China has launched an air force support and training centre in Laos, its third overseas military outpost, which observers say could help the PLA expand its footprint and interests in the region.
The China-Laos Joint Support and Training Centre and the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy are now in operation at the Ban Keun Airport, aiming to help the Laotian Air Force train its pilots, China’s defence ministry said in a statement.
The two institutions would be jointly maintained and operated by both sides, the statement said, without providing details on the personnel or equipment based at the airport.
This move marks a strategic expansion of China’s limited overseas military presence, adding another foothold in Southeast Asia following a similar joint naval facility in Cambodia.
Brian Hart, deputy director of the CSIS China Power Project, noted that Ban Keun was China’s first acknowledged overseas military facility centred on air power, unlike its naval-oriented facilities in Djibouti and Cambodia.
The ministry said the construction and operation of the facilities were the result of mutual respect and equal consultation.
“They comply with domestic laws of both sides as well as relevant international law and international practice, and do not target any third party,” it said. “They will help further strengthen practical cooperation between the two militaries and safeguard regional peace and stability.”
The wording is almost identical to its statement last year for the official inauguration of the China-Cambodia Joint Training and Support Centre at Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base.
Hart said the repeated use of the “joint training centre” model suggested the People’s Liberation Army was taking an incremental approach to expanding its overseas footprint.
“This facility could start as a joint facility with Laos and grow into China steadily building a deeper presence over time,” he said. “What is visible now may just be a starting point.”
He noted that China expanded the pier at its Djibouti base years after it opened and has continued adding capabilities there, including for communications and potentially intelligence collection.
Ban Keun Airport is in the northwestern Vientiane province, about 45km (28 miles) north of the Laotian capital Vientiane. Situated at the heart of the Indochina peninsula, the airfield formerly functioned as a tactical support site in the US network of airstrips in Laos during the Laotian Civil War and Vietnam war era and ceased active operations after the conflicts.
According to reports based on commercial satellite imagery, construction at the Ban Keun site began around October last year and had reached a substantial scale by September this year. The longest runway is about 2,000 metres (6,562 feet).
Hart said the speed at which the facility appeared to have developed suggested the People’s Liberation Army’s footprint elsewhere could also grow quickly “if the conditions are right”.
Previous Chinese overseas defence projects have drawn concern from Washington and its allies.
The PLA set up its first overseas military outpost – a naval logistics base in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa – in 2017 to support its anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden and other operations in East Africa and the Middle East.
Last year, Beijing opened the China-Cambodia Joint Training and Support Centre at Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base on the Gulf of Thailand. The Cambodian government has denied the permanent stationing of PLA forces, stressing that the base remains open to visits from all nations. Days later two vessels from Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force became the first foreign naval ships to make a port call at the naval base.
Timothy Heath, head of defence research firm Perceptum, noted that the Laos base was in a strategic location.
“Southeast Asia will likely play a leading role in the future of Asia’s economy, so the base is a way for China to involve itself more deeply and possibly position military forces in an area of strategic value,” Heath said.
The new base and the Ream base in Cambodia could be key to China’s regional interests, he said.
“Both bases are near the South China Sea, which is the route for the Maritime Silk Road, a major seaway for China’s economy,” he said.
But he cautioned against comparing the three overseas China-linked bases to US bases overseas.
“None of these bases are similar to the US-style military bases with full military defensive capabilities,” Heath said. “China has no alliance with any of those countries and thus there is no justification for the PLA to conduct combat operations against countries like the USA from any of these bases.”
Hart said signs of a more substantial PLA presence would include how long Chinese aircraft or personnel stayed at Ban Keun, whether Beijing obtained exclusive access to parts of the facility, and the balance between Chinese and Laotian forces there.
The Lao People’s Liberation Army Air Force operates a small fleet of fewer than 40 aircraft, mainly transport helicopters and light jet trainers, with no modern fighter jets in service. Laotian pilot training has long depended heavily on foreign partners, particularly China and Russia.
Laos and China have maintained close ties for decades, with increased cooperation in recent years. The China-Laos Railway, a key Belt and Road Initiative project, opened in 2021 and has significantly improved connectivity between the two countries and helped deepen economic integration. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
