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France and Britain both extended their colonial empires in Southeast Asia in the later years of the nineteenth century. With some justification, the Siamese saw this as a threat to their independence. The 1880s saw France create a protectorate over all of Vietnam and gain interest in Laos. At this time Britain completed its conquest of Burma. This resulted in Siam being surrounded by colonial states. By 1892, there had been several incidents involving French traders in Laos, leading to tension between Siam and the French. As a result, France was able to extend its sphere of influence up to the Mekong River. Siam hoped for British backing in a possible conflict with France. However, the British were not particularly interested in Laos, giving precedence to the Malay states and the border with Burma. A border clash where several French soldiers are killed heightens the tension in 1893, and in July of that year France sends several gunboats up the Chaophraya River past the new defensive fortification of Samut Prakan. An exchange of fire sank one of the French ships, which opened the way for France to issue a series of demands. These included that the Siamese cede control of Laotian territory east of the Mekong and pay a large sum of money as compensation for damages. To force the point, they set up a naval blockade, in the end extracting even more territorial concessions. This denouement was a humiliation to the government in Bangkok, which clearly had been overconfident in its new military capabilities and in British support. King Chulalongkorn collapsed from illness and stress, remaining in an inactive and depressed state for more than a year. In the wake of the Chaophraya incident, Britain and France effectively agreed to let Siam serve as a buffer state between their colonial possessions. In 1896 the independent status of central Thailand was formally guaranteed, but a number of other territories, including the Khorat Plateau and the southern peninsula, were left open to colonial influence. The outcome for Siam was not ideal, but on the other hand it afforded a measure of security that intelligent leaders like King Chulalongkorn could build on.