New facilities in Laos and Cambodia: Is China expanding its military presence in Southeast Asia?

Is China expanding its military presence in Southeast Asia?

It's often said that maintaining good relations with your neighbors is essential. So in early November, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi invited his counterparts from Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar to Beijing.

There the six countries agreed on closer economic and security cooperation.

The visit is just one example of China's growing influence on Southeast Asia . It's not just about trade or infrastructure either, it's also increasingly about military cooperation.

For instance, at the end of September, China and Laos opened a joint military support and training center north of the Laotian capital, Vientiane. Initially Laotian air force pilots are to be trained at the Ban Keun airfield, China has said.

Earlier in 2025 China expanded its footprint at Cambodia's Ream naval base . China uses the facility on the Gulf of Thailand for logistics and training. And while Japanese and Vietnamese ships can visit the port, they're docked at a southern quay and it's unclear if other navies can use the same facilities under the same conditions as China.

"It remains to be seen how this [Ban Keun] will change China's military access to Southeast Asia," says Marco Bünte, a professor of Asian politics at the University Erlangen Nuremberg in Germany.

本文の著作権はDeutsche Welleにあります。