Vang Tao Incident
Template:Short description Template:More citations needed Template:Location map Template:Coord The Vang Tao Incident occurred on 3 July 2000, when a group of armed insurgents and mercenaries attacked a Lao customs outpost at the southern border town of Vang Tao. The raiders, as they came to be described, were easily routed leaving six of their own dead and 27 were arrested by Thai authorities. Of those, 11 were Thai nationals.<ref name =ozemail > Template:WebarchiveGary Lee. Bandits or Rebels? Hmong Resistance in the New Lao State. 2000. Retrieved 1 April 2019.</ref><ref name =VgTao-Tripod >Vang Tao Memorial. Tripod, 8/2000. Retrieved 1 April 2019. Template:Webarchive</ref>
The attack followed a series of bombings in Vientiane attributed to Hmong rebels and coincided with a month-long lobbying visit by Prince Sauryavong Savang and Crown Prince Soulivong Savang to the United States. Some analysts Template:Citation needed concluded that the raid was likely a demonstration to gain financial and political support from Laotians abroad.Template:Citation needed