China sets up its first overseas military facility focused on air power in Laos. Why does this matter?

China has established its first overseas military facility focused on air power in Laos, marking another step in Beijing's efforts to expand its military presence beyond its borders and strengthen its ability to project power across the region.

The Ban Keun airfield, located about 50 km north of the Laotian capital Vientiane and near the Thai border, was officially inaugurated in September. However, satellite imagery indicates that construction is still underway in several parts of the facility.

The airport, jointly operated by China and Laos, is the latest addition to Beijing's expanding network of overseas military facilities and strategic infrastructure. China already maintains a military base in Djibouti, has developed the Ream naval facility in Cambodia and has rapidly expanded and militarised islands in the South China Sea.

The new airfield is particularly significant because it represents China's first military facility abroad dedicated to air power, potentially giving the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) an opportunity to develop its overseas operational capabilities.

Although China maintains that the facility is intended for pilot training and is not directed against any country, defence analysts and neighbouring nations are closely monitoring its development, according to an AP report.

The Ban Keun airport currently has a runway measuring approximately 2,000 metres, a parallel taxiway and an apron capable of accommodating about two dozen aircraft, according to an Associated Press analysis of satellite imagery taken two weeks ago.

The existing runway is already long enough to accommodate fighter aircraft.

Satellite imagery also suggests that there is sufficient space to extend the runway by at least another 1,000 metres. Such an expansion could allow larger military aircraft, including bombers, to operate from the facility.

The possibility of future expansion has drawn attention from regional defence experts, who believe the airfield's long-term importance could exceed its present capabilities.

The Institute for the Study of War noted that the facility is not yet equipped to support major PLAAF combat operations comparable to those conducted from American military bases overseas. However, the think tank said its geographical location alone makes it a significant addition to China's military infrastructure.

"The base would give the PLA alternate routes to access disputed areas of the South China Sea and strategic air routes around Vietnam," it said.

The establishment of the facility has attracted attention from neighbouring Vietnam, which has competing territorial claims against China in the South China Sea.

Greg Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the airfield does not fundamentally alter the regional balance of power or substantially improve China's ability to project force towards the Strait of Malacca.

However, he noted that its potential for expansion would be a concern for Vietnam.

Poling compared the project to China's involvement in Cambodia's Ream naval base, which was renovated using Chinese funding and now hosts a joint China-Cambodia training centre.

"China's overseas basing strategy at the moment seems a lot more like playing roulette than poker," Poling said.

"Small bets over the board that occasionally pay off."

Thailand, meanwhile, does not currently consider the facility a threat to its national security.

Thai defence ministry spokesperson Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri said Laos has the sovereign right to enter agreements with other countries under international law.

However, he added that Thailand would continue monitoring developments at Ban Keun as part of its routine security assessments.

Beyond Southeast Asia, the facility could have implications for American military planning in the event of a conflict over Taiwan.

Evan Laksmana, a Singapore-based defence analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the airfield could complicate Washington's strategic calculations if China attempted to take Taiwan by force.

Although the Laos facility is considerably farther from Taiwan than China's larger air bases on the mainland, it could potentially serve as an alternative landing site for damaged aircraft and a location for repairs.

The airfield could also benefit from its proximity to the railway connecting China's Yunnan province to Vientiane, a major infrastructure project developed under President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative.

The railway could provide a convenient supply route for the facility, according to Laksmana.

"This complicates how the US may have to think," he said. "Does this mean the US would have to attack a joint facility in Southeast Asia?"

China's ministry of defence has described the project as the China-Laos Joint Support and Training Centre and the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy.

According to Beijing, the facilities are intended to help Laos strengthen the training of its air force pilots and are not directed against any third party.

China has not clarified whether it intends to permanently station military aircraft and personnel at Ban Keun.

The state-run Global Times cited an expert saying there would be no independent Chinese garrison or exclusive Chinese rights to use the facility.

Analysts believe the Ban Keun project could provide China an opportunity to develop practical experience in operating an air base on foreign territory.

Laksmana suggested that the facility's importance may lie as much in building familiarity with overseas military operations as in its immediate combat potential.

"For me, the opportunity is less about the war-fighting part but the familiarity with overseas engagements and activities," he said.

The joint facility could also benefit Laos, whose air force currently operates only seven combat-capable aircraft, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies' annual Military Balance report.

With agency inputs