China may build Middle East naval base

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China may build Middle East naval base

China's rapidly-expanding navy is considering building its first foreign naval base, according to a senior admiral.

By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai
Published: 2:09PM GMT 30 Dec 2009



Members of the Chinese navy honour guard marching during a welcoming ceremony Photo: GETTY

In a sign of the growing confidence of the Chinese military, Admiral Yin Zhuo said that the country may set up a base in the Gulf of Aden in order to support missions against Somali pirates.

Since the end of last year, China has sent four flotillas to the Middle East in order to take part in anti-piracy operations together with US, European, Indian and Russian warships. The latest mission, which departed from China in October, involved two missile frigates.

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Mr Yin said a permanent base in the region would help supply Chinese ships. "We are not saying we need our navy everywhere in order to fulfil our international commitments," he said, cautiously. "We are saying to fulfil our international commitments, we need to strengthen our supply capacity."

His words, which came just a few days after China rescued 25 sailors from Somali pirates, were posted in an interview on the Defence ministry website. China is reported to have paid a USD4 million (Pounds2.5 million) ransom to free the De Xin Hai, a coal carrier.

Mr Yin, who is a senior researcher at the navy's Equipment Research centre, pointed out that the first Chinese ships in the Gulf of Aden spent 124 days at sea without docking, a logistical challenge.

However, Chinese ships have since been permitted to dock at a French base.

"If China establishes a similar long-term supply base, I believe that the nations in the region and the other countries involved with the (anti-pirate) escorts would understand," he said. "I think a permanent, stable base would be good for our operations."

Yin added he was aware that Chinese naval ships in the waters near the Gulf have aroused suspicions, but believed other nations understood Beijing's intention was to counter pirates. As the world's largest importer of oil, China is believed to want to establish bases throughout the Indian Ocean and South China Sea to protect its tankers.

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Beijing eyes larger role in Mideast

Ghazanfar Ali Khan | Arab News

Friday 15 January 2010 (29 Muharram 1431)



RIYADH: Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who wrapped up his three-day visit to the Kingdom on Thursday, sought to bolster the Chinese presence in the Middle East. This new initiative, which calls for fostering political and commercial relations with its Middle East allies including Saudi Arabia, a key Arab state, figured prominently during the talks between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi here Wednesday night.

Yang said after the talks in Riyadh that Beijing would continue to support Arab states in dealing with the regional challenges, and would continue to call on the international community to pay due attention to the severe difficulties and crises in developing countries, including African and Arab states.

He said that he also talked about climate change issues with officials of the Kingdom besides important subjects, like the Middle East peace process, Iran and the UN reforms.

The king received the Chinese minister at his Janadriya ranch. Yang conveyed to the king the greetings of Chinese President Hu Jintao. After the talks, the minister said that his visit to the Kingdom achieved the goal of promoting mutual trust, expanding cooperation and deepening understanding. Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Saudi Ambassador to China Yahya Al-Zaid and Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Yang Honglin also attended the talks.

Referring to the talks with high-ranking Saudi officials, Yang said: “China and Saudi Arabia or Arab states have common aspirations to learn from each other, cope with challenges and create a win-win situation. China is willing to work with Arab states to step up communication and coordination so as to push forward China-Arab cooperation in various fields and build a new partnership for peace and sustainable development.” But it was not immediately known whether Yang also discussed the subject of sea piracy and his country’s plan to send some naval guards or set up a naval base in the Gulf of Aden with the Arab and African countries he visited during the last 10 days. Several reports carried by Chinese and international media say that Beijing is mulling a proposal to establish a permanent naval base in the Gulf of Aden “to support its regional anti-piracy mission.”

The reports said that such a naval presence would allow China to better support its vessels while strengthening “its contribution to the anti-piracy mission” on a global level. To this end, it is important to note that China has also taken over from Saudi Arabia the lease of a giant crude oil storage facility in the Caribbean that gives Beijing unprecedented access to fuel and oil markets in the Americas including the US and Canada, said the reports. In fact, the Kingdom’s abandonment of the storage was on the cards after Riyadh was offered virtually free storage for crude oil in Japan.

On commercial front, Riyadh and Beijing have forged closer ties. In fact, Saudi Arabia consolidated its place as China’s top crude oil supplier in 2007. Riyadh is now likely to pull further ahead, as its oil exports to Beijing exceeded 40 million barrels in 2009. The Kingdom has emerged as the largest supplier of crude to China. The total trade including oil exceeded $41 billion last year, while China, ranked as the largest exporting nation globally, plans to boost trade further with Riyadh.