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China-backed air force training centre opens in Laos

China says the Ban Keun Airport centre will strengthen Lao pilot expertise and is not aimed at any third party.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Asia

A newly opened, China-backed air force training centre in Laos could unsettle Vietnam, observers say, even as the project is positioned as part of broader defence cooperation among regional partners.

According to a statement from China’s National Defence Ministry, the joint support and training facility at Ban Keun Airport in Vientiane is intended to strengthen expertise of local air force pilots and is “not directed against any third party.”

The ministry said the two institutions reflect what it described as mutual respect and equal consultation between China and Laos, aligned with the domestic laws of both countries and international law.

It added that the installation, widely described as China’s third overseas defence base, is meant to enhance practical military cooperation and support regional peace and stability, SCMP Economy reported.

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