Laos is small, weak and thinly populated. Their diplomacy consists of playing off the great(er) powers that surround them, namely Thailand, Vietnam and China,

Laos is small, weak and thinly populated. Their diplomacy consists of playing off the great(er) powers that surround them, namely Thailand, Vietnam and China, with varying degrees of success. Now that the China-Laos rail link is complete, they're busily angling for another to the port of Vung Ang in Vietnam. Fun fact: northeastern Thailand (Isaan) is ethnically and culturally Lao, and to this day has far more Lao speakers than Laos itself. The current rump state of Laos on the east bank of the Mekong was carved off by the French as a colony.