The Lao People's Army, is the name of the armed forces of Laos, who are charged with protecting the country. Until 1975, the Royal Laos Army were the armed forces of the Laos, along with the Royal Lao Air Force and the Royal Lao Navy.
Laos is one of the world's least developed countries and the Lao People's Armed Forces are small, poorly funded, and ineffectively resourced. Most of their equipment date back to the Soviet era. There is little political will to allocate sparse funding to the military, and the armed forces' gradual degradation is likely to continue. The massive drug production and trafficking industry centered in the Golden Triangle makes Laos an important narcotics transit country, and armed Wa and Chinese smugglers are active on the Lao-Burma border.
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