Asia 909
Participants: 812 Laos/800 Thailand
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: 1–25 deaths
Narrative: Laotian troops opened fire on a Thai patrol boat when it entered Laotian
territorial waters in order to recover the body of a smuggler. One Thai naval officer
was killed.
Coding changes: Fatalities changed from None.
MID#3082
Dispute Number: 3082
Date(s): April 26, 1982 to June 17, 1982
Participants: 812 Laos/800 Thailand
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: Missing
Narrative: Lao forces fired on the Thai village of Ban Mai cross the Makong River.
Two villagers who had been fishing near the river were reported missing. Lao forces
also fired on a Thai patrol boat the following day and injured two naval officers.
These forces were thought to be Vietnamese-led Laotian troops, and Thailand accused
Laos of conducting a premeditated attack because the ship was fired at from multiple
directions.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from June 16, 1982.
MID#3540
Dispute Number: 3540
Date(s): April 15, 1983 to August 11, 1986
Participants: 812 Laos/800 Thailand
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: 26–100 deaths
Narrative: About 100 Laotian troops attacked a border post at Ban Bo Bia, three
miles inside the Thai border on April 15, 1983. Laotian forces then moved on three
Thai villages, seized them, and began fortifications with artillery and antiaircraft guns.
The region was disputed. Thailand claimed the villages were within their territory
based on 1978 US aerial surveys that showed at least two villages within their Uttara-
dit province and one village with most of its inhabitants within the Thai border. Laos
claimed that a 1907 Franco-Siamese treaty showed the villages were within Laotian
territory. Hostilities continued.
While both countries agreed to talks on July 22, 1984, these were broken off on
August 15 and periodic fighting took place for another year. Thai forces withdrew
from the three villages in October 1985, but both Thai and Lao forces continued to
occupy the region and clash with each other through 1986. In February 1986, Lao
forces launched attacks on Thai forces, and the Thai government alleged another
attack and incursion by Laos on June 14, 1986. The final recorded incident was on