China extends military reach with new air support base in Laos

The Chinese military opened a new logistics base at an airport in Laos, expanding the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) overseas presence as it seeks to operate farther from home.

The facility, the China-Laos Military Joint Support and Training Center at Ban Keun Airport, began operations Tuesday, according to a statement from China’s Ministry of Defense.

The base is intended to help Laos strengthen the training of air force pilots and will be jointly maintained by the two countries, the ministry said. It was inaugurated alongside the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy. The landlocked Southeast Asian nation has a small air force that primarily relies on Chinese and Soviet equipment.

“Their construction and use are the result of mutual respect and equal consultation between China and Laos,” the ministry said. “They are not directed against any third party and are conducive to further strengthening practical cooperation between the two militaries.”

The opening adds to the PLA’s small but growing network of overseas military facilities as China becomes more capable of projecting power beyond its borders.

“Apart from consolidating its status as the region’s hegemon, the base nonetheless serves to help Beijing boost its image as a security provider for the region,” said James Char, an assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University.

He noted that the PLA typically presents its overseas facilities as intended only for peacekeeping, counter-terrorism and disaster relief operations, but a “Chinese base in the heart of mainland Southeast Asia may still be viewed with some trepidation.”

China opened its first official overseas military base in Djibouti in 2017, and then the China-Cambodia Joint Support and Training Center at Cambodia’s Port Ream in 2025. Both facilities have fueled concerns in Washington and other Western capitals about Beijing’s expanding global military presence. (Cambodia has highlighted that the PLA doesn’t have exclusive access to the Ream base, and foreign navy vessels from the U.S. and Japan have visited the port.)

While the first two installations were naval, the Laos station marks the PLA Air Force’s first overseas facility. The airstrip’s close proximity to Thailand means it could theoretically support PLA drills there, such as the annual Falcon Strike air exercise. It also gives PLA fighter jets an easier reach to Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar.

Vietnam, in particular, could have “serious grounds for concern” if it becomes a foothold for a more permanent PLA presence in Laos, building on its activities at Cambodia’s Ream and in disputed areas of the South China Sea, said Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

“These developments could give Beijing greater leverage over strategic access routes around Vietnam, raising concerns about its ability to monitor, and potentially constrain, Vietnam’s room for maneuver in time of crisis,” Giang added. “Much depends on how the facility is used.”

The Laotian Embassy in Singapore and Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Surasant Kongsiri, spokesperson of the Thai Defense Ministry, said in a statement that while the base is a sovereign decision of Laos, “Thailand needs to continue monitoring the situation and developments, particularly with a focus on fostering mutual trust.”

The air force facility is in Ban Keun, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of the capital Vientiane. The area is also home to a Cold War-era airfield known as Lima Site-44, which was used by the U.S. for aviation and logistics operations.

Satellite imagery suggests that the new center is located near that former airfield. Farmland clearing appeared to have begun around last November, according to imagery from the European Union’s Copernicus satellite program.

Laos, a Communist nation, has held close ties with China since the 1990s thanks to a shared ideology. China launched a rail line connecting the two nations in 2021, which has helped promote local economy and foster links.

The two countries set up a 3+3 ministerial dialogue in June, featuring foreign, defense and public security ministries. During Laotian Defense Minister Khamlieng Outhakaisone’s visit to Beijing in mid-September, Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun pledged to deepen coordination and cooperation with Laos to build “closer, more substantial” military ties.