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38-565: There are several highways sometimes known as Friendship highways . Note that the "friendship" name may not in all cases necessarily be the current official name or common name. China-Laos Friendship Highway , 1963 (Chinese 中老友谊公路) China-Nepal Friendship Highway , 1967 (Chinese 中尼友谊公路), highway connecting the Chinese Tibet Autonomous Region with Nepal China-Pakistan Friendship Highway (Chinese 中巴友誼公路), better known as

76-580: A Declaration on the Neutrality of Laos and a three-part coalition government of pro-American, pro-communist, and neutralist factions. The 14 signatories pledged to respect Laotian neutrality and to refrain from direct or indirect interference in the internal affairs of Laos, drawing Laos into military alliances, or establishing military bases in Laotian territory. The Laotian government pledged to promulgate constitutionally its commitments, which would have

114-652: A brief occupation of Laos by the Japanese at the end of World War II and a declaration of independence by Laotian nationalists, the French reoccupied Laos and the rest of French Indochina , which included Vietnam and Cambodia. In the following insurgency , the Indochinese communists formed the Pathet Lao, a Laotian nationalist movement and a North Vietnamese/ Viet Minh ally in the struggle against France. After

152-557: A leg to Chinese antiaircraft fire. Beginning in March 1972, Chinese troops began filtering down Route 46. By Autumn 1972, Route 46 had been extended to within 15 kilometers of Pak Beng. Much of it was dual lane paved road. Chinese forces in Laos now totaled 25,000, including a regiment of PLA infantry regulars. By now, nervous Thai authorities stationed some of their Project Unity troops along their border south of Pakbeng. This would lead into

190-541: A new border." The Kingdom of Laos gained independence from French colonial rule at the end of the First Indochina War . From its inception, Laos was troubled by a communist insurrection. The United States stepped in provide foreign aid to Laos, to aid in quelling the uprising. In March 1961, the Geneva Conference of 1954 reconvened with wider participation to reconsider the neutralization of

228-457: A rainy season break, the road crews resumed construction in late 1966, extending the three roads to the border by early 1967. Chinese porters helped restore the broken Route 32 logistics link. By late 1967, People's Liberation Army forces began making one- and two-day incursions into Laos along the border. Route 12 was now defended by 17 antiaircraft guns. The resident CIA case officer now sent road watch teams from Nam Yu into China to spy on

266-474: A road watch team passively gathering military intelligence before the Royalists could mount an attack. As he awaited an answer, two Royal Lao Air Force (RLAF) T-28s struck the road in early January 1970. Two Thai mercenary pilots, instigated by their government, flew out of Vientiane and struck a Chinese convoy, destroying 15 trucks. At about this time, recruitment of Commando Raiders for operations against

304-574: A series of clashes that became Operation Phalat and Operation Sourisak Montry . The Thais were not only intent of defending their border; they wished to combat Thai Communist insurgents. The implications of the Chinese Road's construction remain obscure. Originally, the CIA could not discern a reason for building this Phongsali road segment. However, it theorized that the Chinese were willing to let

342-537: The Karakoram Highway China-Vietnam Friendship Highway (Chinese 中越友谊公路) Mittraphap Road (Thailand Route 2), literally "Friendship Road" Khmer-American Friendship Highway (National highway 4), Cambodia Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway , Philippines Bangladesh-Myanmar Friendship Highway Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

380-656: The Nam Ou ; a ferry dock was built to transfer traffic across the river to Route 19, which connected to Dien Ben Phu . A battery of antiaircraft guns was installed at Muang Khoua. The old French Route 46 alignment south down the Pak Beng Valley to Pakbeng on the Mekong River ended just a short distance from the border with the Kingdom of Thailand . Improvement of this road threatened the security of Thailand. As

418-850: The People's Republic of China , the Democratic Republic of Vietnam , France , India , Polish People's Republic , the Republic of Vietnam , Thailand , the Soviet Union , the United Kingdom , and the United States signed the declaration. It and the statement of neutrality by the Royal Government of Laos of July 9, 1962 came into force as an international agreement on July 23, the date of signature. After

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456-494: The Chinese Road foreign aid project one of the most heavily defended spots in Southeast Asia. Thai reaction to this extension was a clearing sweep along the border called Operation Phalat . In early August, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon closed down Nam Yu's cross-border incursions and placed an 11 kilometer no-fly zone around Route 46; this was a prelude for his later trip to China. The Chinese bulldozers were cutting

494-687: The Chinese Road was a ploy to deny North Vietnamese any influence along the Mekong. However, he did not confirm that. By late 1971, international politics impinged on the Chinese Road. President Nixon was intent on capitalizing on dissension between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union. To cozy up the Chinese leadership, Nixon halted the cross-border intelligence missions being staged out of northern Laos. He also barred any USAF flights within 11 kilometers of Route 46. When aircraft impinged on

