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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 July 2025
Revolutionary exports are essential to studying China’s relations with Southeast Asia during the Cold War, particularly regarding communist parties in neighbouring countries that received substantial logistical support from China, enabling them to sustain armed struggles. However, previous research has been limited due to the topic’s sensitivity and the scarcity of Chinese-language sources. This article seeks to uncover the logistical system centred on Mengla, Yunnan, designed to support Southeast Asian communist parties, mainly in Laos. By examining the development of Chinese logistics units and the extensive clandestine aid networks (including road construction) that linked China with Laos, this article argues that China’s integrated civil-military logistics support was pivotal in sustaining armed resistance in Southeast Asia and countering the influence of the United States in the region. Additionally, the article examines the dimensions of the Cold War in Asia from the perspective of the ordinary individuals who were direct participants.
1 Enze Han, Asymmetrical Neighbors: Borderland State Building between China and Southeast Asia (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019), pp. 72–91.
2 Andrew Mertha, Brothers in Arms: Chinese Aid to the Khmer Rouge, 1975–1979, 1st edn (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2014).
3 Chen Jian, Mao’s China and the Cold War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001).
4 Chak Wing David Tsui, China and the Communist Armed Struggle in Thailand (New Delhi: Rasdiant Publishers, 1995).
5 Stanislav Mysicka, ‘Chinese Support for Communist Insurgencies in Southeast Asia during the Cold War’, International Journal of China Studies, vol. 6, no. 3, 2015, pp. 203–230.
6 For instance, Niu Jun’s research examines China’s assistance to Vietnamese revolutionaries resisting French colonialism in the 1950s, while a study by Shi Weitong explores the evolution of China’s aid policy for Laos between 1954 and 1965. See Niu Jun, ‘Zhongguo Yuanyue Kangfa Zhengce Zaitantao [Revisiting China’s Policy to Aid Vietnam and Resist France]’, Waijiao Pinglun [Foreign Affairs Review], vol. 29, no. 3, 2012, pp. 56–73, and Shi Weitong, ‘Zhongguo dui Laowo Yuanzhu Zhengce de Yanbian ji qi Dongyin (1956–1965) [The Evolution and Motivation of China’s Aid Policy to Laos (1956 – 1965)]’, Shijie Lishi [World History], vol. 6, 2021, pp. 71–87.
7 For example, see Patit Paban Mishra, ‘Laos in the Vietnam War: The Politics of Escalation, 1962–1973’, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol. 62, 2001, pp. 873–885.
8 Recently, veterans and relevant personnel who once participated in revolutionary aid for Southeast Asia have gradually revealed their history through privately published books and unpublished articles.
9 Conversation with Li Xiangchang, Kunming, Yunnan province, China, 15 June 2022. Li was once a cadre in the propaganda department of the 22nd Branch of the PLA General Logistics.
10 Cheng Guan Ang, The Vietnam War from the Other Side: The Vietnamese Communists’ Perspective, 1st edn (London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002), pp. 80–83.
11 Mao Lin, ‘China and the Escalation of the Vietnam War: The First Years of the Johnson Administration’, Journal of Cold War Studies, vol. 11, no. 2, 2009, pp. 35–36, 41.
12 Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom, The Vietnam War Almanac (Detroit, MI: UXL, 2001), pp. 91–97.
13 Zhou Enlai Nianpu 1949–1976 [Chronicle of Zhou Enlai 1949–1976], Vol. 2 (Beijing: Central Party Literature Press, 1997), pp. 631–632. Cited in Mao, ‘China and the Escalation of the Vietnam War’, p. 46.
14 Seth Jacobs, The Universe Unraveling: American Foreign Policy in Cold War Laos (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2012), pp. 16–17.
15 Zhang Xiaoming, ‘China’s Involvement in Laos during the Vietnam War, 1963–1975’, The Journal of Military History, vol. 66, no. 4, 2002, p. 1149.
16 Statistical Yearbook of the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture 2022 [Xishuangbanna Daizu Zizhizhou Tongji Nianjian 2022] (Kungming: Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture Statistical Yearbook Committee, 2022), pp. 4–5.
