AidData says that Beijing exercises “direct control over the facility”. The port, which opened in 2010, was financed by a $306.7m loan from China Exim Bank, a state-owned development bank. Hambantota port in Sri Lanka is considered to be the most likely location for a PLAN base in the near future, according to AidData. Map showing sites where China may be eyeing a future naval presence PLAN bases farther afield would help China to preserve shipping routes, especially in the event of western sanctions, and gather intelligence. Although China’s most pressing maritime ambitions are in the South China Sea and the Taiwan strait the report’s authors note that those operations could be conducted “entirely from the Chinese mainland and home naval bases”. Four of the eight bases shortlisted by AidData are in Africa. PLAN’s future ambitions may be closely aligned with China’s belt and road initiative. That makes developing overseas naval bases a priority for China’s military development, argue the AidData researchers. Unlike the US, China is not party to international defence alliances – its only formal defence treaty is with North Korea. China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) currently only has one overseas military base in Djibouti, on the coast of the Horn of Africa.īut as the rivalry between the US and China heats up, Beijing is catching up with Washington’s overseas maritime strength.
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