Lao People's Navy
Lao People's Army Marine Section

In 1975, the Lao People's Navy (LPN) was established from the remnants of the Royal Lao Navy. Composed of approximately 20 United States-made river patrol boats and 16 amphibious landing craft, the navy in mid-1994 had a personnel strength of around 500. In addition, by the 1990s at least, the entity was more often referred to as the Army Marine Section than the LPN. Though titled a Marine Section, the force did not appear to contain an infantry component, capable of amphibious operations or otherwise, of any kind. It was unclear when the name change was made and just how it affected the service's command and control. As with the Lao People's Air Force, Vietnamese advisers helped organize the force and trained Laotian cadre in river operations and boat maintenance.

As of 1994, the force was responsible for maintaining the security of inland waterways, which included controlling the movement of resistance forces from their sanctuaries in Thailand, across the Mekong River. In the early 1980s, the Navy received 6 used Soviet Shmel patrol boats and at least 12 more river patrol boats, bringing its total inventory to around 31 patrol boats. By mid-1994, the navy had a total of fewer than 50 river patrol boats and continued to provide a marginal level of security for inland waterways. This number likely included some number of riverine craft supplied by the US during the 1960s and 1970s, though these craft had also likely had the benefit of significant overhauls. The Lao People's Navy also operated a small number of landing craft, also likely remnants of US military aid.

By the second decade of the 2000s, no noticeable changes had been made to the equipment or structure of the Lao People's Navy, which continued to be the smallest of the services. No major additions had been reported and information on the numbers, types, and serviceability of ships in the force's inventory remained sparse.