17 Chen Zhiqiang, ‘Yige zhiqing jiyi zhong de xishuangbanna mengla xiancheng [A Sent-Down Youth’s Memories of Mengla County, Xishuangbanna]’, unpublished manuscript, 28 September 2024.
18 Li Siwen, ‘Bingzhan Wangshi [Stories from a Military Logistics Troop]’, in Bingzhan Yishi [Stories from the Military Depo] (Hongkong: China International Culture Press, 2023), pp. 55–56.
19 During the Cold War, the communist parties in Southeast Asia were assigned specific Chinese provinces to provide them with support. For example, aid to the Malayan Communist Party came from Hunan province, while Yunnan supported the communist parties of Laos and Thailand. The author believes that Yunnan’s assistance to the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) primarily targeted Vietnamese forces stationed in Laos, especially those active along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos territory. However, the main responsibility for aiding North Vietnam lay with Guangxi province. Support for the CPB is believed to have come from Yunnan province as well, but it is possible that the primary source of aid was from other ports of Yunnan.
20 Conversation with Li Xiangchang.
21 Li Sicong, ‘Nanwang shoupi ruwu de xin zhanyou [An Unforgettable Group of Recruits]’, in Bingzhan Yishi, p. 263.
22 Ibid., pp. 263–264.
23 Kunming Military Region Mengla Logistics, ‘Yuanlao Zhulu Houqin Baozhang Gongzuo Zongjie [Summary of Logistical Support for Road Construction Assistance in Laos]’, 5 August 1978. The document was collected in Bingzhan Yishi, p. 51.
24 Liu Ji, ‘Diyi Gongyingzhan Wangshi [Memories of the First Supply Division]’, in Bingzhan Yishi, p. 334.
25 Chen Wancheng, ‘Houqin 108 Bingzhan Luoma Yunshu Yidui Yuan Lao Jishi [A Record of the First Mule Transport Unit of 108th Logistics Supporting Laos]’, unpublished manuscript, 31 March 2021.
26 Su Kaiwen, ‘Huigu Wo Tuan Yuanlao Zhulu Zhong de Zhengzhi Sixiang Gongzuo [Reflecting on the Political and Ideological Work of Our Regiment During Road Construction in Laos]’, in Yi Yuanlao Kangmei Zhulu [Recalling the Road Construction Efforts in Laos to Resist the US], (eds) Xu Shikui, Guo Jian and Fu Shengbi (n.p., 2018), pp. 45–55. See also Xiong Fenghua, ‘Cong Xinbing Dao Banzhang: Yuanzhu Lao Dikang Meiguo de Junlu Shengya [From Recruit to Squad Leader: A Military Career Supporting Laos in Resistance Against the US]’, in Teshu shiming: Hubei ezhouji laozhanshi yuanlao kangmei huiyilu [Special Mission: Memoirs of Veterans in Ezhou, Hubei Province, Who Helped Laos Resist the United States], (ed.) Chen Yunhuo (Beijing: Zhongguo shici yinglian chubanshe, 2018), pp. 31–32. See also He Zhongming, ‘Jiahao Zhong-Lao Guoji Youyi Qiao [Building the Bridge of China-Laos International Friendship]’, in ibid., p. 148.
27 Chen, ‘Houqin 108 Bingzhan’.
28 Su, ‘Huigu Wo Tuan’, p. 47.
29 Shang Yian (ed.), Gonghe guo buhui wangji [The Republic will Never Forget] (Beijing: Zhongguo shici yinglan, 2021), p. 68.
30 Chen (ed.), Teshu shiming, p. 425.
31 Sun Chunfu, ‘Bei yiwang de zhanzheng: yuanlao kangmei [Forgotten War: Helping Laos Resist the United States]’, Yuanliu [Origins], vol. 13, 2011, pp. 78–83. See also Li, ‘Bingzhan Wangshi’, pp. 59–61.
