Plan Basing Strategies (international): News, Views, Pics

Re: PLAN South Seas Fleet and Bases

This thread is about Chinese Naval basing and port/dock/maintenance facility usage and staging outside of the immediate regions surrounding the China Sea in the Western Pacific.

Where will China's Diego Garcia, Guam, Bahrain, etc. be?

Who will China sign agreements with?

Where and what will China build?

Who will be China's maritime allies?

Pakistan seems like the most likely, immediate target for such agreements or facilities. But where else?

Africa?

South America?

The Mid East?

This thread is for news, views, and discussions in that regard.

Re: PLAN South Seas Fleet and Bases

Great number of modem ships coming online but I believe the bottleneck in deploying abroad is going to be lack of overseas bases not for power projection but simply maritime operations

You simply can't do long range international maritime operations successfully unless you have a stop for replenishment on land not to mention repair, replacement and overhaul facility

If China wants to operate around the world they will need oversea base again not for power projection but for simple maritime operations

Re: PLAN South Seas Fleet and Bases

Should China have bases in say the South Atlantic or should it encourage Brazil, South Africa and other friendly states to ensure maritime safety in their area and if necessary make use of their facilities if Chinese vessels are deployed there? The second is more in line with the Westphalian model of international relations than the current hegemon model.

Re: PLAN South Seas Fleet and Bases

delft said:

Should China have bases in say the South Atlantic or should it encourage Brazil, South Africa and other friendly states to ensure maritime safety in their area and if necessary make use of their facilities if Chinese vessels are deployed there? The second is more in line with the Westphalian model of international relations than the current hegemon model.

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No, China shouldn't have bases all over the globe, since there's a better way. The US and China get along quite well outside the Western Pacific, and have cooperated many ways to support the global commons and provide public goods. I recall reading an article on a US 4-star general (not an admiral) vaguely referring to possibility of Chinese ships using US facilities for support. I can't find that article, and I don't know if anything came of it. Nevertheless, the US has shown her willingness to work with the reemerging great civilization, and China should return the friendly gesture.

Re: PLAN South Seas Fleet and Bases

asif iqbal said:

Great number of modem ships coming online but I believe the bottleneck in deploying abroad is going to be lack of overseas bases not for power projection but simply maritime operations

You simply can't do long range international maritime operations successfully unless you have a stop for replenishment on land not to mention repair, replacement and overhaul facility

If China wants to operate around the world they will need oversea base again not for power projection but for simple maritime operations

Click to expand...

i think the first place and best place to start is Pakistan. a friendly country which china has deep ties with and located in a position china really needs pay attention to. they may not call it a base and keep it low key but this 'friendly port' would have Chinese personal and equipment there to fully support Chinese vessels that operate around the indian ocean area.

The following paper is an interesting read about the PLAN's naval porting ambitions in the Indian Ocean area, particularly at Gwadar, Pakistan, but also including several other potential locations.

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The article is by a senior analyst at the US Navy War College. Not an official view or position, but it is the type of analysis that US NAvy decision makers will weigh.

Re: PLAN South Seas Fleet and Bases

mr.bean said:

i think the first place and best place to start is Pakistan. a friendly country which china has deep ties with and located in a position china really needs pay attention to. they may not call it a base and keep it low key but this 'friendly port' would have Chinese personal and equipment there to fully support Chinese vessels that operate around the indian ocean area.

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I think Pakistan is definitely where the PLAN will start.

Re: PLAN South Seas Fleet and Bases

Jeff Head said:

I think Pakistan is definitely where the PLAN will start.

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My guess is China will start with places and not bases strategy until she consolidated the South China Sea. After that, the first foreign base would probably be at western end of the Indian Ocean in Seychelles or Tanzania. I say that because with SCS secured, the western end of India ocean poses more non-State problems, like pirates and terrorists, and has fewer capable governments to take care of them. The eastern end of the Indian Ocean, on the other hand, has lots of strong local navies and coast guards to secure the SLOC. In the long run, PLAN will probably have a "string of pearls" from the Western Pacific to the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.

Re: PLAN Basing (International)

Blackstone said:

My guess is China will start with places and not bases strategy until she consolidated the South China Sea. After that, the first foreign base would probably be at eastern end of the Indian Ocean in Seychelles or Tanzania. I say that because with SCS secured, the eastern end of India ocean poses more non-State problems, like pirates and terrorists, and has fewer capable governments to take care of them. The western end of the Indian Ocean, on the other hand, has lots of strong local navies and coast guards to secure the SLOC. In the long run, PLAN will probably have a "string of pearls" from the Western Pacific to the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.

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Could be in terms of the places.

However, when it comes to actual basing, they have a friendly government in Pakistan, and could create excellent facilities there.

As long as the peace holds, it makes for a GREAT place for them to provision, repair, and even base a squadron of vessels in a strategic area to help serve PRC interests in the Mid East, Africa, IO, etc.

Re: PLAN Basing (International)

Jeff Head said:

Could be in terms of the places.

However, when it comes to actual basing, they have a friendly government in Pakistan, and could create excellent facilities there.

As long as the peace holds, it makes for a GREAT place for them to provision, repair, and even base a squadron of vessels in a strategic area to help serve PRC interests in the Mid East, Africa, IO, etc.

Click to expand...

Agreed with friendly Pakistan government and high usefulness of establishing bases in Pakistan. However, India would view actual Chinese military bases in Pakistan with great displeasure, and in the short-run, the juice may not be worth the squeeze for the Chinese. So, as long as China and India get along, I see "places" in Pakistan for the Chinese. Moving further west, Seychelles and Tanzania are also friendly governments in strategic locations that could provide military bases without the kind of geopolitical problems India poses.