[International] Beijing Establishes First Overseas Air Force Facility in Laos; Analysts: Expanding China's Overseas Military Footprint
RtiTalk 小編18d ago
China recently inaugurated a military support and training center at an airport in Laos, which analysts believe indicates an expansion of China's overseas military footprint.
Beijing has long strived to enhance its influence in the Asia-Pacific region, competing with the United States and its allies in areas such as strategic waterways and exploration of disputed South China Sea seabed resources. China's Ministry of National Defense recently announced the launch of a new joint military support and training center at Ban Keun Airport in Laos, aimed at training Lao pilots and to be jointly maintained and operated by both sides.
According to Joshua Kurlantzick, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in the US, the China-Laos Joint Military Support and Training Center, officially inaugurated on September 29, is "China's first overseas air force base." Prior to this, China's overseas military facilities were primarily naval bases.
Kurlantzick believes that as China begins to establish overseas air force bases, it may establish more similar bases in the surrounding region and other friendly countries in the future, stating, "They won't stop after building one base in Laos."
Collin Koh, a maritime security expert at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, also pointed out that as Laos' largest creditor, China is attempting to demonstrate its extended capabilities in defense diplomacy.
Koh noted that training Lao pilots requires China to deploy military assets locally, whether they are ordinary transport aircraft or modern fighter jets. "Once training begins, (China's) military presence becomes a natural consequence."
According to a previous statement from China's Ministry of National Defense, the training center and the accompanying China-Laos Friendship Aviation College are intended to train Lao Air Force pilots. These facilities will be "jointly maintained and operated normally by both sides" and will not target any third party.
Neither government has disclosed details about the personnel or military equipment to be deployed at these facilities.
Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) military expenditure database shows that China's military spending is only about one-third of that of the United States, and its overseas military bases are few.
China's first overseas military base was established in 2017 in Djibouti, an East African nation near the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Additionally, China funded the upgrade of the Ream Naval Base in Cambodia, located on the Gulf of Thailand, and in 2025, military representatives will jointly preside over the inauguration ceremony of this joint logistics and training center with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.
Following the renovation of the Ream base, warships from the United States and Japan have also made port calls, and two Chinese anti-submarine frigates had been stationed there for a long time prior.
In contrast, Koh believes that the new facility in Laos is likely to be used exclusively by the Chinese and Lao militaries. Ban Keun Airport may become a "convenient transit point" for the Chinese Air Force, and Chinese personnel may be stationed there permanently.
He frankly stated, "We cannot rule out the possibility that China might deploy operational equipment in the region under the guise of training the Lao Air Force."
Carl Thayer, an emeritus professor of political science at the University of New South Wales in Australia and an expert on Asian military affairs, suggests not to panic excessively. Ban Keun Airport can currently only support light aircraft and trainers. "China is indeed moving forward, but this is not yet a crisis. It's not like Djibouti, nor like Ream, but it represents a shift."
Kurlantzick also believes that for economically underdeveloped Laos, this new joint facility offers military training, equipment support, and economic benefits, further consolidating its relationship with Beijing. "For Laos, the benefit of doing this is to satisfy China."
Source Link: https://www.rti.org.tw/news?uid=3&pid=235560
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