32 CIA, Special National Intelligence Estimate (SNIE) no. 13-10-71, ‘Communist China’s Reactions to Developments in Laos’, 18 February 1971. U.S. Declassified Documents Online, link.gale.com/apps/doc/MDVRYS874152596/USDD?u=nuslib&sid=bookmark-USDD&xid=eee0913e&pg=7, [accessed 10 May 2024]. See also Department of State, ‘Chinese Communist Road-building in Northern Laos Discussed’, 23 November 1968; U.S. Declassified Documents Online, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CK2349002080/USDD?u=nuslib&sid=bookmark-USDD&xid=85189a07&pg=2, [accessed 14 May 2024].
33 Senate Congressional Record 1975, pp. 14, 266, cited in Channapha Khamvongsa and Elaine Russell, ‘Legacies of War: Cluster Bombs in Laos’, Critical Asian Studies, vol. 41, no. 2, 2009, pp. 288–289.
34 Zhang, ‘China’s Involvement in Laos’, p. 1160. See also Ma Jinan, ‘Yuanyue yuanlao kangmei qinliji [Personal Experience of Helping Laos and Vietnam Resist the United States]’, Dong Nanya Zongheng [Crossroads: Southeast Asian Studies], vol. 10, 2002, p. 15.
35 Kunming Military Region Mengla Logistics, ‘Yuanlao Zhulu Houqin’, p. 16.
36 Ibid.
37 Deng Shixiang, ‘Yuanlao Kangmei Yixian de 108 Bingzhan Zhanshi Xuanchuandui [Propaganda Team of the 108th Logistics on the Frontline of Supporting Laos in the Fight Against the US]’, in Bingzhan Yishi, p. 288
38 Tan Heting, ‘Wo zai 108 Bingzhan er Xiaodui [My Time in the 108th Logistics Second Team]’, in Bingzhan Yishi, p. 131.
39 Tao Wanchang, ‘Zhong Lao Bianjing Lueying [Snapshots of the China-Laos Border]’, in Bingzhan Yishi, p. 104.
40 Li, ‘Bingzhan Wangshi’, p. 70.
41 Kunming Military Region Mengla Logistics, ‘Yuanlao Zhulu Houqin’, p. 31.
42 Ibid., p. 17.
43 Interview with Li Siwen, Kunming, Yunnan province, China, 29 December 2021.
44 Li Siwen, ‘Gong Bu Ke Mo de Bingzhan Qiche Dui [Indispensable Logistics Motor Transport Team]’, unpublished manuscript, 9 November 2020. See also Bingzhan Yishi, p. 40.
45 Interview with Wu Aikui, Taiyuan, Shanxi province, China, 24 September 2021.
46 Chen Wancheng, ‘Wanshui Qianshan Qunying Pu [A Chronicle of Heroes Across Mountains and Rivers]’, in Bingzhan Yishi, pp. 147, 155.
47 Li, ‘Bingzhan Wangshi’, p. 71.
48 Bingzhan Yishi, pp. 105, 131, 327, 357.
49 Ibid., pp. 273–274.
50 Xu Shikui, ‘Yuanlao Kangmei Zhulu Jiyi [Memories of Road Construction in Support of Laos’s Resistance Against US Aggression]’, in Yi Yuanlao Kangmei Zhulu, p. 121.
51 Interview with Li Xilin, Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China, 14 January 2021. Li was a PLA soldier who served in Laos and his unit was also charged with the task of escorting CPT cadres to Mengla.
52 Ian G. Baird, ‘The Communist Party of Thailand’s Education for Young Children in Northern Laos and Southern China’, South East Asia Research, December 2024, p. 7. https://doi.org/10.1080/0967828X.2024.2435293
53 Guo Jianye, ‘Yuanzhu Taigong Wuzhuang Gongzuo Pianduan [Assist the Thai Communist Armed Forces Work Segment]’, Jinqiu, December 2009, pp. 35–36. Note that Guo was the head of the Operations Department.
54 Bingzhan Yishi, p. 814.
55 Ai Lingyao, ‘Zhongguo yuanlao kangmei de guanghui pianzhang [A Glorious Chapter of China’s Aid to Laos and Resistance against the United States]’, Junshi lishi [Military History], vol. 1, 1990, pp. 37–41.
