Asia Defense | Security | Southeast Asia

China’s Military Open New Logistics and Training Facility in Laos

The center north of Vientiane, a counterpart to a similar naval facility in Cambodia, marks a further extension of Beijing’s security presence in mainland Southeast Asia.

A satellite image shows the construction of the China-backed air strip in Ban Keun, Vientiane province, Laos, Jan. 3, 2026.

This week, the Chinese military opened a new logistics and training facility at an airport in Laos, further expanding its regional security presence and marking the first overseas presence of the Chinese air force.

In a statement, China’s Ministry of Defense said that the China-Laos Military Joint Support and Training Center was inaugurated on Tuesday, in a ceremony that was attended by Lao Defense Minister Khamlieng Outhakaysone and a delegation from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

The facility, which is based at Ban Keun Airport, around 50 kilometers north of the capital Vientiane, also includes a China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy.

“The center, jointly maintained and operated by both sides, is aimed at helping Laos strengthen the training of its air force pilots,” the Ministry said, but offered no details about what personnel or equipment would be based at the airport.

“The construction and use of the center reflect mutual respect and equal consultation between China and Laos, comply with both countries’ domestic laws, relevant international law and common practice,” it said. “It is not directed against any third party and contributes to enhancing practical military cooperation as well as promoting regional peace and stability.”

Satellite imagery of the Ban Keun facility shows it also includes the construction of an extensive airfield. According to Reuters, work began on the new airfield in late 2025 and work was ongoing as of early September. “In place of green fields,” it reported, “a large paved runway and a parallel taxiway and apron were visible, along with a number of new buildings.”

The airport was built on the site of an airfield known as Lima Site 44, one of a network of airstrips that were used by the U.S. military and Central Intelligence Agency during the Vietnam War, when the U.S. secretly supported an insurgency by anti-communist Hmong rebels. However, satellite images show that the new airfield expands far beyond the narrow, red-earthed strip established during the Vietnam War.

The new center adds to the handful of overseas facilities now operated by the PLA, since the opening of its first official overseas military base in Djibouti in 2017. It also complements a similar training and logistics facility that has been established at Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base on the Gulf of Thailand. The Cambodian facility was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Hun Manet in April 2025, after three years of Chinese-funded refurbishments that include a 300-meter-long deep-water pier, a 5,000-ton dry dock, and a 1,000-ton slipway.

China’s involvement at Ream has attracted the suspicion of Western, and particularly American, security officials, who fear that the base may evolve into a full-blown Chinese base. Cambodia has sought to allay these fears by inviting foreign navies, including those of Japan, Vietnam, and the U.S., to visit the base.

Collin Koh, a scholar at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said in a post on X that unlike Ream, the base in Laos is “more ostensibly similar to the one in Djibouti.” He added, “It may not be wrong to conclude this is the first........

© The Diplomat