China and Laos Open Joint Pilot Training Facility Near Vientiane

China and Laos have opened a joint military pilot-training facility at Ban Keun airfield, north of Vientiane. Nikkei Asia reported that the two countries held an opening ceremony on September 29. According to DW and AFP, the facility is intended to train Lao air force pilots and will be operated by both countries.

The opening includes a training and support centre and an aviation academy, DW reported. China’s defence ministry said in a statement cited by DW that the institutions are not directed against any third party. AFP reported that the ministry said both sides would maintain the site for normal operations.

How far the facility’s role might extend beyond training remains uncertain. Hunter Marston, described by DW as director of the Southeast Asia Program at Australia's Lowy Institute, told DW that the infrastructure could support a more permanent Chinese military presence in the future. Joshua Kurlantzick, a Southeast Asia expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, described it to AFP as China’s first air force base abroad. Neither assessment establishes that China has exclusive access to the site.

Marston told DW that while the focus may be on joint training, the facility has the potential to become a more permanent base.

The arrangement brings military cooperation into a relationship that also encompasses major financing and infrastructure projects. According to DW, the International Monetary Fund estimates Laos’ public debt at around 81% of GDP last year, with China its largest bilateral creditor. DW also reported that China’s state-owned China Southern Power Grid acquired a reported 90% stake in Electricite du Laos Transmission Company, which operates much of Laos’ electricity transmission network, in 2020.

China opened its first overseas military base in Djibouti in 2017, according to DW and AFP. Both outlets also reported Chinese involvement in Cambodia’s Ream naval base. For now, Beijing and Vientiane have described the Ban Keun facility’s purpose as joint training and support for Lao aviation personnel.