introduction
Laos is a landlocked country located in the heart of Southeast Asia, with pleasant natural scenery and rich cultural heritage.
As a small country, Laos not only does not have the blockade and suppression of enemy countries, but also often receives assistance from friendly countries.
However, under such favorable conditions, the country's development has been full of ups and downs. So, what is it that has stalled Laos' development?
The wreak havoc of the war
Tensions in Southeast Asia have not eased since the 20th century.
One of the reasons is that it is rich in natural resources, and secondly, in terms of geographical location, Southeast Asia is the crossroads of the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
And this has attracted the invasion and oppression of this land by colonists from all walks of life.
The wounds of war have always been imprinted in the hearts of the people of Southeast Asia, and the history of blood and tears stretches like the Mekong River, which can never be finished.
This is the case with the history of Laos. At the end of the 19th century, France adopted the Treaty of Bangkok, which incorporated Laos into the "Indochina Federation".
The French began to plunder the land for all kinds of natural resources and processed products, the land was expropriated on a large scale, and tens of thousands of laborers were forced to work in the colonial industry.
A distorted economy, an oppressed people, and the burden of Laos under the French colonial system. When a country's sovereignty is lost, how can there be development?
In 1940, due to World War II, Japan took over all of France's colonies in Southeast Asia. The tensions of the Pacific War led Japan to deepen its exploitation of Laos' resources.
After the victory in the anti-fascist war, Laos declared independence, but the following year the French made a comeback, and the Lao people were given only one year to recuperate.
The devastation of the local economy of Laos by the colonizers was fatal, and in their eyes, the wealth brought by raw materials and processed products was the most important, and the safety of the lives and economic development of the Lao people was not worth mentioning.
It was not until 1954 that the French colonial power completely withdrew from Southeast Asia. What the French colonizers left behind to the Lao people was a Laos that had endured colonial plunder and frenzied oppression.
When the Vietnam War broke out in 1955, the North Vietnamese army relied on the "Ho Chi Minh Trail" to transport arms through South and Laos. And this laid a solid foundation for the victory of the Vietnam War.
Prior to this, the U.S. military had nothing to do with neutral Laos, but the emergence of the "Ho Chi Minh Trail" gave the U.S. military a reason to do it. As a result, the U.S. military began to carry out large-scale and focused bombing of Laos.
It not only caused great damage to Laos, but also left a serious problem of unexploded ordnance after the war, which became a major hidden danger to Laos' social and economic development.
Today, there are still some 800,000 unexploded bomb remnants in Laos, spread across vast agricultural land, forests and residential areas.
These unexploded bombs threaten the lives of the Lao people at all times and pose a huge obstacle to agriculture, infrastructure and social development.
Large tracts of land cannot be exploited, and agricultural production, which is a pillar industry in Laos, is severely restricted.
Investors and businesses are also deterred by security concerns, which has led to a serious decline in Laos' competitiveness in international trade.
What was originally a war between Vietnam and the United States has seriously affected the development of Laos, and this suffering is still not over.
After the end of the Vietnam War, the Lao people thought that they would be able to usher in real peace, but civil war quietly broke out.
The Revolutionary Party, with the support of the Vietnamese authorities, established the People's Democratic Republic with a socialist system.
Vietnam, with its inflated ambitions, tried to expand its sphere of influence to the whole of Southeast Asia, so it indirectly controlled Laos through garrisons and other means, making Laos a puppet state of Vietnam.
Years of war and turbulent political situation have led to the shrinking of Laos' economic development space, and it is naturally unable to achieve economic and industrialization take-off.
Constraints on development due to geographical factors
As a landlocked country, Laos has a highly diverse geographical environment, but it also brings a series of challenges that are key constraints to the country's development.
From its inland location to the complex topography of mountainous and highland regions, Laos faces a myriad of geographical challenges that directly affect its economy, agriculture, transportation, and more.
The first is its inland location, which has the advantage of having an abundant coastline compared to its neighbors, and Laos' sea access is very limited.
For foreign goods, they need to be transported through the ports of neighboring countries and then transported by land into Laos.
This increases the complexity and cost of shipping. The cumbersome process of transportation can easily lead to delays in goods and also make transportation costs rise significantly.
