Report: China to build naval base near Pak port

ISLAMABAD : A year after opening its first offshore naval base at the Horn of Africa in Djibouti, China is planning for a second such facility near Pakistan’s Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, media reports said.

The South China Morning Post, quoting Beijing-based military analyst Zhou Chenming, reported the base near the Gwadar would be used to dock and maintain naval vessels as well as provide other logistical support services. “China needs to set up another base in Gwadar for its warships because Gwadar is now a civilian port,” Zhou said.

Pakistan has consistently denied reports that any Chinese military facilities were being planned or built on its soil. On Sunday, when contacted, an official again denied any such possibility. But speculation remains of a Chinese military presence off the Pakistani coast.

The Post report quoted analyst Zhou as saying that it was “common practice to have separate facilities for warships and merchant vessels because of their different operations...Warships

GWADAR PORT IS A KEY PART OF THE CHINAPAKISTAN ECONOMIC CORRIDOR, A CENTREPIECE OF PRESIDENT XI JINPING’S BROADER BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE

need a full range of maintenance and logistical support services”.

It quoted another source close to the People’s Liberation Army as confirming that the navy would set up a base near Gwadar similar to the one already up and running in Djibouti. “Gwadar Port can’t provide specific services for warships... It is not a good place to carry out military logistical support,” the source said.

The SCMP report echoed another report on Washingtonbased website The Daily Caller, in which retired US Army Reserve Col Lawrence Sellin said meetings between high-ranking Chinese and Pakistani military officers indicated Beijing would build a military base on the Jiwani peninsula near Gwadar and close to the Iranian border.