Lao People's Navy

The Lao People's Navy (LPN; Lao: ກອງທັບເຮືອປະຊາຊົນລາວ, romanized: Kǭngthap Hư̄a Pasāson Lāo) is the navy of Laos. In 1975 the Lao People's Navy (LPN) was established with the remnants of the Royal Lao Navy. As Laos is a landlocked country, the Lao People's Navy operates vessels on the Mekong River, a major feature of the country's geography. This makes Lao People's Navy one of the most prominent examples of a navy that is exclusively brown-water. Because the Mekong makes up a considerable portion of the Lao border, the Navy is significantly involved in border control work. The navy as of the mid-1990s had a personnel strength of around 500 and around fifty river patrol boats.

Almost all officers of the Lao People's Navy were trained in the Vietnam Naval Academy.^[1]