532-691: The Chinese Road with Luang Prabang. International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos was an international agreement signed in Geneva on July 23, 1962 between 14 states, including Laos , as a result of the International Conference on the Settlement of the Laotian Question, which lasted from May 16, 1961 to July 23, 1962. Union of Burma , Cambodia , Canada ,

570-648: The Chinese Road. As the postponement ended, the Cambodian incursion by the U.S. raised such international furor that Operation Snake Eyes was again ordered on hold to avoid calling attention to the U.S. covert operations in Laos. By April 1971, Route 46 had been asphalted to Moung Houn, making it an all-weather road. During the first four months of 1971, the North Vietnamese moved in 400 antiaircraft guns along Route 46, along with 30 fire direction radars. The 400 antiaircraft guns, along with 25,000 troops, made

608-759: The Chinese construction began in Luang Prabang. One week later, Operation Snake Eyes was authorized on the proviso that Souvanna Phouma, who was a Neutralist, come out as opposed to the Chinese road construction through the Kingdom. With only an inactive skeleton crew stationed along Route 46 for the wet season, the actual launch date for the operation was postponed to six months thence. However, three platoons of guerrillas from Nam Yu were infiltrated 50 kilometers south of Luang Namtha to spy on Route 46; they were dubbed Teams 37A, 37B, and 37C. The six month setback proved to be unfortunate timing for operations against

646-559: The Chinese did not consult the Royal Lao Government (RLG) before beginning to survey other road alignments. At the time, the CIA was running a covert paramilitary operation from Nam Yu, Laos, somewhat southwest of this original road and near Luang Namtha. CIA sponsored Royalist guerrillas had cut the Route 32 Pathet Lao supply line between Moung Sing and Luang Namtha . The CIA thought fighting between their guerrillas and

684-421: The Chinese would ward off intrusions. The Royal Lao Government began to worry also, and King Sisavang Vatthana urged Souvanna Phouma to take military action against the construction. In mid-December, U.S. Ambassador G. McMurtrie Godley cabled for approval to take military action in the next dry season. Approval was promptly refused. However, despite Washington's refusal, Royalist guerrillas were already spying on

722-768: The French defeat, the Geneva Accords of 1954 established Laos sovereignty. In 1960, civil war broke out between the Royal Lao Army , supported by the United States, against the Pathet Lao insurgents, supported by the communists in North Vietnam. John F. Kennedy proposed a negotiated settlement with the Soviet Union and other interested parties. In 1962, a peace conference in Geneva produced

760-679: The Kingdom of Laos. Since the 1954 Agreement was signed, a Pathet Lao insurgency had burgeoned, threatening the national sovereignty. This would eventually result in an attempt to settle the Laotian Civil War , the International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos signed on 23 July 1962. Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma curried favor with the People's Republic of China by striking a road construction deal with them in January 1962. The Chinese government committed to

798-670: The North Vietnamese carry the brunt of waging war in Laos, but that security of the Lao/Chinese border was still a concern. U.S. military intelligence analysts speculated about the purpose of the Road. Was it an infiltration route to aid the Thai communist insurrection near the northern Thai border? Or was it built to counter any possible PAVN influence in the Mekong Valley? Postwar Zhou Enlai indeed insinuated to Henry Kissinger that

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836-465: The Pathet Lao along the border may have sparked this road construction. During the dry season of the first few months of 1966, Chinese crews began constructing three more roads within Yunnan Province, but pointed towards the Laotian border. Route 411 ran southwest from Meng Mang. Route 412 stretched toward the border village of Batene. Route 4023 split from 412 with a southeasterly heading. After

874-713: The Royal Laotian Government and American efforts in South Vietnam. The Pathet Lao continued to attack and to harass the neutralist forces. The violations exemplified the conduct of all of the parties for the remainder of the Second Indochina War . In 1959, North Vietnam had already established a supply line through "neutral" Laotian territory to supply the Viet Cong insurgency against South Vietnam government. The communists called

912-519: The Thai Deputy Prime Minister stated, with only some exaggeration, "Chinese and North Vietnamese Communists...only three hours by motor vehicle drive from the border." If the news that Route 46 had reached Moung Houn by early November 1969 was not sufficiently perturbing, the movement of antiaircraft guns that far south garnered attention. In December they fired upon the unarmed Douglas C-47 of General Ouane Rattikone proving that

950-543: The construction and came under fire, he ignored the incidents. An anonymous CIA intelligence analyst drew the sole conclusion from the situation in a pithy observation: "Northern Laos has a new border." Although Chinese road builders remained in Laos through the end of the Laotian Civil War, Routes 45 and 19 were never quite linked, so the North Vietnamese could not transit Laos to its far northwest. The new Chinese routes were not extended to Luang Prabang. After