Due to the lack of a good international seaport, Laos is relatively lagging behind in its connection to international markets. Compared to its neighbors, which have excellent seaports, Laos is more isolated in international trade.
This makes the circulation of Laotian goods in the global market relatively limited, and it is difficult to gain sufficient exposure and market share.
The limitations of the inland location have also directly affected the diversification of the Lao economy. Due to the limited sea routes, it is difficult for the country to introduce various commodities and technologies, which hinders the upgrading and diversification of the economic structure.
The monolithic economic structure and negligible discourse on international trade make Laos' role in the global supply chain very weak, and the economy is more vulnerable to external shocks.
On the other hand, look at the economic development of Laos. Due to historical reasons, Laos' industrialization has stagnated, and agriculture, as its pillar industry, has determined the upper limit of Laos' economic development.
The influence of geographical factors on agricultural development is very intuitive. The mountainous and highland areas of Laos have severely limited the area of arable land.
Compared to the plains, the land available for agriculture in these areas is more limited, and the soil is not as fertile as the plains.
This poses a huge challenge to agricultural production, because the limitation of arable land will lead to the inability to fully release agricultural production capacity.
The climate and altitude of mountainous and plateau regions vary greatly, which directly affects the seasonality and variety selection of agriculture.
The low temperature in the high-altitude area is not suitable for the cultivation of some traditional crops, and the diversity of the climate also brings certain uncertainties to agricultural production.
This makes it difficult for farmers to rely on traditional agricultural methods to maintain a stable economic income. At the same time, the complex terrain of mountainous and plateau areas also brings great inconvenience to traffic.
The relatively closed geographical environment has led to weak transportation infrastructure, high transportation costs, and inefficient logistics.
Corruption in the Lao government
In addition, the persistent problem of corruption in the Lao government has had a profound negative impact on the use of resources and economic development in Laos, hindering the pace of sustainable development of the country.
Government corruption leads to an imbalance in the use of resources, with many resources being misallocated and squandered. Officials gain access to resources through corrupt means, rather than through fair procedures and transparent decision-making.
This imbalance has a direct impact on the efficient use of resources, leaving some key areas without due support for a long time.
Corruption has also led to an unstable investment climate, with foreign investors hesitant and uneasy to invest in Laos.
The lack of transparency and fairness in the business environment makes it difficult for companies to anticipate and mitigate potential economic risks. This reduces the likelihood of external capital inflows and limits the country's economic growth potential.
Government corruption has left the public service inefficient and lagging behind. Resources are being misused, resulting in infrastructure and social services that do not meet the needs of the population.
The poor quality of public services, such as education, health care and infrastructure, directly hampers the quality of life of the people and restricts the progress of society as a whole.
Corruption leads to the concentration of resources in the hands of a few, which exacerbates social inequality.
The gap between rich and poor has widened, with some elites accessing vast amounts of resources through illegal means, while ordinary people face a lack of resources and a lack of basic services.
This social injustice exacerbates social tensions and hinders the harmonious development of the country. Government corruption distorts the economic system and hinders market competition.
Firms that acquire resources through bribery and corruption can gain an unfair competitive advantage in the marketplace, while truly innovative and competitive firms are sidelined.
The economic development of Laos is very fragile due to the high level of corruption. How can development be guaranteed in a country that lacks fairness, justice and openness?
epilogue
History has left the Lao people with a broken and dilapidated country, but this does not mean that the people should lose hope for the future.
On the other hand, China, which has endured humiliation and war in modern history, has built the world's largest developing country on the ruins.
The unfortunate history is by no means an excuse for backwardness, and the loss of faith and conviction is the real culprit.
Historical trauma, geographical constraints and a corrupt government have brought Laos' development to a halt, but the Lao people's aspirations for a better life in the future will be passed down from generation to generation.
Bibliography:
1. Guangming Net.The cluster bombs dropped by the United States are still harming Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.July 2023
2. "Laos Agricultural Development Status and Industrial Development Countermeasures", Institute of Science and Technology Information, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences
3. More than 80 million cluster bombs from the United States have been left behind in Laos, and about 50,000 people have died in unexploded bombs. July 2023