Officials Ask Laos to Stop Constructing Army Base

The Stung Treng provincial government sent a diplomatic letter to officials in Laos’ Champasak province on Monday requesting that the Laotian military halt construction on a new base it began building near the border last week, according to a local official.

The military began digging a trench for the outpost—which is provisionally located inside Laotian territory—about 30 meters from an undemarcated stretch of the border that authorities from both countries had agreed would be off-limits for such construction, police said on Sunday.

“The diplomatic letter requests that Laotian authorities temporarily stop construction and wait for the committee on border affairs and governments from both countries to officially demarcate the border,” said Men Kung, a spokesman for the Stung Treng government.

“If there is no response from Laotian authorities, we will inform the Ministry of Interior” and request that a joint border committee meet to discuss the issue, he said, adding that he expected a response to the letter within a week.

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