988-590: The construction as the work continued into 1968. The Lao loss of the Battle of Nam Bac southeast of the construction in January seemed to spur the Chinese on in their endeavors. There were now six companies of the PLA stationed within Laos. However, on 16 June 1968, road work was halted because of the Chinese Cultural Revolution . It resumed in mid-August with the arrival of a convoy of 208 trucks. By

1026-543: The construction. For added expertise, a few Nationalist Chinese were lured away from the opium trade in nearby Burma to augment the road watch teams. As 1970 began, Communist forces began to drive the Royalist guerrillas from the Pak Beng Valley all the way south to the Mekong. A couple of checkpoint posts on the Thai-Lao border were seized. Ambassador Godley cabled Washington proposing that Operation Snake Eyes become

1064-452: The end of August, Route 412 had been extended to join the existing Route 31. In turn, this hooked to Route 4. By mid-October there were 1,000 combat troops guarding 2,000 construction workers on Route 4; they were equipped with ten bulldozers and a steamroller. Their expressed purpose was the upgrading of Route 4 into a six meter wide extension of their road network to Moung Sai. There it would meet both Route 45 and Route 46. In January 1969,

1102-408: The force of law. The agreement was contravened almost immediately by the United States, the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, North Vietnam, and the Pathet Lao themselves. North Vietnam continued to garrison 7000 soldiers in Laos. The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China provided military support to the Pathet Lao. The United States started a bombing campaign that supported both

1140-434: The foreign aid commitment of building roads connecting Yunnan Province with northern Laos despite the developing Laotian Civil War. At the time the agreement was announced, the Battle of Luang Namtha was being fought on the Lao/Chinese border. The first road constructed by the Chinese was begun by 10,000 laborers in 1962, following a deteriorated route from Meng La, China to Phongsali , Laos. The 80 kilometer dirt track

1178-581: The last segment of Route 46 that led into Pakbeng. The town now contained a Pathet Lao base camp. As apprehension mounted about penetration to the Thai border, on 11 September the American embassy requested a U.S. Air Force strike on the Pathet Lao base camp. The prohibition of USAF flights over Route 46 did not prevent defensive fire on civilian airplanes by Chinese antiaircraft gunners. A Royal Air Lao DC-3 and an Air America C-123 were shot down during December 1971. In January 1972, an Air America pilot lost

Friendship Highway - Misplaced Pages Continue

1216-474: The new road segment was completed to Moung Sai. The remainder of the dry season was spent by the Chinese in building a road northeastward to Moung Sai to connect with the old Route 45. By April, the rains again halted construction. Later that year, dry weather brought on a resumption of road work. The new segment to Route 45 was restarted, though at a low level of activity. The Chinese emphasis became Route 46. Meanwhile, Route 45 had been extended to Moung Khoua on

1254-541: The road was not used to invade Thailand. The Chinese did chase the local Lao population from the Pak Beng Valley verging on the road to expedite Chinese occupation, but stopped the road at the Mekong River short of the Lao/Thai border. While there were several theories about China's intent in building Route 46, the only firm conclusion was one by an anonymous American military intelligence analyst: "Northern Laos has

1292-498: The supply line the " Trường Sơn Strategic Supply Route ( Đường Trường Sơn )." The Pathet Lao and the North Vietnamese continued to use and to improve the supply route, which would become known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail . Thousands of Vietnamese troops were stationed in Laos to maintain the road network and to provide for its security. Vietnamese military personnel also fought beside the Pathet Lao in its struggle to overthrow

1330-571: The title Friendship Highway . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Friendship_Highway&oldid=914689527 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Chinese Road#Phongsali Province Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) trained guerrillas spied on Route 46, and there

1368-586: The war's end, the Lao People's Democratic Republic invited a Chinese extension of their road construction to the former royal capital. The Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia soured the deal in 1979, with the Chinese road builders invited to leave Laos. Post 1990, the political climate had warmed enough for the Lao to invite roadwork bids from Chinese firms in Yunnan. By 1993, there was a seasonal dirt track connecting

1406-463: Was an attempt to block it with the abortive Operation Snake Eyes . However, Chinese antiaircraft fire upon overflying aircraft and steady increases in Chinese troops guaranteed its security from attack. In turn, while there were some preemptive joint military operations during 1972 by troops of both the Royal Lao Army and the Royal Thai Army along the Lao/Thai border just south of Route 46,

1444-633: Was completed on 25 May 1963. It was dubbed the Laotian-Chinese Friendship Highway and given to the Pathet Lao. The new road washed out in that rainy season. A repair and washout cycle followed for the next two years. The only military activity connected with this road was some training of Patriotic Neutralists officers by the Chinese army in Phongsali later, in 1965. After completion of the Friendship Highway,

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