Chinese oversea bases
- Thread starter tphuang
- Start date
I’d rather they built more supply ships and a couple more bases for “gas and groceries” only.
Cambodia is the most plausible IMO
Sri Lanka and Pakistan have significant foreign interference in their countries. In comparison, Cambodia is less infiltrated
Cambodia is gonna milk so much cash in tourism from China. If only you can invest in Cambodian tourist resorts. Esp on Southwestern coast near Sihanoukville.
Cambodia gonna park an LNG FSRU off Southwestern coast.
Building in Sri Lanka is bound to get a violent Indian reaction. As for building in Pakistan, why not get the use rights of Pakistan existing naval base instead? Cambodia seems like the “less controversial” choice, but it’s also a little too close to Vietnam.
Vietnam is not an issue.
If Vietnam is neutral, any Chinese bases in Cambodia won't be attacked.
If Vietnam isn't neutral, Vietnam is going to be too busy in the South China Seas and along the Northern land border with China.
How usable is Cambodia as a base though? It's not that far from the southernmost SCC bases. The PLAN really need a fuel, supply and repair/overhaul base within the Indian Ocean basin to the west, and out beyond the 1st island chain to the east. They would also benefit significantly from a base in the Sea of Japan.
For the Indian Ocean, there's a few possible candidates: Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Maldives, Tanzania, Seychelles, Djibouti, Pakistan and Iran.
Sri Lanka: Is very close to India, and Chinese works on ports so far as drawn a lot of negative local press. It'd be hard to defend a base there from Indian missile attack, and PLAN ships would be vulnerable to interception by surface ships and predation from Indian subs.
Myanmar: A fairly reliable ally, and a base here has the advantage that as well as supporting the PLAN, it could be supplied overland from China directly, which is a major advantage, especially in a role where the PLAN is providing sealift capacity. This is quite a solid choice.
Maldives: Bit of a mixed blessing. Strategically brilliant location smack in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Near enough India to keep an eye on things, but far enough a way to be out of immediate harms way. It is also close to Diego Garcia, to keep an eye on the Americans. Maldives is an unpredictable ally though, and geographically an atoll base would need significant reclamation to be a significant asset, which would doubtless draw a ton of unwanted attention and negative local reaction if it impacted on fishing and tourism. It could be a good place to keep a listening post and fuel/supply depot, but not a full naval facility.
Tanzania: Prob the best bet along with Myanmar IMHO. Tanzanian-Chinese ties are deep rooted, effectively a "special relationship" that goes beyond short term transactional benefits. A presence in Tanzania would be in safe local hands. The downside is that geographically you are on the periphery of the ocean, quite a long way from the key sea lanes that need protecting.
Seychelles: A fairly reliable relation and the local govt has openly offered China the option of basing there, which is a big plus. Still a bit peripheral, but less so than TZ.
Djibouti: Unbeatable location that already hosts a Chinese presence and has proven fairly reliable. However sitting right next to French and American bases isn't good. It'd be wise to keep modest supply base here, but it's not a place you want to keep a fleet.
Pakistan is often mentioned and there is a long lasting a strong relationship, but PK is also "sort-of" allied with the US, and as Sino-American tensions grow it could become an issue. I don't think it's as good a long term move, even though can be directly supplied overland. It could be a good "as well as", but definitely not one to bank on.
Iran could potentially be a good ally, and a base at Chabahar would be a real gift - Gwadar without the possibility of American interference. It need work to build up trust, but Iran is an ally well worth Chinese time to develop closer relations with.
Given the unfinished business with Taiwan reunification, building too many bases far out away from mainland would be a risky business. They'd be easy targets that'd be bombed to shreds in retaliation if China is ready to shred and indeed shred all US regional bases with whatever many DF's it is required to get it done when the situation in the strait gets hot and US and minions somehow manage to decide it's worthwhile to get involved physically.
What would happen to Djibouti base then? Withdraw all forces stationed there before it gets hot? Or leave them there as if there's nothing going on at the other side of the planet? Or defend the base with the would-be-famous Alamo style the last defense of Djibouti? It'd be terrible to leave the troops there. There would be no excuse whatsoever if that's overlooked. It'd be a great distraction, away from the focus to prevail in the strait, to really defend them successfully and scatter the resources. Somewhat reverse situation to American regional bases.
Cambodia, Burma, Iran and lastly Pakistan would be suitable bases to keep an eye on so-called US allies in the region like Singapore and India to make sure they are not giving aid or comfort to the enemies in their facilities and make double sure they remain neutral, with the strong presence of a few DF's and strike assets pretty close to their borders while China can manage to hold these bases, relatively speaking. Cambodia, Burma and Iran would be favorite choices if it ever comes to that. Imagine US striking a Chinese base in Iran, that'd be more than what US bargain for.
Potentially a refueling base in Argentina, more to support future space monitoring in southern hemisphere. Wouldnt make sense to deploy any combatants there though.