China and Laos opened a joint military support and training center at Ban Keun airfield, north of Vientiane, in late September, according to DW. China said the facility would initially be used to train Lao Air Force pilots.
The opening comes as Beijing deepens security ties in Southeast Asia. China also expanded its role at Cambodia’s Ream naval base in 2025, where it uses facilities for logistics and training, DW reported. The terms governing access by different navies at Ream remain unclear.
Analysts cited by DW cautioned against treating the Laos facility as proof that Chinese forces have unrestricted access. Johann Fuhrmann, head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s Beijing office, said the key question is what rights China will receive and whether future uses would require approval from the Lao government.
Fuhrmann also said the idea of a Chinese air corridor through Laos was a future possibility, not an established fact. Ban Keun’s runway is 2,000 meters long, shorter than the roughly 3,000 meters typically needed by large Chinese bombers.
Marco Bünte, a professor of Asian politics at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, described the facility as a potential step toward closer military cooperation. He said it was too early to conclude that China was building a broader military alliance in the region.
Regional governments are responding differently to Beijing’s growing ties. Vietnam, which has historical links with Laos and territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea, said in early November that military cooperation should support peace and stability. China has said its activities are not directed against third parties.
Reid Bentley