Operation Phalat established a base camp at Xieng Lom, Laos, on the southern bank of the Mekong River, and garrisoned it with three Thai mercenary battalions.

Operation Sourisak Montry was a series of indecisive skirmishes in the same area, during which the Thais won a Pyrrhic victory over the Pathet Lao in mid-March 1972.

Subsequently, Operation Sourisak Montry VIII in June 1972 attempted to recapture two Lao border villages from Communist forces.

The offensive ended poorly, with an Air America civilian pilot killed, an 80-man column pinned down for ten days, and the Thai troops repulsed.

When the Royal Lao Government (RLG) lost the crucial Battle of Nam Bac during the Laotian Civil War, the Chinese began to push their road construction south down the Pakbeng Valley towards Thailand.

[1][2][3] RTG uneasiness about The Chinese Road led them to sponsor a border sweep called Operation Phalat (translated: Mountain Slope).

Launched on 2 April 1971, it resulted in the Royal Thai Army (RTA) establishing a forward defensive zone centered on Xieng Lom, Laos.

For seven days, tactical air strikes hit the attacking communists; AC-47 gunships and Thai UH-1M armed helicopters strafed them, and A-1 Skyraiders and T-28 Trojans bombed and rocketed them.

Though officially not at war with Communist China, the RTG had demonstrated their willingness to defend Thai borders by waging Operations Phalat and Sourisak Montry VIII.