The large disk on Laos’s national flag is white.
The flag has three horizontal bands: a wide blue band between two narrower red bands, with a large white disk centered on the blue. It was adopted on 2 December 1975, when the Lao People’s Democratic Republic was established.
The white disk is commonly interpreted as the full moon over the Mekong River. The blue band is associated with the country’s wealth and the river, while the red bands represent the blood shed in the struggle for independence.
Laos is unusual among communist states because its flag does not use a star, hammer or sickle. The circular emblem also helps distinguish it from Thailand’s similar red-white-blue striped flag, which has no central disk.