Read as article
China Stations Attack Jets at First Laos Airbase
By @sharedot · · 6 pages
- World
- China
- Laos
- Military
Satellite images show eight light attack jets at a new China-Laos joint facility, Beijing's first overseas base capable of handling fighter jets.
What happened at Ban Keun
China's defence ministry opened a joint "support and training centre" at Ban Keun airport in Laos on 29 September, describing it as a facility to help Laos train its air force pilots and insisting it is "not directed against any third party". The base sits about 30 miles (50km) outside the capital Vientiane and has been dramatically expanded over the past year, with farmland and dirt paths replaced by new buildings and a paved runway.
Why this is a first for Beijing
The base marks a significant expansion of China's overseas military footprint. Aside from island outposts in the South China Sea, port access at Ream in Cambodia and a logistics base in Djibouti, Beijing has no significant network of military facilities in other countries, and the Laos airbase is its first abroad capable of handling fighter jets. The US-based Institute for the Study of War called it the "first PLA overseas military facility focused on air power", while noting it is not yet equipped to execute major combat operations, unlike US military bases. The US, by comparison, controls about 750 bases in at least 80 countries worldwide.
The evidence analysts are weighing
The jets' shape matches the Chinese-made Hongdu JL-8, a two-seat intermediate jet trainer and light attack aircraft that can carry bombs in combat. According to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, Laos currently has four such planes, and they can be operated by both Chinese and Lao air forces. Construction appears focused on a future runway extension that could allow larger aircraft, including bombers, to operate there. Singapore-based analyst Alexander Neill, an adjunct fellow at Hawaii's Pacific Forum, said the short, presently innocuous airfield could in future serve signals intelligence and electronic-surveillance planes, while Collin Koh of the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies called it the first full-fledged PLA overseas base in Southeast Asia.
The stakes: Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan watch
Neighbours are watching closely for any sign of air defences, ammunition and fuel storage, or surveillance facilities that would point to broader military functions beyond training. Vietnam, which maintains South China Sea disputes with China and has long seen Indochina as its backyard, is likely the most concerned. Thailand played down the concerns, with defence ministry spokesperson R Adm Surasant Kongsiri saying it is Vientiane's sovereign right but that Bangkok will continue to monitor developments. The Independent reports defence expert Su Tzu-yun of Taiwan's Institute for National Defence and Security Research warned the base could let China intercept US Air Force aircraft crossing Indochina from Diego Garcia in a conflict over Taiwan or the South China Sea. Laos has not commented on the project.