The Lao People's Armed Forces (LPAF; Lao: ກອງທັບປະຊາຊົນລາວ), is the armed forces of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the institution of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, who are charged with protecting the country.
| Lao People's Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
 Emblem of Lao People's Armed Forces | |
| Founded | 20 January 1949 |
| Service branches | Lao People's Army Lao People's Navy Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force[1] |
| Headquarters | Vientiane |
| Leadership | |
| Governing body | Defence and Public Security Commission |
| DPSC Chairman, President and General Secretary | Thongloun Sisoulith |
| Minister of Defence | General Chansamone Chanyalath |
| Chief of the General Staff | Lieutenant General Khamlieng Outhakaysone |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 18- 45 years of age for compulsory military service |
| Conscription | minimum 18 months |
| Available for military service | 1,500,625 males, age 15–49 (2005 est.), 1,521,116 females, age 15–49 (2005 est.) |
| Fit for military service | 954,816 males, age 15–49 (2005 est.), 1,006,082 females, age 15–49 (2005 est.) |
| Reaching military age annually | (2005 est.) |
| Active personnel | 100,000 |
| Reserve personnel | 30,000 |
| Expenditure | |
| Budget | $18.5 million (2019) |
| Percent of GDP | 0.5% (2006) |
| Industry | |
| Foreign suppliers | Current: Historical: |
| Related articles | |
| History | First Indochinese War Laotian Civil War Insurgency in Laos Thai-Laotian Border War |
| Ranks | Military ranks of Laos |
Active forces
editThe army of 29,100 is equipped with 30 main battle tanks. The army marine section, equipped with 16 patrol craft, has 600 personnel. The air force, with 3,500 personnel, is equipped with anti-aircraft missiles and 24 combat aircraft (no longer in service).
Militia self-defence forces number approximately 100,000 organised for local defence. The small arms utilised mostly by the Laotian Army are the Soviet AKM assault rifle, PKM machine gun, Makarov PM pistol, and the RPD light machine gun.
Organization
editThe LPAF is divided into four military regions, with its headquarters in Vientiane
- Military Region One (Luang Phrabang)
- Military Region Two (Phonsavan)
- Military Region Three (Xépôn)
- Military Region Four (Pakxan)
The LPRP statute states that its political leadership over the military emanates from the LPRP Central Committee's Defence and Public Security Commission (DPSC) and is the highest decision-making institution regarding military and security affairs.[2]
History
editUntil 1975, the Royal Lao Armed Forces were the armed forces of the Kingdom of Laos.
Serving one of the world's least developed countries, the Lao People's Armed Forces (LPAF) is small, poorly funded, and ineffectively resourced. Its mission focus is border and internal security, primarily in internal suppression of Laotian dissident and opposition groups.[1]
This includes the suppression of the 1999 Lao Students Movement of Democracy demonstrations in Vientiane, and in countering ethnic Hmong insurgent groups and other groups of Laotian and Hmong people opposing the one-party Marxist-Leninist LPRP government and the support it receives from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.[1]
Together with the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and the government, the Lao People's Army (LPA) is the third pillar of state machinery, and as such is expected to suppress political and civil unrest and similar national emergencies faced by the government in Vientiane. The LPA also has reportedly upgraded skills to respond to avian influenza outbreaks. At present, there is no major perceived external threat to the state and the LPA maintains very strong ties with the neighbouring Vietnamese military (2008).[1]
According to some journalists, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), humanitarian and human rights organisations, the Lao People's Army has repeatedly engaged in egregious human rights violations and the practice of corruption in Laos.[3][4]The LPAF and its military intelligence play a major role in the arrest, imprisonment and torture of foreign prisoners in Vientiane's notorious Phonthong Prison and the communist Lao gulag system where Australians Kerry and Kay Danes were imprisoned and where civic activist Sombath Somphone may be imprisoned following his arrest in December 2012.[5]
In 2013, attacks by the Lao People's Army against the Hmong people intensified, with soldiers killing four unarmed Hmong school teachers in addition to engaging in other human rights abuses according to the Lao Human Rights Council, the Centre for Public Policy Analysis and others.[6]
Equipment
editTanks, armored vehicles and trucks
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Artillery
edit| Photo | Model | Type | Origin | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dongfeng CS/SS4 | Self propelled mortar system |  China | 14[citation needed] | ||
| SR-5 | Multiple rocket launcher | China | 12 | ||
.jpg) | BM-21 Grad | 122mm multiple rocket launcher |  Soviet Union | 32 | |
 | BM-14 | Multiple rocket launcher | 20 | ||
 | 2S3 Akatsiya | 152mm self-propelled howitzer | Unknown | ||
| 122-HL-70 | 122mm self-propelled howitzer |  Laos | 18 | ||
 | PCL-09 | 122mm self-propelled howitzer | China | 12 | |
 | M-30 122 mm howitzer | Towed howitzers and guns | Soviet Union | 15[15] | |
