"Pearl thread": China’s naval policy
Like a string of pearls, China has built a trade route from its shores to the Middle East and Africa. This route passes through important transportation and logistics centers, which, according to a PRC concept, could be transformed from civilian ports into naval bases to protect against piracy and terrorism. For the United States, China's expanding military presence in the region poses a direct threat to national security. However, the PRC government denies the presence of military bases on the territory of other countries and uses these centers solely for trade purposes.
Maritime Silk Road XXI
Today, China serves as the largest market for the production of goods and services that are distributed globally. To simplify supply chains, the PRC seeks to utilize international logistics routes located in the waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, thus supporting its "One Belt, One Road" initiative.
China is actively investing in the civilian ports of Doralee, Gwadar, Hambantota and others off the coasts of Kenya, Egypt and Turkey, which form a trade route called the "String of Pearls". The ports are under long-term lease from the Chinese government, so in the long run, following the dual-use principle, they could be converted from civilian trading posts to military centers, thereby expanding the presence of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) to even more water and coastline. Today, large logistics networks are being constructed by private and state-owned Chinese companies that could potentially form the basis of an expanded PLA presence if the PRC's security and trade logistics are threatened.
Beijing's interest in the Pacific Islands is also explained by the need to resist pressure from the United States. According to the U.S. defense strategy, two chains of the PRC containment system were formed: Okinawa-Taiwan-Philippines and Japan-Guam-Indonesia - it was assumed that they would not allow China to go beyond the main lines. However, Beijing has developed diplomatic, trade, and business relations with numerous countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, which, according to the U.S. Department of Defense, may host additional Chinese military facilities.
Additional PLA military facilities are being developed in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, UAE, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Angola, and Tajikistan to support the Chinese projection of maritime, air, land, cyber, and space power, according to the U.S. Department of Defense's 2021 China Military Report.
Djibouti is officially China's only military base overseas
Djibouti is a state in the east of the African continent with military bases of the United States, Italy, France and Japan located there. The presence of the military contingent of different countries in the region is due to the defense of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which unites the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. In 2017, China joined the countries, marking the strategic importance of Djibouti for logistical purposes: the strait allows the maritime transportation of goods from Asia to Europe and vice versa. In addition, under the aegis of the UN, the PRC performs peacekeeping activities in the African region to prevent and suppress piracy and terrorism, and the center of Djibouti has become a stronghold for the Chinese army.
There is an official Chinese military center near the commercial seaport of Doraleh, an extension of Djibouti's main port. According to some reports, it may house from 2,000 to 10,000 marines, ZBD-09 armored personnel carriers, ZTL-11 wheeled tanks armed with automatic, anti-tank and large caliber guns. However, in terms of military power, the PRC center does not pose a threat to neighboring countries and is far inferior to countries such as the United States, and is designed more for counter-insurgency. Renting the territories where the PRC base is located costs $20 million a year. In comparison, the U.S. rents $63 million, France $36 million, and Italy $2.6 million. The low cost of using the port compared to other countries is due to the numerous Chinese investments in infrastructure development in Djibouti.
Thus, China currently has only one official naval base outside the country with a direct assignment. However, the United States has doubts that the Chinese military presence is limited to only one country, which directly threatens Washington's strategic interests in the region.
Proposed locations of Chinese military bases
In 2019, The Wall Street Journal published an article revealing a secret agreement between China and Cambodia to provide access to the Ream naval base for 30 years, with the agreement renewed every 10 years. For this, the PRC promised to modernize Cambodia's base infrastructure and has already demolished a number of American and Australian structures and buildings in 2020. However, the countries themselves deny the existence of this agreement, citing a constitutional ban on the deployment of foreign military in the country.
In 2008, the Cambodian government officially granted China's United Development Group Co. 20% of the Cambodian coast of Kahkong province for 99 years. An industrial zone, resort facilities, as well as an international airport and a deep-water port were to be built on this territory. According to the U.S. State Department, the built Dara Sakor airfield and port could be used by the PLA as a stronghold.
Pakistan has leased the deep-water port of Gwadar to China until 2059. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is one of the important links of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative connecting the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China to the Indian Ocean coast. Gwadar's territorial location is very favorable for the Chinese government - it is on the maritime trade routes between the Persian Gulf and East Asia. However, Beijing denies the PLA's military presence in Pakistan and insists on using the civilian port solely for its intended purpose.
In 2017, Sri Lanka handed over the deep-water port of Hambantota to China for 99 years in exchange for its construction debt totaling $8 billion. Initially, the Sri Lankan government offered to buy 80% of the port by Chinese investors, but the deal was opposed by India and the local population, which resulted in numerous social disorders on the island. Subsequently, the final agreement between the countries stipulated that China has no right to establish military bases on the territory of the Hambantota port, and the lease does not affect Sri Lanka's unconditional sovereignty over this territory.
China has also built many military facilities for Tajikistan: training centers, checkpoints, and border outposts north of the Vahakan corridor. Beijing and Dushanbe cooperate closely in the defense sector to protect the borders from Afghan terrorists. Tajikistan itself would not be able to cope with a potentially dangerous enemy, and China is assisting the Tajik military in preventing the terrorist threat from Afghanistan.
n 2020, the British newspaper Express discovered on satellite images that the area of Feydhoo Finolhu Island, leased by China from the Maldives for 4 years, had been increased from 38,000 square meters to 100,000 square meters, and construction of a new Chinese military base had begun on the island. This is indirectly confirmed by the fact that the pro-China president of the Maldives kicked India's military contingent out of the region and began cooperating with the PRC. If Beijing gains access to the Maldives, it could be used to house its own maritime armed forces or to collect hydrological data from Indian submarine operations.
China's extensive chain of transportation and logistics hubs allows the country to build up its presence and define a zone of its own interests off the coasts of the Middle East and Africa. The U.S. concern that these centers could be transformed into military facilities is well-founded: Beijing's current policy is aimed at strengthening partnership with most countries. At the same time, China's growing role in the region is one of the most serious threats to U.S. national security, which will only grow stronger with the development of China's military bases.
