Strategic NewsChina opens training center with Laos, marking third overseas military base
Toward Decline

China opens training center with Laos, marking third overseas military base

Breaking Defense Institutional·2026-09-30PLAP5: Strategic DecouplingP6: Defence SurgeP7: Alliance Architecture
Why it matters

China's third overseas military base and second in Southeast Asia extends PLA power projection capacity and forward-deployed logistics in Australia's near region, narrowing the strategic space and complicating Indo-Pacific contingencies. The Laos foothold (combined with Cambodia's Ream facility) creates a military presence astride regional sea-lanes and air corridors critical to Australian trade and defence operations.

Read the original report at Breaking Defense

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Where this sits in the model

This development bears on 3 of the eight pillars of Australian preparedness — the overall picture right now is 5/100.

P5: Strategic Decoupling0/100P6: Defence Surge0/100P7: Alliance Architecture25/100
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How does the military balance actually stack up?

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