56 Deng Shixiang, ‘Yezhan youku chujian jishi [Field Oil Depot: A Record of Its Initial Construction]’, in Bingzhan Yishi, pp. 295–298.
57 Wu Chaohai, ‘Junxieku de zhuyao renwu [The Primary Mission of the Armory]’, in Bingzhan Yishi, pp. 308–309.
58 Ai, ‘Zhongguo yuanlao’, pp. 37–41.
59 Wu Aikui (ed.), Zhandi Junhun: Zhongguo Renmin Jiefangjun Yuan Kongjun Gaoshe Paobing Dishiwu Shi Jinian Huace [The Soul of the Army on the Battlefield: An Album of the PLA 15th Division of the Air Force Anti-aircraft Artillery] (Beijing: Zhongguo kexue wenhua Press, 2017), p. 15.
60 Mishra, ‘Laos in the Vietnam War’, p. 877.
61 Guo, ‘Yuanzhu Taigong Wuzhuang’, pp. 35–36.
62 Chaowan Phongphichit, Prawat Phak Khommunit haeng Prathet Thai [The History of the Communist Party of Thailand] (Bangkok: Saeng Dao Publishing Co., Ltd, 2022), pp. 325, 333.
63 Voice of People of Thailand (VOPT), ‘1 January 1969 Communique of the Supreme Command of the Thai People’s Liberation Armed Forces’, in Thai to Thailand, 2300 GMT, 31 December 1968.
64 Department of Defense (DOD US), ‘Report on the Status of Open Hostilities between the Royal Thai Government (RTG) and Communist Insurgent Forces’, 2 April 1973, Archive no. E.O. 13528 (as amended) SEC 3.3.
65 Interview with Li Siwen.
66 Guo, ‘Yuanzhu Taigong Wuzhuang’, pp. 35–36.
67 Bingzhan Yishi, p. 367.
68 Interview with Li Siwen.
69 Lai Xuechang, ‘Jiyi zhong de Mengla Bingzhan Hunheku [Memories of the Mengla Logistics Depot General Warehouse]’, in Bingzhan Yishi, p. 317.
70 Interview with Li Xilin.
71 According to the available evidence, neither the Soviet Union nor other socialist bloc countries participated in providing logistical support through Mengla. This indicates that all supplies sent to Laos and Thailand (specifically the CPT guerrilla zones) were exclusively supplied by China. The deterioration of Sino-Soviet relations, to some extent, motivated China to increase its support for Southeast Asian Maoist parties (such as the CPT) as a means of emphasizing the validity of Maoism.
72 Wipharat Tharatheeraphap, ‘Yutthasat Kandamnoen Nayobai Tangprathet khong Chin to Phak Khommiwnit haeng Prathet Thai: Phonkrathop toKhwammankhong khong Thai nai Thosawat 1970 [Chinese Foreign Policy Strategy towards the CPT and Impact on Thai Security in the 1970s]’, Master’s thesis, Thammasat University, 1988, p. 103. See also Thippaporn Tesrien, ‘Phak Khommiwnit haeng Prathet Thai lae Phak Khommiwnit Chin: Sueksa Khwamsamphan thang Udomkan nai Chuang pi 1969–1982 [The CPT and the CCP: A Study of the Ideological Relationship Between the Two Communist Parties in 1969–1982]’, Master’s thesis, Chulalongkorn University, 1987, p. 64.
73 Ian G. Baird, ‘The Hmong and the Communist Party of Thailand: A Transnational, Transcultural and Gender-Relations-Transforming Experience’, TRaNS: Trans-Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia, vol. 9, no. 2, 2020, p. 9.
74 Li Siwen, ‘Yi Lu Chengbao he Mengla Bingzhan Diyi Gongyingzhan [Recalling Lu Chengbao and the First Supply Depot of Mengla Logistics]’, unpublished manuscript.
75 ‘Sent-Down Youth’ refers to the young people who were part of the ‘Down to the Countryside Movement’ during China’s Cultural Revolution, where urban youth were sent to rural areas to work and learn from farmers.