Vientiane Treaty
Encyclopedia
The Vientiane Treaty was a cease-fire agreement between the two warring Lao factions - the monarch
ial government of Laos
and the communist Pathet Lao
- signed in Vientiane
(the capital of Laos), on February 21, 1973.
The Vientiane Treaty was in some sense a corollary to the Paris Peace Accords
, signed the month before, which had ended U.S.
involvement in the Vietnam war
. Just as the Paris Accords had mandated the withdrawal of all US forces in Vietnam
, the Vientiane Treaty called for the removal from Laos of all foreign forces allied to each side.
Under the terms of the treaty, a new coalition government was to be created; security in major cities (such as Vientiane) was to be undertaken by joint forces from both sides.
There were no outside guarantees to the terms, as the agreement was only between the Lao factions; the ICC
(which had overseen the 1954 Geneva Accords
ending the First Indochina War
) was more powerless than before to monitor compliance.
The coalition government envisaged by the treaty did not long outlast it; as with the treaty itself, events in Laos emulated those in Vietnam. Shortly after the fall of the South Vietnamese government in April, 1975, the Pathet Lao took over Laos in November, 1975.
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
ial government of Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
and the communist Pathet Lao
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
- signed in Vientiane
Vientiane
-Geography:Vientiane is situated on a bend of the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point.-Climate:Vientiane features a tropical wet and dry climate with a distinct monsoon season and a dry season. Vientiane’s dry season spans from November through March. April marks the...
(the capital of Laos), on February 21, 1973.
The Vientiane Treaty was in some sense a corollary to the Paris Peace Accords
Paris Peace Accords
The Paris Peace Accords of 1973 intended to establish peace in Vietnam and an end to the Vietnam War, ended direct U.S. military involvement, and temporarily stopped the fighting between North and South Vietnam...
, signed the month before, which had ended U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
involvement in the Vietnam war
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Just as the Paris Accords had mandated the withdrawal of all US forces in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, the Vientiane Treaty called for the removal from Laos of all foreign forces allied to each side.
Under the terms of the treaty, a new coalition government was to be created; security in major cities (such as Vientiane) was to be undertaken by joint forces from both sides.
There were no outside guarantees to the terms, as the agreement was only between the Lao factions; the ICC
International Control Commission
The International Control Commission , formally called the International Commission for Supervision and Control in Vietnam , was an international force established in 1954 that oversaw the implementation of the Geneva Accords that ended the First Indochina War with the Partition of Vietnam. It...
(which had overseen the 1954 Geneva Accords
Geneva Conference (1954)
The Geneva Conference was a conference which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, whose purpose was to attempt to find a way to unify Korea and discuss the possibility of restoring peace in Indochina...
ending the First Indochina War
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
) was more powerless than before to monitor compliance.
The coalition government envisaged by the treaty did not long outlast it; as with the treaty itself, events in Laos emulated those in Vietnam. Shortly after the fall of the South Vietnamese government in April, 1975, the Pathet Lao took over Laos in November, 1975.