.jpg) | 122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30)[citation needed] | 20[15] | |||
 | 130 mm towed field gun M1954 (M-46)[15] | ||||
 | M114 155 mm howitzer[15] |  United States | 12[15] | ||
 | M101 howitzer | 105mm (towed): M-101[15] | 20[15] | ||
 | M116 howitzer[15] | 75mm (towed): M-116 pack | 10 |
Air defense
edit| Photo | Model | Type | Origin | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | S-125 Neva/Pechora | Short-range SAM system | Soviet Union | Unknown | |
 | 9K35 Strela-10 | Vehicle-mounted SAM system | Soviet Union | Unknown | |
| Yitian anti air system | Surface-to-air missile | China | Unknown | ||
 | ZSU-23-4 Shilka | Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun | Soviet Union | Unknown | |
 | Strela-2 | Surface-to-air missile | Soviet Union | Unknown | Received 100 launchers from Soviet Union in the 80s[18] |
 | 37 mm automatic air defence gun M1939 (61-K) | Air defence gun | Unknown | ||
 | 57 mm AZP S-60 | Automatic anti-aircraft gun | Unknown | ||
.jpg) | ZPU | Auto anti-aircraft gun | Unknown | ||
 | ZU-23-2 | Anti-aircraft gun | Unknown |
Weapons
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Mortars
editAccidents
editOn 17 May 2014, Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Douangchay Phichit was killed in a plane crash, along with other top ranking officials.[25] The officials were to participate in a ceremony to mark the liberation of the Plain of Jars from the former Royal Lao government forces.[26] Their Russian-built Antonov AN 74-300 with 20 people on board crashed in Xiangkhouang Province.[27]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. November 2021.
- ^ "Laos Lao People's Army - Flags, Maps, Economy, History, Climate, Natural Resources, Current Issues, International Agreements, Population, Social Statistics, Political System". photius.com. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ Amnesty International, (23 March 2007), "Lao People's Democratic Republic: Hiding in the jungle – Hmong under threat" "Lao People's Democratic Republic: Hiding in the jungle - Hmong under threat | Amnesty International". Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ The Centre for Public Policy Analysis, CPPA, Washington, D.C. (1 August 2013), http://www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org
- ^ Scoop Independent News, Auckland, New Zealand, (19 March 2013) "Laos Officials Criticized for Obstructing Investigation" http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1303/S00169/laos-officials-criticized-for-obstructing-investigation.htm (Archive)
- ^ Businesswire, businesswire.com (4 March 2013) "Laos: Attacks Intensify Against Lao, Hmong People" http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130304006755/en/Laos-Attacks-Intensify-Lao-Hmong-People (Archive)
- ^ "Russia receives 30 vintage tank from Laos". 10 June 2020. Archived from the original on 9 September 2021.
- ^ "Trade Registers".
- ^ Foss, Christopher F. (2000). Jane's tank & combat vehicle recognition guide. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780004724522.
- ^ Administrator. "PT-76". Pancerni 2. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014. [verification needed]
- ^ Foss, Christopher F. (2000). Jane's tank & combat vehicle recognition guide. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780004724522.
- ^ Foss, Christopher F. (2000). Jane's tank & combat vehicle recognition guide. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780004724522.
- ^ Foss, Christopher F. (2000). Jane's tank & combat vehicle recognition guide. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780004724522.
- ^ Gibson, Neil; Fediushko, Dmitry (22 January 2019). "Laotian military parades Russian- and Chinese-made equipment". Jane's 360. London, Moscow. Archived from the original on 23 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Laos Army Equipment". Global Security. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
- ^ a b John Pike. "World Military Guide". Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Laos". Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
- ^ "Trade Registers".
- ^ a b c d e Cove, The (25 February 2022). "Know Your Region (KYR): Laos - Military". cove.army.gov.au. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ "Laos Borong Senjata Buatan Pindad" (in Indonesian). 11 January 2018. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Cặp đôi súng Trung Quốc trong biên chế đặc công Lào mạnh cỡ nào?". 15 May 2020. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023.
- ^ Administrator, ANTARA (24 September 2017). "Laos Expresses Interest To Make Another Purchase of Pindad Weapon". Tempo.co. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
- ^ Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
- ^ a b c d "Library of Congress / Federal Research Division / Country Studies / Area Handbooks / Laos / Tables". Retrieved 22 October 2014.
- ^ "Laos Deputy PM Douangchay Phichit dies in plane crash". BBC News. 17 May 2014. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ Williams, Martin (17 May 2014). "Laos plane crash kills defence minister and senior officials". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
- ^ "Lao Defense Chief Among Plane Crash Victims". Laos News.Net. 18 May 2014. Archived from the original on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.