Chinese troops arrived in Laos for a two-week exercise with the Laotian army on the outskirts of Vientiane, just weeks after a similar training in Cambodia that is part of Beijing’s efforts to strengthen ties with Southeast Asian countries.
Some 300 Chinese soldiers and about 900 Lao military personnel are participating in the Laos-China Friendship Shield-2024 exercise, which began on July 5, according to Lt. Col. Santi Chanthalangsone, who leads training for the Lao armed forces.
Most of the Chinese participants and military equipment arrived on the new Laos-China railway, financed mainly by loans from Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative.
“Participants will focus on technical cooperation and how to use armed vehicles and weapons,” Santi Chanthalangsone told local media on July 5.
“The Chinese side might have weapons and experiences that they could share with us,” he said. “This exercise will help strengthen our military ties, organize and modernize our armed forces.”
The exercises at the Kommadam Military Academy will last until July 18, he said.
“China’s backyard”
The two armies also held exercises in May 2023, during which they trained for a joint attack on transnational armed crime syndicates operating in the mountainous jungle.
Laos also participated in military exercises in China’s Guangdong province last November, which included militaries from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Laos’ dire economic conditions and large national debt – most of which is owed to China – mean it cannot reasonably hold military exercises with anyone else, according to Professor Adisorn Semyaem, a researcher in Laotian studies at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University.
“This exercise could affect its ties with Vietnam. It will not be easy for Laos. Laos and Vietnam share the same border,” he said. “But Laos is also in China’s backyard.”
China is seeking closer military cooperation with its regional neighbors to respond to what it calls “interference” by the United States and its allies.
The United States holds annual military exercises in Indonesia and Thailand, and in April it held a large-scale exercise with its mutual defense treaty partner, the Philippines.
In May, Chinese troops traveled to Sihanoukville, Cambodia, to participate in the largest-ever bilateral military exercise between the two countries.
Chinese warships have also been spotted since December at a new Chinese-built dock at Cambodia’s Ream naval base. Cambodia has repeatedly denied that China has exclusive military access to the base.
Translated by Max Avary. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.