China Opens First People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Air Force Overseas Base in Laos

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) inaugurated the China-Laos Military Joint Support and Training Center at Ban Keen Airport, a logistics and training hub for air-force pilots. The facility began operations on Tuesday and is jointly maintained by China and Laos. It was opened alongside the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy. The base is situated about 40 miles (64 km) north of Vientiane, near the former Cold-War-era Lima Site-44 airfield.

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Laos, a land-locked nation with a modest air force that relies on Chinese and Soviet equipment, has deepened ties with Beijing since the 1990s. A rail link launched in 2021 and a 3+3 ministerial dialogue established in June have reinforced bilateral cooperation. The Ban Keen installation is the PLA’s first overseas air-force base, adding to earlier overseas sites: a naval base in Djibouti (2017) and the China-Cambodia Joint Support and Training Center at Port Ream (2025). Its proximity to Thailand and the broader Mekong region gives the PLA easier reach to Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar, and could support exercises such as the annual Falcon Strike drill.

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The ministry added that the base will aid Laos in pilot training and can be used for peacekeeping, counter-terrorism, and disaster-relief missions. Laos’ defense minister, Khamlieng Outhakaysone, highlighted the partnership during a recent visit to Beijing, where Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun pledged deeper coordination.

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James Char, an assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University, noted that while the base projects Beijing’s image as a regional security provider, it also consolidates China’s hegemonic status. Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, warned that Vietnam could have “serious grounds for concern” if the facility becomes a permanent PLA foothold, potentially giving Beijing greater leverage over strategic access routes around Vietnam.

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• “Apart from consolidating its status as the region’s hegemon, the base nonetheless serves to help Beijing boost its image as a security provider for the region,” — James Char, assistant professor, Nanyang Technological University

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• “These developments could give Beijing greater leverage over strategic access routes around Vietnam, raising concerns about its ability to monitor, and potentially constrain, Vietnam’s room for maneuver in time of crisis,” — Nguyen Khac Giang, visiting fellow, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute

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