Vientiane, Oct 10: China’s newly opened military facility in Laos could give the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) a staging point in Southeast Asia and potentially complicate US military operations in the Andaman Sea and the Strait of Malacca, according to a report by The Diplomat, raising questions about the strategic implications for a maritime region critical to international shipping.
China inaugurated the air force support and training centre at Ban Keun Airport in Laos on September 29. The facility marks China’s first publicly acknowledged overseas military installation centred on air power and its third overseas military facility, the report said.
The China-Laos Joint Support and Training Centre and the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy have formally begun operations, primarily to train Lao Air Force pilots, according to information from China’s Ministry of National Defence cited by the report. Beijing has not disclosed the number of Chinese personnel or the equipment stationed at the site and has stated that the facilities are not directed against any third party.
The report noted that the base could expand China’s military presence in Southeast Asia and advance its regional interests, although there is no current evidence of a large-scale deployment of Chinese forces there.
Located in Vientiane Province, about 45 km from the Lao capital, Ban Keun Airport has a runway approximately 2,000 metres long and lies near the China-Laos Railway. The railway could allow personnel and some equipment to reach the facility without depending entirely on air transport, offering a logistical advantage for an overseas support base.
The facility’s potential significance extends beyond Laos. The report said Ban Keun could serve as a transit point for Chinese military aircraft operating towards Myanmar and farther south towards Singapore. It could also increase Beijing’s ability to place pressure on US naval forces operating around Singapore, although its direct military threat to the Taiwan Strait remains limited.
Singapore and Thailand serve as important logistical and replenishment locations for US forces, particularly when aircraft carriers rotate or undergo maintenance. Aircraft operating from Ban Keun could potentially reach these locations, the report said.
The facility could eventually complicate US military operations in the Gulf of Thailand, the Andaman Sea and the Strait of Malacca, according to The Diplomat. The latter connects the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea and the Pacific, making it a strategically important maritime passage.
The report distinguished Ban Keun from China’s overseas facilities in Djibouti and Cambodia, which have largely been associated with naval operations. It also assessed that the Laos facility was unlikely to primarily support operations in the South China Sea, where China already maintains facilities on Woody Island.
While Beijing has presented the new centres as training and support facilities, the report said their longer-term significance would depend on how China develops and uses the site.
