One of China’s strengths, being an authoritarian communist state is its ability to wield a “whole of nation” approach to security, diplomatic and economic affairs around the world. This is very evident from its recent efforts to develop port infrastructure and to carve out opportunities for Naval bases in territories far from home. The region being talked about here is the Indian Ocean, where China is investing heavily in commercial ports such as Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
The threat of “A string of pearls”, a network of Chinese-controlled facilities, oscillating about the perimeter of the Indian Ocean, a network that can be used by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), has been debated for years, but it is yet to be realised. Gwadar Port in Pakistan is consistently being examined as a potential base for PLA Navy (PLAN), but this too, is yet to occur.
In fact, China’s greatest progress has been in Djibouti, when PLA opened its first military base on 1 August 2017. China’s Djibouti base is just 15 minutes away from the camp Lemmonier, the USA’s largest military facility on the African continent.
China is also considering building new ports in Senegal, to access west Africa and the South Atlantic. China has to take its next moves very carefully because it knows that there will be significant resistance from other countries if it creates military bases in sensitive regions of the world.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) released a report entitled “Leaping Across The oceans: The Port Operators Behind China’s Naval Expansion” in February 2021. Its authors stated a co-relation between BRI and PLA. The report said, “What’s likely to emerge from COVID-19, is a scaled-down, more focused BRI.”
The future projects will be more strategically targeted and financially viable. The BRI will support PLA operations and objectives, denying the adversaries to use their powers or build “significant strategic influence”, the report stated. The ASPI report warned that– “The most probable cause is that PRC (People’s Republic of China) would continue to expand their port operations. It would offer a commercial advantage to Chinese companies involved. PLA Navy ports calls would increase in frequency and Chinese State-owned enterprises (SOEs), are expected to provide logistical assistance to the navy in expansion projects (such as Djibouti). So there’s a moderate risk of PRC-controlled port facilities being used against host countries to advance the interests of CCP”.
