China’s military has opened a new outpost on a site in northwestern Laos which was once a Vietnam-era CIA airfield.
The base, about 40 miles north of the capital Vientiane and just 25 miles from the nearest border with Thailand, comprises the China-Laos Joint Support and Training Center at Ban Keun Airport, and the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy. It began operations on September 29, according to an announcement from China’s Defense Ministry.
Photos obtained by CNN from satellite imagery and intelligence platform Vantor show a 6,500-foot-long (2,000-meter-long) runway, taxiway and parking apron for 22 aircraft have been completed at the base since December.
The facilities are “designed to help Laos strengthen the training and development of its air force pilots and will be jointly maintained by both sides,” the Defense Ministry statement said.
by Brad Lendon/CNN – This old CIA airfield is now a Chinese base
