WSJ Report on China’s Military Base on Africa’s Atlantic Coast ‘Not True' - Chinese Military Expert

CC0 / / Atlantic coast
Atlantic coast - Sputnik International, 1920, 07.12.2021
Subscribe
The report on China's plan to establish its first permanent military base in the Atlantic Ocean is not true and is the latest move of the US to hype the China threat, Chinese military experts said.
The Wall Street Journal report, which was released on Sunday, claimed that US officials declined to describe in detail the "secret intelligence findings" but said "the reports raise the prospect that Chinese warships would be able to rearm and refit opposite the East Coast of the US," which is a threat that is setting off alarm bells in the White House and Pentagon.

It is not rare to see the US "disclose information" on China building an overseas military base and hype the "China threat." Previous reports, citing US intelligence, claimed that China was building or intended to build military bases in Sri Lanka, the border area of Afghanistan and Tajikistan, Argentina, and Abu Dhabi.

But the fact is China has only one overseas support base, which is in Djibouti and is also China's first overseas base. The base was built and put into operation in August, and on 26 November 2015, China's Ministry of National Defence announced its negotiations with Djibouti on building a support facility. This means that if China is going to build its second overseas base, it will release information openly and in advance, analysts said.
This photo taken on August 1, 2017 shows Chinese People's Liberation Army personnel attending the opening ceremony of China's new military base in Djibouti - Sputnik International, 1920, 20.06.2019
World
US Blames China for Harassing American Troops in Djibouti, Gets Called Out in Response
An anonymous military expert told the Global Times that the Wall Street Journal article is not true. The US has frequently hyped information about China building overseas military bases to bloat the "China threat" theory, said the expert, noting that the US is encircling China on multiple fronts, be they politics, economy or military.

Even if China plans to build an overseas support base, it would not be comparable with the US, which owns nearly 800 military bases in more than 80 countries. It is normal for China to build a support base somewhere out of humanitarian rescue reasons, said the expert.

The Djibouti base has played a role in humanitarian rescue in places such as the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

China has dispatched naval escort fleets to the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia since December 2008, completing more than 1,500 escorting tasks, media reported.
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала