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China Opens Laos Training Hub, Raising Regional Security Questions
China and Laos have opened a center for military training and support at an airport in Laos.
China says the center will mainly help train Lao pilots and will be run by both countries.
Some experts think China could expand its use of the site later.
They say this could worry Vietnam, which has disputes with China over the South China Sea.
Other experts say the base is inland, so it cannot provide sea access and may not give China a major military advantage.
Laos has long tried to balance its relationships with China, Vietnam, and Thailand.
One Laos expert says it is unlikely the country will change its non-aligned policy.
The facility is part of China’s growing security cooperation in the region.
China opened the China-Laos Joint Support and Training Center at Ban Keun Airport, alongside a new aviation academy.
Beijing says the facilities will train Lao air force pilots and be jointly maintained and operated by China and Laos.
Analysts say the site could support a larger, more lasting Chinese presence, though Laos’s dependence on Chinese financing may give Beijing leverage.
Some analysts warn the facility could complicate Vietnam’s defense planning; others say Laos’s landlocked geography limits its military value.
Laos says it follows a non-aligned foreign policy, and an analyst considers a shift in that policy highly unlikely.
- Who
- China and Laos opened a joint military training and support facility.
- What
- The China-Laos Joint Support and Training Center and China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy began operations.
- Where
- Ban Keun Airport, north of Vientiane, Laos.
- When
- Late last month; the articles do not specify a calendar date.
- Why
- China says the facilities will deepen military cooperation and help train Lao air force pilots; analysts also discuss their potential strategic role.
Potential strategic significance
Limits and Laos’s stated policy
Could the site become a lasting Chinese military foothold?
Potential strategic significance
Hunter Marston says its infrastructure could allow a more permanent base, and that Beijing may have leverage to seek exclusive access.
Limits and Laos’s stated policy
Collin Koh says Laos’s landlocked geography constrains the site’s usefulness for projecting military power; Chinese aircraft already use larger, better-equipped bases in southern China.
Implications for Vietnam
Potential strategic significance
Euan Graham says the facility could contribute to Vietnam’s concern about strategic encirclement and complicate its defense planning.
Limits and Laos’s stated policy
Koh says the location does not give China a significant operational advantage, although Vietnam will monitor it.
Will Laos change its foreign-policy approach?
Potential strategic significance
China’s deepening security presence and economic influence raise questions about its leverage over Vientiane.
Limits and Laos’s stated policy
Simon Creak says Laos is highly unlikely to change its non-aligned policy or its longstanding effort to balance relations with Vietnam, Thailand, and China.
Key facts
- Facility
- China-Laos Joint Support and Training Center
- Location
- Ban Keun Airport, north of Vientiane, Laos
- Companion institution
- China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy
- Stated purpose
- Primarily training Lao air force pilots
- Operations
- China and Laos are to jointly maintain and operate the center
- Laos public debt
- The International Monetary Fund estimates it at around 81% of GDP last year
- China’s first foreign military base
- Established in Djibouti in 2017
Quotes
Hunter Marston
Director of the Southeast Asia Program at Australia’s Lowy Institute
“Hanoi has always perceived the Indochinese peninsula as within its sphere of influence, offering a buffer against external aggressors, especially given Vietnam’s narrow midriff. Now, it faces an alarming possibility of strategic encirclement by China. The new air base in Laos will certainly complicate Vietnam’s defense planning.”
indianexpress.com
“The focus may well be on joint training, but it has the potential to become a more permanent base.”
indianexpress.com
Collin Koh
Senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University
“The operational usefulness for the PLA’s projection of military power in Southeast Asia is constrained by the landlocked nature of Laos.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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