International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos Government of Laos of July 9, 1962, entered into force as an international agreement on the date of signature July 23, 1962. After a brief occupation by the Japanese at the end of World War II, which followed in a declaration of independence by Lao nationalists, the French reoccupied Laos and the rest of French Indochina, which included Vietnam and Cambodia. In the following insurgency, the Indochinese Communist formed the Pathet Lao, a Laotian nationalist movement, ally of the Vietnamese in the struggle against France. After the French defeat, the Geneva Accords of 1954 established Laos sovereignty. In 1960, civil
1954 Geneva Conference negotiations to that end should resume at an appropriate time. The Belgian and British delegations said that while they were not going to accept "the Soviet and Chinese proposals, that did not mean a rejection of the ideas they contained". In the end, however, the conference participants did not agree on any declaration. While the delegates began to assemble in Geneva from late April, the discussions on Indochina did not begin until May 8, 1954. The Viet Minh had achieved their decisive victory over the French Union forces at Dien Bien Phu the previous day. The Western allies did not