Vientiane, Oct 10 (IANS) China’s newly-opened military facility at Ban Keun Airport in Laos, its first publicly acknowledged overseas facility centred on air power, could give the air force of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) a staging and transit base in Southeast Asia and be used to complicate US military operations in the Andaman Sea and the Strait of Malacca, a report has cautioned.
According to a report in The Diplomat, China inaugurated the air force support and training centre in Laos on September 29, marking its third overseas military facility.
“Analysts have noted that the arrangement could expand the People’s Liberation Army’s military presence in Southeast Asia and strengthen China’s regional interests, although there is currently no evidence that Beijing has deployed large-scale forces at the site,” the report said.
Citing China’s Ministry of National Defence, the report said the China-Laos Joint Support and Training Centre and the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy had formally begun operations at the airport, mainly to help train Lao Air Force pilots. Beijing has not disclosed the number of Chinese personnel or the equipment stationed there, and has said the facilities are “not directed” against any third party.
“Ban Keun Airport is significant because it is China’s first publicly acknowledged overseas military facility centred on air power. This differs from China’s overseas facilities in Djibouti and Cambodia, which have largely been associated with naval operations,” the report stated.
The airport, in Vientiane Province about 45 km from the Lao capital, has the longest runway of about 2,000 metres and sits close to the China-Laos Railway, which means personnel and some equipment from China need not rely solely on air transport.
“For an overseas joint support base, this logistical advantage is highly significant,” the report said.
It added that Ban Keun was unlikely to be primarily intended for operations in the South China Sea, where China already has facilities on Woody Island.
“The greater significance of Ban Keun lies in its potential role as a transit base for the PLA Air Force. From this location, Chinese forces would have a certain level of operational reach toward Myanmar and farther south toward Singapore,” the report said.
While the facility poses only a limited direct threat to the Taiwan Strait, the report said it would enhance China’s ability to place pressure on US naval forces operating around Singapore.
“For the United States, Singapore and Thailand are both important logistical and replenishment locations, particularly during periods when US aircraft carriers are rotating or undergoing maintenance. These locations would potentially fall within the operational range of aircraft operating from Ban Keun,” it noted.
“In the future, the facility could also be used to complicate US military operations in the Gulf of Thailand, the Andaman Sea, and even the Strait of Malacca,” the report added.
–IANS
ksk/as