China sends troops to Djibouti for opening of military base

[webfact]

China sends troops to Djibouti for opening of military base

 

BEIJING (Reuters) - Ships carrying Chinese military personnel for Beijing's first overseas military base, in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, have left China to begin setting up the facility, state news agency Xinhua has reported.

 

Djibouti's position on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fuelled worries in India that it would become another of China's "string of pearls" of military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

 

China began construction of a logistics base in strategically located Djibouti last year that will resupply naval vessels taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia, in particular.

 

This will be China's first overseas naval base, although Beijing officially terms it a logistics facility.

 

Xinhua said in a short report late on Tuesday the ships had departed from Zhanjiang in southern China "to set up a support base in Djibouti".

 

Navy commander Shen Jinlong "read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti".

 

It did not say when the base might formally begin operations.

 

Xinhua said the establishment of the base was a decision made by both countries after "friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides".

 

"The base will ensure China's performance of missions, such as escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia," it said.

 

"The base will also be conducive to overseas tasks including military cooperation, joint exercises, evacuating and protecting overseas Chinese and emergency rescue, as well as jointly maintaining security of international strategic seaways," it said.

 

Djibouti, which is about the size of Wales, is located at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal. The tiny, barren nation sandwiched between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia also hosts U.S., Japanese and French bases.

 

There has been persistent speculation in diplomatic circles that China would build other such bases, in Pakistan for example, but the government has dismissed this.

 

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Paul Tait)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-07-12

[Jonmarleesco]

Wonder how long it will be before China claims Djibouti as part of the motherland.

[ilostmypassword]

4 minutes ago, Jonmarleesco said:

Wonder how long it will be before China claims Djibouti as part of the motherland.

Probably about as long as it will take for the Americans.

[henry15]

Should start to except that China will be the next superpower who will take over the US dominance in 1 or 2 generations.  Because they have the money, the brains, production power and human resources

 

[Will33324]

China has been very active in Djibouti for some time now. They worked with the government of Djibouti to build a railroad between the Port city to Ethiopia whom is the country's greatest form of revenue. France, Japan and also America all have active military bases in Djibouti.  As long as you pay the price you can broker a deal and  formally assist this developing nation.

[ddavidovsky]

Genius move. This region needs sorting out and is therefore ripe for developing a sphere of influence. All it will take is enough investment and discipline, as the old empire builders know.

[sanukjim]

4 hours ago, Rancid said:

You would have thought the Chinese would have noticed how the US pouring so many scant resources into the military machine and overseas bases only impoverishes the majority of the population & hastens the bankruptcy of a country. They are even using the same well worn " escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid" story, priceless. What next, bring freedom and Democracy?

WOW,What an uneducated statement of opinion this is.

[wwest5829]

5 hours ago, Rancid said:

You would have thought the Chinese would have noticed how the US pouring so many scant resources into the military machine and overseas bases only impoverishes the majority of the population & hastens the bankruptcy of a country. They are even using the same well worn " escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid" story, priceless. What next, bring freedom and Democracy?

What really caught my attention was the claim to protect "overseas Chinese". Go ahead take a look at how many, "overseas Chinese" there are having come from the world's most populated country. I would need to double check but, I think some 50 million nationals, not counting those of Chinese extraction with family and business ties.

[Dumbastheycome]

2 hours ago, wwest5829 said:

What really caught my attention was the claim to protect "overseas Chinese". Go ahead take a look at how many, "overseas Chinese" there are having come from the world's most populated country. I would need to double check but, I think some 50 million nationals, not counting those of Chinese extraction with family and business ties.

Sort  of  validates  the  claim  then?

[boomerangutang]

China and Djibouti share the dubious distinction of being among the bottom 8 countries (out of 180) with the worst press corps freedoms.  Djibouti ranks 172 and China ranks 176.

[the guest]

China has influence over many south eastern countries, so I'm not surprised they intend to expand on this. US have been doing this for years, and nobody batters an eyelid, so I wonder why the commotion when the Chinese start doing the same?

[tonbridgebrit]

2 hours ago, boomerangutang said:

China and Djibouti share the dubious distinction of being among the bottom 8 countries (out of 180) with the worst press corps freedoms.  Djibouti ranks 172 and China ranks 176.

America, France and Japan have already got bases in Djibouti. Obviously, the presence of these bases has not actually increased press freedom. And yes, the presence of the new Chinese base will also not increase press freedom.

[Srikcir]

22 hours ago, webfact said:

"The base will also be conducive to overseas tasks including military cooperation, joint exercises, evacuating and protecting overseas Chinese

There are almost 5 million overseas Chinese in the USA. Will China be looking for a base in the USA?

On the other hand with more than 10 million overseas Chinese in Thailand, the current government might as well be China's surrogate - no base needed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_Chinese

 

I don't think China is really concerned about protecting overseas Chinese but more to protect its political ideology and expand its global sphere of influence for its own economic advantage. This is reflected by China's new military base on an atoll in the China South Sea where there were no overseas Chinese.

[ilostmypassword]

4 hours ago, Srikcir said:

There are almost 5 million overseas Chinese in the USA. Will China be looking for a base in the USA?

On the other hand with more than 10 million overseas Chinese in Thailand, the current government might as well be China's surrogate - no base needed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_Chinese

 

I don't think China is really concerned about protecting overseas Chinese but more to protect its political ideology and expand its global sphere of influence for its own economic advantage. This is reflected by China's new military base on an atoll in the China South Sea where there were no overseas Chinese.

I would say where there were no overseas Chinese. Now there are.