Video of soldiers preparing for Laos parade falsely linked to Thailand-Cambodia clashes

Published on December 23, 2025 at 00:21
2 min read
By Caroline LIN, AFP Hong Kong

As border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia reignited in December, a video of columns of soldiers was shared in posts falsely claiming it showed troops in Laos preparing to join the fight. There have been no official reports of Laos entering the conflict between its neighbours, and the video in fact shows Laotian soldiers preparing for a parade on their country’s national day.

"Laos is sending troops to the Thailand-Cambodia border. Is Laos joining the fight?" reads Chinese text superimposed on a Facebook video shared on December 15, 2025.

The video shows columns of armed soldiers on a street. The soldiers' helmets all appear to be affixed with GoPro cameras and include a patch of Laos' national flag.

It surfaced after renewed fighting between Thailand and Cambodia, which both border Laos (archived link).

More than 40 people have been killed and more than 900,000 displaced by the reignited border clashes, stemming from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometre (500-mile) boundary and a smattering of ancient temple ruins situated on the frontier (archived link).

Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on December 18, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The same footage was also shared in similar Douyin, YouTube and X posts.

But there have been no official reports of Laos joining the Thai-Cambodian conflict.

A reverse image search using keyframes from the falsely shared footage led to higher-resolution video posted on December 13 by a Facebook user who also shared several similar videos (archived here and here).

Comments on the post say the video shows soldiers preparing for a National Day parade on December 2.

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (L) and the original posted on Facebook, with the red X added by AFP

According to a press release on the Laos government's website, the country celebrated its 50th anniversary on December 2 with a national ceremony and parade in the capital Vientiane (archived link).

The soldiers' uniforms also match those of troops who participated in the parade, as pictured by AFP.

Laotian service members march during the Lao National Day military parade in Vientiane on December 2, 2025, during commemorations of 50 years of communist rule. (AFP / STR)

Elements of the falsely shared video correspond to Google Street View imagery of Kaysone Phomvihane Avenue in Vientiane, which authorities asked the public to avoid as the city prepared for the National Day events (archived here and here).

Screenshot comparison between frames from the false Facebook video (L) and images from Google Street View (R), with matching visuals highlighted by AFP

AFP has previously debunked other false claims about the Thailand-Cambodia border conflict.

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