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China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities
facilities-probably collocated with commercial ports-most closely aligns with China's
future overseas military logistics needs.
A greater overseas naval logistics and basing footprint would better position the PLA to
expand its participation in non-combatant evacuation operations, search-and-rescue,
humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HA/DR), and SLOC security. A more robust
overseas logistics and basing infrastructure would also be essential to enable China to
project and sustain military power at greater distances from China. 168
In March 2017, it was reported that China might deploy a contingent of Chinese marines to the
commercial port at Gwadar, Pakistan, to help maintain security at that port.169
A September 27, 2017, blog post states that
... while it is likely that Djibouti will not be China's only military outpost abroad, it may
be some time before China establishes another one given China's cautious approach to
Djibouti....
... China is indeed considering other locations for additional overseas bases. An article
written by Adm. Sun Jianguo, the deputy chief of the joint staff department responsible
for the PLA's overseas engagement portfolio, and published in Qiushi, the official journal
of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China School, President Xi Jinping
has instructed the PLA to "steadily advance overseas base construction." In March 2016,
in response to a reporter's question about how China will protect its overseas interests,
China's foreign minister Wang Yi simply stated, "We are willing to try to carry out the
construction of infrastructure facilities and logistic capacity in the regions where China's
interest is involved." This is a far cry from past statements by China's Foreign Ministry
spokesmen, who would decry as "groundless" the first hint of any such rumor that the
PLA may be interested setting up overseas.
Chinese military analysts have already publicly speculated about several potential
locations. Analysts at China's Naval Research Institute, the PLA Navy's top think tank,
have proposed locations ranging from Gwadar, Pakistan and Hambantota, Sri Lanka in
South Asia, to Sittwe, Myanmar in Southeast Asia, and even Dar es Salaam, south of
Djibouti on Africa's east coast in Tanzania. Each of these locations have their own
unique sets of challenges for China, however, and given the excessive caution with which
China moved in establishing its first location in Djibouti, it may be quite some before we
see a second.170
An October 5, 2017, press report states:
China's first overseas military base in the small African country of Djibouti is "probably
the first of many" the country intends to build around the world, which could bring its
interests into conflict with the U.S., according to American intelligence officials.
"China has the fastest-modernizing military in the world next to the United States,"
according to insights provided Thursday by U.S. intelligence officials, who asked not to
be identified discussing the information. That will create "new areas of intersection-and
potentially conflicting-security interests between China and the United States and other
countries abroad," according to the officials. 171
168 2017 DOD CMSD, p. 5. The passage as reprinted here omits bullet marks that precede the first two paragraphs.
169 "China May Deploy Marines to Gwadar Port," Maritime Executive, March 16, 2017.
170 Erica S. Downs and Jeff Becker, "China's Presence in Djibouti is Not a National Security Threat-Yet," National
Interest, September 27, 2017.
171 Nafeesa Syeed, "U.S. Intelligence Sees China's Military Expanding Bases Globally," Bloomberg, October 5, 2017.Congressional Research Service
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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/m1/63/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.