China likely to set up military base in Pak: Pentagon
China is likely to establish additional military bases in Pakistan and other countries with which it has longstanding friendly ties and similar strategic interests, a new Pentagon report said on Wednesday as the world’s largest army increasingly flexed its muscles.
In its annual report to the Congress on China’s military build-up, the US Department of Defence said China’s construction of military base in the strategic location of Djibouti is just the first of what will likely be an ongoing expansion in friendly foreign ports around the world.
China is expanding its access to foreign ports to preposition the necessary logistics support to regularise and sustain deployments in the “far seas”, waters as distant as the Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.
“China most likely will seek to establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan, and in which there is a precedent for hosting foreign militaries,” the Pentagon said.
The report cautioned, however, that China’s efforts to build more bases “may be constrained by the willingness of countries to support” the presence of China’s People’s Liberation Army in one of their ports.
Notably, China is developing the strategically located Gwadar port in Balochistan, which many experts in the US say is aimed towards having a military presence.
“In February 2016, China began construction of a military base in Djibouti and probably will complete it within the next year,” it said, adding China claims that this facility is designed to help the navy and army further participate in UN peacekeeping operations, 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.
Reacting sharply to the Pentagon report, China said the US Defence Department has made “irresponsible” remarks about the country’s military.
The annual report made “irresponsible remarks on China’s national defense development and reasonable actions in defending our territorial sovereignty and security interests in disregard of the facts,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing.
“China is firmly opposed to that,” she said, adding that Beijing was a force for safeguarding peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.
While Hua declined to comment on possible overseas bases of the PLA, she said China and Pakistan were close friends that conduct mutually beneficial cooperation in a number of areas.
In its annual report to the Congress on China’s military build-up, the US Department of Defence said China’s construction of military base in the strategic location of Djibouti is just the first of what will likely be an ongoing expansion in friendly foreign ports around the world.