"Regional ambitions", "expanding the Military Footprint", "extend military reach", "a foothold in Southeast Asia", "a new outpost", "carving new military presence", showing "attack" jets, "encircling Vietnam", "quiet overseas expansion", etc. Can you guess which country gets so much speculation, worded in such loaded vocabulary, as to what its "real" intentions are for opening an airforce training facility in Laos with the local government and army ? International media claim since September 29th that China "has opened its second military base abroad in Ban Keun, Laos", (about 50 kilometers north of Vientiane, close to the Thai border). Both the Chinese and Lao governments officially described the site as a jointly maintained and operated training facility, rather than the exclusive Chinese military base that Western media report on. China’s Ministry of National Defense stated that the center is meant to help train Lao Air Force pilots, is not directed against any third party, and does not feature an independent Chinese garrison or exclusive PLA control. Lao officials and military representatives have pushed back against foreign media labels of a "military base," pointing out that Laos's constitution does not permit foreign military bases on its soil. Reuters deceived and lied about it right off the bat with its headline : "China's latest expansion of its overseas military footprint, which was "carved from a patch of farmland in Laos over the past year." Headlines like this one maliciously imply that on top of military expansion, China is destroying the livelihood of local farmers. In reality, it was already a military airfield used by the CIA-operated Air America airline during the Vietnam War, as a logistics and support hub for secret operations in the region. Not only is it not built on precious farmland, but the site is still certainly as heavily polluted as every other base abandoned by US forces when they are done with a country. It does not stop Western media outlets and security analysts (such as reports by Reuters, NPR, The Diplomat, and the Lowy Institute) to portray the facility as a significant step in China's incremental, low-key military expansion in mainland Southeast Asia. Satellite imagery confirmed a 2,000-meter runway with trainer/light attack jets (such as JL-8 / K-8 aircraft) parked on site. These jets are actually used for counter-insurgency, border patrol, and light strike missions alongside flight instruction. Not exactly a tool of hegemonic expansion. The 2,000-meter-long runway is also hardly a tool of power projection. Such an air strip is too short for large strategic bombers, and the parking apron can only accommodate 22 small training aircrafts. By that logic, should we conclude that the US has already opened its new military base in Taiwan, since former managing director of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen admitted herself that hundreds of US soldiers were back in Taiwan (including Jinmen and Mazu) to train Taiwanese forces ? And this is just the tip of the iceberg of how many US forces are actually stationed all over the island.