An image from Vantor shows aircraft at a new joint China-Laos installation in Ban Keun, Laos. (Image credit: Vantor via CNN)
China’s defence ministry said the facilities would help Laos train and develop its air force pilots and would be jointly maintained by the two countries. The outpost comprises the China-Laos Joint Support and Training Center at Ban Keun Airport and the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy.
Because of its shared border with China and infrastructure links, including a railway, she said Laos could offer Beijing a strategic foothold in mainland Southeast Asia.
China’s defence ministry said the facilities were “not directed against any third party and are conducive to further strengthening practical cooperation between the two militaries and maintaining regional peace and stability. Its transformation into a Chinese military facility carries historical significance, although analysts cited in the report said it does not indicate a major shift in the US-China military balance. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said it was difficult to see how the base could threaten US forces in the region. “This runway is not a dagger pointed at the heart of anything,” Thompson said. Rachel Vandenbrink, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told Reuters that China’s selection of Ban Keun “is likely more about a target of opportunity than filling an obvious operational need.
Drew Thompson, a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. He also questioned the operational value of launching aircraft from the site, given its proximity to Thailand, a major non-NATO ally of the US.