Archive · 9 Oct 2026
China Opens Laos Airfield, Raising Questions About Regional Security
China and Laos have opened a military training center at an airport in Laos.
China says it will help train Lao pilots and will be run by both countries.
The airport is still being built, and satellite pictures show aircraft and vehicles there.
Some experts think China might use the site for more military activities in the future.
They say this could worry Vietnam and affect how it plans its defenses.
Other experts say Laos has no coastline, which limits what aircraft and forces based there can do.
China and Laos say the center is meant to support cooperation, not threaten another country.
One Laos expert says the country is unlikely to stop balancing its relationships with China, Vietnam and Thailand.
The airport was also used by a CIA-owned airline during the Vietnam-era conflict in Laos.
The China-Laos Joint Support and Training Center at Ban Keun Airport began operations late last month, alongside the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy.
China says the center will train Lao air force pilots and be jointly maintained and operated by both countries.
Commercial satellite images show aircraft, support vehicles and ongoing runway construction; analysts identified the planes as likely Hongdu JL-8/K-8s.
Some analysts say the infrastructure could enable a lasting Chinese military foothold and complicate Vietnam’s defense planning; others say Laos’s landlocked geography limits the site’s military value.
Laos says the facility is not directed against a third party, and an expert considers a change to its non-aligned foreign policy highly unlikely.
- Who
- China and Laos opened the joint training and support facility; analysts and regional governments are assessing its implications.
- What
- The China-Laos Joint Support and Training Center and China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy began operations.
- When
- Late last month; the articles do not provide a calendar date.
- Where
- Ban Keun Airport, north of Vientiane, Laos.
- Why
- China says the facility will help train Lao air force pilots and deepen military cooperation; analysts also discuss its potential strategic uses.
Potential strategic importance
Limits and stated purpose
Could the facility become a permanent Chinese base?
Potential strategic importance
Hunter Marston says the infrastructure could support a more permanent base and that Beijing may have political leverage to seek exclusive access. Other analysts say construction and possible runway expansion could permit broader military use.
Limits and stated purpose
China says the facility is for joint training and cooperation. Collin Koh says the landlocked location constrains the Chinese military’s ability to project power, and China already has larger, better-equipped bases in southern China.
Implications for Vietnam
Potential strategic importance
Euan Graham says the facility could contribute to Vietnam’s concern about strategic encirclement and complicate its defense planning.
Limits and stated purpose
Koh says Vietnam will monitor the site, but its geography does not give China a significant operational advantage.
Will Laos change its foreign policy?
Potential strategic importance
Analysts say Laos’s dependence on Chinese investment and financing could give Beijing leverage, raising questions about the durability of Laos’s balancing approach.
Limits and stated purpose
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.
- Facility
- China-Laos Joint Support and Training Center
- Companion institution
- China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy
- Location
- Ban Keun Airport, north of Vientiane, Laos
- Stated purpose
- Help train Lao air force pilots
- Operations
- China and Laos are to jointly maintain and operate the center
- Aircraft identified in satellite images
- At least eight aircraft, assessed by analysts as likely Hongdu JL-8/K-8s
- Laos public debt
- The International Monetary Fund estimates it at around 81% of GDP last year
- Historical use
- Ban Keun was known as Lima Site 44 and used by CIA-owned Air America during the Vietnam-era conflict in Laos
