China, Laos open military facilities at Lao airport; experts cite possible overseas base

In short

China's defence ministry said on Sept 29 that it and Laos had begun operating a “joint support training centre” and an “aviation academy” at Bunkun airport, about 50 km north of Vientiane, with the two countries jointly maintaining the facilities. The ministry said the aim is to help train Lao air force pilots and that the facilities do not target third countries. Reuters reported, citing satellite imagery, that runways and taxiways have been built since late last year, and a Singapore-based researcher said the site resembles China's Djibouti base and could become Southeast Asia's first Chinese overseas base.

Why it matters

If the site becomes a full base, it would be China's first in Southeast Asia, adding to its base in Djibouti and its support for expanding Cambodia's Ream naval base, according to Yomiuri and the experts it cites. The reports place the airport within a widening Chinese military footprint in a region where, one Chinese expert quoted by Yomiuri said, US engagement is seen as declining. China's defence ministry says the facilities are not aimed at third countries.

Key facts

• China's Ministry of National Defense said on Sept 29 that it had begun operating a “joint support training centre” and an “aviation academy” at Bunkun airport, about 50 km north of Vientiane in Laos, maintained jointly by the two countries. [ 1 ]
• The ministry said the purpose is to support the training of Lao air force pilots and stated that the facilities “are not targeting third countries”. [ 1 ]
• Reuters reported on Sept 30 that analysis of satellite images showed runways and taxiways at the airport had been progressively built since late last year. [ 1 ]
• Colin Khoo, a senior researcher at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said on social media that the site “resembles the Djibouti base” and pointed to the risk that it becomes Southeast Asia's first such base. [ 1 ]
• China has a military base in Djibouti, in northeast Africa, and supported the expansion of Cambodia's Ream naval base in the south. [ 1 ]
• A Chinese military expert said on social media that Bunkun airport could serve as a transit resupply base for Chinese air force deployments and that exports of China's J-10 fighter jets to Laos were possible. [ 1 ]
• Laos, under single-party rule by the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, has deepened economic ties with neighbouring China, including the China-Laos railway that opened in 2021, and holds regular joint military exercises with China. [ 1 ]

What local media are saying

Timeline, local time

1. 09-29China's Ministry of National Defense announced that operations had begun at a “joint support training centre” and an “aviation academy” at Bunkun airport in Laos, to be maintained jointly by the two countries. [ 1 ]
2. 09-30Reuters reported, based on satellite image analysis, that runways and taxiways at the airport had been progressively built since late last year. [ 1 ]
3. 21:44Yomiuri Shimbun published its report on the facilities, on Oct 5 local time. [ 1 ]
4. 03:40Tokyo Shimbun published a headline report that China had set up military facilities in Laos and that they could become an overseas base, on Oct 6 local time. [ 2 ]
5. 04:06Nishi-Nippon Shimbun published a report with the same headline, on Oct 6 local time. [ 3 ]