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China has opened a military outpost at Ban Keun Airport in Laos, on the site of a former airfield used by the CIA during the Vietnam War, according to CNN.
The facilities, about 40 miles north of Vientiane and 25 miles from the nearest border with Thailand, include the China-Laos Joint Support and Training Center and the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy. China’s Defense Ministry said they began operating on September 29.
Satellite images obtained by CNN from intelligence platform “Vantor” show a 6,500-foot (2,000-metre) runway, a taxiway and a parking apron with space for 22 aircraft. The images also show eight aircraft, which CNN said may be Hongdu JL-8 trainer and light-attack jets.
China’s Defense Ministry said the facilities would help Laos develop and train its air force pilots and would be maintained jointly by the two countries. It added that the site was not aimed at any third party and would support military cooperation and regional stability.
China has one officially acknowledged overseas military base, in Djibouti, which opened in 2017. It has also funded a major expansion of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, which is jointly operated with the Cambodian military. A new pier there, capable of accommodating Chinese aircraft carriers, has prompted concern about Beijing’s intentions. Cambodia says the base is open to other countries, including the United States; a US Navy littoral combat ship visited in January.
Analysts said the Laos facility is symbolically significant but does not represent a major shift in the US-China balance of power. Drew Thompson, a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told CNN he saw little threat to US forces in the region from the base.
“This runway is not a dagger pointed at the heart of anything,” Thompson said, adding that he struggled to identify a scenario in which China would want to launch aircraft sorties from the site. He also pointed to its location near Thailand, a major non-NATO ally of the United States.
Rachel Vandenbrink, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told Reuters that Ban Keun was likely “a target of opportunity” rather than a response to a clear operational need. She said Laos could offer China an accessible foothold in mainland Southeast Asia, citing its shared border with China and infrastructure links, including a railway.
