Page 6 - The little kingdom of Laos (with 2.5 million inhabitants), a supposedly neutral buffer State surrounded by China, North Vietnam, Burma, Cambodia, South Vietnam and Thailand, is fighting bravely against mounting odds. The North Vietnamese and the local Communists have stepped up their efforts to dislodge the Royal Laotian administration from as much territory as possible, no doubt to strengthen their bargaining position at peace table. The situation for anti-Communist forces is serious, but it is not desperate, concludes our correspondent who has just returned from Vientiane. Laos, the unlucky little land, is caught in crossfire