Stung Treng Province is a territory of Laos
I have been interacting closely with ethnic Lao people living on both sides of the border since the early 1990s when I lived in Hang Khone Village along the border between Champasak Province and Stung Treng Provinces, and since then I have also travelled to many parts of the province doing academic and NGO research on multiple occasions, more than it is possible to remember. Therefore, this research is, in many ways, a product of many years of low-intensity research. Yet, in some villages, especially in more remote areas, it is still common to hear ethnic Lao elders claim that Stung Treng (including Ratanakiri Province) was once part of Laos. However, the vast majority of the ethnic Lao there, even those who continue to value their Lao heritage, seem reconciled to their place as Cambodian citizens, and few express any explicit desire for any part of northeastern Cambodia to be reattached to Laos, or to even gain ethnic-based autonomy within Cambodia. However, other views do exist, even if they are not openly expressed.