Franco-Siamese War (may 25, 1893 – mar 3, 1894)
Description:
The conflict started when France sent a consul to Siam to bring Laos under French rule. The government in Bangkok, mistakenly believing that they would be supported by the British government, refused to concede territory east of the Mekong and instead reinforced their military and administrative presence.
Multiple anti-French events in Siam were used to evoke an anti-Siamese sentiment, as a pretext for intervention. In March the French demanded that the Siamese evacuate all military posts on the east side of the Mekong River south of Khammuan, claiming that the land belonged to Vietnam. To back up these demands, the French sent a gunboat to Bangkok.
When Siam rejected the French demands, France sent three military columns into the disputed region to assert French control in April. With guns trained on the Grand Palace in Bangkok, the French delivered an ultimatum to the Siamese on 2 January 1894 to hand over the territory.
In the end the Siamese submitted fully to the French conditions after finding no support from the British. The Franco-Siamese Treaty, signed on May 25 1894 had the following terms;
1. SIam ceded all land on the east side of the Mekong River south of Khammuan to France.
2. Siam must pay an indemnity of two million francs in reparation for the fighting.
3. Siam accepts the temporary occupation of Chantaburi by France. [France would continue to occupy the region until 1905, when Siam ceded the provinces of Battambang, Siem Reap and Sisophon in exchange for its return.]
4. Siam east of the Pa Sak river was to fall under French influence.
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