China's first fully functional overseas military base is in Laos

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA  /  Editor: Fang Xun  /  https://www.aboluowang.com/2026/1007/2442623.html / Source : CNA / Image : Satellite imagery captured after 30 September 2026 shows light attack aircraft and military vehicles visible at the Ban Keun joint base (Vantor/Handout via Reuters).

Satellite imagery reveals the presence of light attack aircraft and military vehicles at the Ban Keun airfield—a joint support and training center recently inaugurated by China and Laos.

A Reuters report on 6 October 2026 noted that images captured on 30 September 2026 by commercial satellite provider Vantor showed eight aircraft and over two dozen support vehicles parked on a runway that was still under construction, with extensive building activity visible in the surrounding area.

Security analysts have identified the aircraft in the images as K-8 light attack jets. Jointly developed by China and Pakistan, the K-8 is widely used for flight training but also possesses light attack capabilities.

On 29 September 2026, China's Ministry of National Defense announced the official inauguration of the joint support and training centre and the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy at Ban Keun airfield. These facilities are designed to assist Laos in enhancing its air force pilot training and are jointly operated by both countries.

The rapid development of this facility has drawn close attention from foreign military attachés and security scholars across the region. Some observers suggest that this project could mark the establishment of China's first fully functional overseas military base in Southeast Asia.

Although China has vigorously pursued military modernization over the past two decades, it is widely considered to lack a robust network of overseas military facilities—with the notable exceptions of installations in the South China Sea, access arrangements at Cambodia's Ream Naval Base, and a logistics base in Djibouti, East Africa.

The report cited Rachel Vandenbrink, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, who suggested that the decision to build a facility accessible to the Chinese military at Ban Keun was "more likely a case of seizing an existing opportunity than meeting a specific operational military requirement."

She noted that Laos shares a border with China and is connected by infrastructure such as railways, making it an easily accessible foothold for China on the Southeast Asian mainland and thus a location of significant geostrategic value.