Malaysia shouldn’t see China’s new Laos base as threat, says analyst

 Thaha Albana Turmuzi says whether the issue would become more significant for Malaysia and Asean depends on the exact purpose of the facilities.

China is building a military base at an airport in Ban Keun, Laos, as seen in this satellite image. An analyst says it is premature to view it as a threat without more details from Vientiane. (Reuters pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Malaysia should avoid viewing China’s new military facility in Laos as a threat without first understanding how Beijing intends to use it, says a foreign policy analyst.

China announced this week that a joint military support and training centre about 50km north of the Laotian capital Vientiane was operational. The facility includes a new airfield and an aviation academy, which China says will be used to train Lao air force pilots.

Bait Al Amanah research officer Thaha Albana Turmuzi said there was still insufficient information about the centre and the nature of China’s military presence there.

Thaha said Putrajaya could seek more details about the facility from Laos through diplomatic and Asean channels, particularly on whether Chinese troops would be permanently stationed there and how much access they would have to the facility.

He said the priority should be greater transparency rather than publicly pressuring Laos over its ties with China.

“Malaysia should first treat this as a sovereign bilateral arrangement between Laos and China rather than automatically interpreting it as a threat,” he told FMT.

Thaha said Malaysia should also monitor how the arrangement develops, particularly if the military and infrastructure cooperation expands.

The issue would become more significant for Malaysia and Asean if the region started hosting other Chinese military facilities, he added.

China operates another joint training and support centre at Cambodia’s Ream naval base, which provides China direct access to the Gulf of Thailand and the broader South China Sea. Inaugurated last year, the centre is China’s first overseas naval joint facility in the region.

ISIS Malaysia senior fellow Thomas Daniel said it was still unclear what new military advantage China would gain from the facility in Laos given that the country already shares a border with China’s Yunnan province.

Daniel said the facility appeared to be a smaller but deliberate step to deepen China’s defence ties and political influence with friendly countries in the region.

He said the bigger question for Asean was whether the grouping could avoid being pulled apart by growing rivalry between China and the US.

“If China is set on further increasing its military footprint in the region, where the US is already present via semi-permanent or visiting deployments, then it is a question that just gets more complicated for Asean,” he said. - FMT