revolutionary government and establishing a revolutionary government. On December 2, 1975, the Lao People's Democratic Republic was born, marking a new era in the history of the Lao revolution, a period of nation-building and defense.
Acknowledging the contribution, sacrifices, and significant assistance of the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and advisors, Comrade Kaysone Phomvihane said that the international fighters, especially from Vietnam, upheld the spirit of pure proletarian internationalism, sharing hardships and difficulties, taking difficulties upon themselves while offering advantages to their comrades, standing shoulder to shoulder, and fighting with each other in all theaters with a remarkable spirit of heroism. “In all parts of our beloved country, the blood and bones of the Vietnamese soldiers were shed and mingled with those of the Lao officials, soldiers, and people,” Comrade Kaysone Phomvihane said.
The success of the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and advisors in Laos is the result of the support between the two parties, states, and militaries. This serves as a model of solidarity, combat alliance, and cooperation between the militaries the two independent countries which respect and trust each other during the two resistance wars against common enemies. They played a significant role in establishing a traditional relationship between the two nations and are truly the most vivid symbol of the special friendship and solidarity between Vietnam and Laos.
The special solidarity and combat alliance between Vietnam and Laos, along with the experience of the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and advisors, represent precious heritage that is being preserved and further developed to contribute to lifting the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between the armed forces and peoples of both countries to new heights and fully embodying President Ho Chi Minh’s profound words that the relationship between Vietnam and Laos “is deeper than Hong Ha (the Red River) and Cuu Long (the Mekong River)”
Translated by Tran Hoai