cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/60115169
Satellite images show attack jets stationed at a new Chinese military facility in Laos, which opened last week and gives Beijing’s air force its first foothold in mainland south-east Asia.
Images provided by the commercial satellite provider Vantor show eight light attack aircraft positioned at Ban Keun airport alongside what appear to be more than a dozen military vehicles lined up in rows.
The planes’ shape matches that of the Chinese-made Hongdu JL-8 jet, a two-seat trainer that can be deployed in combat to carry bombs. Laos is reported to have four such aircraft, according to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
In a rare example of Beijing’s overseas military expansion, China opened what it said was a joint “support and training centre” at Ban Keun on 29 September.
[…]
The airport, about 30 miles (50km) north of Vientiane, the capital of Laos, has been significantly expanded over the past year. Satellite images taken months ago show farmland and dirt paths where there are now new buildings and a paved runway.
Aside from its island bases in the South China Sea, Beijing does not have a significant network of military outposts in other countries, and the Laos airbase would be its first facility in another country capable of handling fighter jets.
[…]