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China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities
Base in Djibouti
DOD stated in 2016 that "in late November 2015, China acknowledged its intent to build military
support facilities in Djibouti. When completed, this facility is to be China's first overseas logistics
station."160 DOD stated in 2017 that
In February 2016, China began construction of a military base in Djibouti and probably
will complete it within the next year. China claims this facility is designed "to help the
navy and army further participate in United Nations peacekeeping operations (PKO),
carry out escort missions in the waters near Somalia and the Gulf of Aden, and provide
humanitarian assistance." This initiative, along with regular naval vessel visits to foreign
ports, both reflects and amplifies China's growing influence, extending the reach of its
armed forces.161
The facility in Djibouti reportedly was officially "established" on July 11, 2017,162 and formally
opened on August 1, 2017.163 A September 27, 2017, press report states:
China is planning to build a multi-purpose wharf that would allow a naval flotilla to dock
at its first overseas military base in Djibouti, according to military sources.
The wharf project will be started only when construction work on accommodation for the
People's Liberation Army marines, engineers and workers stationed in the Horn of Africa
nation is completed, one of the sources who is familiar with the project told the South
China Morning Post.
"Projects such as the multi-purpose naval wharf are complicated. The Chinese navy
needs a large-scale pier to offer logistical support for its flotillas conducting anti-piracy
operations in Somali waters," the source said.
"The scale of the wharf should allow for the docking of a four-ship flotilla at least,
including China's new generation Type-901 supply ship with a displacement of more
than 40,000 tonnes, destroyers and frigates, as well as amphibious assault ships for
combat and humanitarian missions."
China began building what it describes as a 36-hectare logistics base in Djibouti last year,
but satellite images suggest its docking facilities for naval vessels, barracks and other
pieces of military infrastructure are still under development....
The source said Beijing was considering the possibility it would have to assist in the mass
evacuation of Chinese citizens in an operation similar to the one conducted in war-torn
Yemen in 2015-meaning the capacity of the wharf would be designed to be as "big as
possible" to allow more warships to dock.
(...continued)
Maritime Strategy, Washington, National Defense University Press, April 2015 (Center for the Study of Chinese
Military Affairs, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University), 45 pp.; Brendan Thomas-
Noone, "The Master Plan: Could This Be China's Overseas Basing Strategy?" National Interest, November 6, 2014;
Daniel J. Kostecka, "The Chinese Navy's Emerging Support Network in the Indian Ocean," China Brief, July 22, 2010:
3-5; Eric Ellis, "Pearls for the Orient, " Sydney Morning Herald, July 9, 2010.
160 2016 DOD CMSD, p. 44. See also Jeremy Page, "China Builds First Overseas Military Post," Wall Street Journal,
August 19, 2016; Andrew Jacobs, "U.S. Wary of Its New Neighbor in Djibouti: A Chinese Naval Base," New York
Times, February 25, 2017.
161 2017 DOD CMSD, p. 5.
162 See, for example, Zhao Lei, "PLA Establishes Base in Horn of Africa," China Daily, July 12, 2017.
163 See, for example, Ben Blanchard, "China Formally Opens First Overseas Military Base in Djibouti," Reuters,
August 1, 2017.Congressional Research Service
55
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O'Rourke, Ronald. China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities: Background and Issues for Congress, report, November 1, 2017; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1043233/m1/60/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.