China has established a new overseas military support centre in Laos, built over the past year on what was previously farmland, satellite imagery shows, as analysts say the facility could strengthen Beijing’s long-term presence in Southeast Asia, reports Reuters.
The China-Laos Joint Support and Training Center and the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy are now operational at an airport in Ban Keun, about 50 kilometres north of the Lao capital Vientiane, China’s Ministry of National Defence said on Tuesday.
The centre will be used to train air force pilots and is not aimed at any third party, the Chinese defence ministry said, but analysts said its role could extend beyond training.
“The fact that this is a joint support and training centre suggests (China’s People’s Liberation Army) could be seeking persistent access to a logistics hub that can support forces rotating through Laos, perhaps with a small forward support element,” said Rachel Vandenbrink, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
Commercial satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters showed construction at the site has gone well beyond the rough dirt strip that existed until last year. Work on the new airfield began in late 2025 and continued into early September, with green fields replaced by a large paved runway, a parallel taxiway, an apron and several new buildings.
Some historical records indicate the area was used by the United States during its war in Laos and neighbouring Vietnam and Cambodia in the 1960s and 1970s. The Laos Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to questions, while China did not disclose details of personnel, equipment or facilities planned for the airport.
China already operates a joint training and support centre at Cambodia’s Ream naval base on the Gulf of Thailand and maintains a logistics base in Djibouti. Cambodia has said no Chinese personnel or warships are permanently stationed at Ream.
Collin Koh, a security scholar at Singapore’s S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, wrote on social media platform X that the Laos facility appeared more similar to China’s Djibouti logistics base than the Ream naval facility. He said it could be considered Beijing’s first full-fledged overseas military base in Southeast Asia.
Deeper ties
Laos, a poor one-party state governed by the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, has a long and complicated relationship with both China and Vietnam. Its small air force operates a limited number of aircraft designed by China and Russia.
A Southeast Asian diplomat said Lao troops had traditionally travelled to Vietnam, Russia and China for advanced military training, but some could now receive such training domestically.
The diplomat said China had been expanding its military presence across the region, pointing to a joint munitions factory in Indonesia.
Laos has held joint military exercises with China, including a humanitarian response drill this month. In June, Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith visited Beijing and held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who called for strategic dialogue on issues including national defence.
The United States, which operates a wide network of overseas military bases, has monitored China’s moves closely. A Pentagon report last year identified 22 countries where Beijing had plans for military facilities, though Laos was not included.
Thailand, a US treaty ally that shares a long border with Laos, said it respected Vientiane’s sovereign right to decide whether to allow a Chinese base. Defence ministry spokesperson Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri said Thailand would continue monitoring developments, particularly regarding mutual trust.
Expanding footprint
Regional military officials and analysts have long argued that China lacks sufficient overseas bases to match its military modernisation and ambitions to project power against the United States.
Vandenbrink said it remained unclear what capabilities China could project from Laos that were not already available from its southern province of Yunnan. The immediate importance of Ban Keun, she said, could be Beijing’s ability to maintain a lasting military presence and deepen ties with Lao forces.
China opened its Djibouti base in 2017 and has gradually expanded it with ship berthing and surveillance facilities. The Pentagon has estimated the base has around 400 Marines, though it is surrounded by facilities operated by other militaries, including Japan and the US.
Beyond Djibouti and Cambodia, China has built three military-grade island bases in the disputed South China Sea on Fiery Cross, Mischief and Subi reefs in the Spratly Islands. Developed since 2014, the sites include long runways, wharves, surveillance systems, air defence installations and accommodation facilities.
Military attaches say those bases have helped China expand naval, coast guard and fishing militia operations across Southeast Asia’s maritime region. However, China has not permanently deployed fighter jets to the Spratlys, possibly because of the challenging maritime environment.
Reuters reported in August and last month that China was carrying out fresh work on what are expected to become extensive new bases in the Paracel archipelago, another disputed area claimed by Vietnam.
