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China to Build Up Military Presence in Djibouti China to Build Up Presence in Djibouti Amid Military Overhaul
(about 3 hours later)
BEIJING — China said on Thursday that it planned to establish a military facility in Djibouti, a strategically important country on the Horn of Africa, which would apparently be the first permanent presence overseas for China’s military and a sign of the growing reach of its navy. BEIJING — China announced on Thursday that it would establish its first overseas military outpost and unveiled a sweeping plan to reorganize its military into a more agile force capable of projecting power abroad.
The announcement came the same day that state-backed news media reported on President Xi Jinping’s plans for a major reorganization of the country’s military, including the creation of new command systems intended to integrate and rebalance land, air and sea forces into a more nimble People’s Liberation Army. The outpost, in the East African nation of Djibouti, breaks with Beijing’s longstanding policy against emulating the United States in building military facilities abroad.
Disclosing that China was in talks to build what it called a “logistical facility” in Djibouti, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the installation would serve to resupply Chinese Navy ships that had been participating in United Nations antipiracy missions in the Gulf of Aden since 2008. The Foreign Ministry refrained from describing the new installation as a military base, saying it would be used to resupply Chinese Navy ships that have been participating in United Nations antipiracy missions.
The ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, appeared to go out of his way not to refer to the facility as a military base. He did not say when construction would begin or when it would be completed. Yet by establishing an outpost in the Horn of Africa — more than 4,800 miles away from Beijing and near some of the world’s most volatile regions — Mr. Xi is leading the military beyond its historical focus on protecting the nation’s borders.
The United States maintains its only military base on the African continent in Djibouti, which it uses as a staging ground for counterterrorism operations in Africa and the Middle East. Last year, President Obama renewed the lease on that base for another 20 years. Together with the plan for new command systems to integrate and rebalance the armed forces, the two announcements highlight the breadth of change that President Xi Jinping is pushing on the People’s Liberation Army, which for decades has served primarily as a lumbering guardian of Communist Party rule.
The Djibouti development comes after a visit to the country this month by the chief of the People’s Liberation Army’s general staff, Gen. Fang Fenghui, which appears to have brought the discussions about the base to fruition. This year, China issued a major defense document, known as a white paper, that outlined its ambitions to become a global maritime power. Mr. Xi told senior military officers this week that he wanted to “build a robust national defense and a strong military that corresponds to our country’s international stature, and is adapted to our national security and developmental interests,” the Xinhua news agency reported.
China has invested heavily in Djibouti’s infrastructure, including hundreds of millions of dollars spent upgrading the country’s undersize port. It has also financed a railroad extending from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to Djibouti, a project that cost billions of dollars. The country has a population of one million, many of whom live in poverty. A presence in Djibouti would be China’s first overseas logistics facility to service its military vessels since the Communists took power, said David Finkelstein, director of China studies at CNA, an independent research institute in Arlington, Va.
“In the grand sweep of post-1949 Chinese history, this announcement is yet another indicator that Chinese policy is trying to catch up with national interests that have expanded faster than the capacity of the People’s Republic of China to service them,” Mr. Finkelstein said.
The new facility would enable the navy to live up to a strategy laid down this year by the Communist Party in a major defense document, known as a white paper, that outlined its ambitions to become a global maritime power.
The United States maintains its only military base on the African continent in Djibouti, which it uses as a staging ground for counterterrorism operations in Africa and the Middle East. Last year, President Obama renewed the lease on that base for 20 more years.
China has invested heavily in Djibouti’s infrastructure, including hundreds of millions of dollars spent upgrading the country’s undersize port. It has also financed a railroad extending from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to Djibouti, a project that cost billions of dollars. The country has a population of about 900,000, many of whom live in poverty.
Strategically, Djibouti offers an excellent place from which to protect oil imports from the Middle East that traverse the Indian Ocean on their way to China, military experts say. From Djibouti, China gains greater access to the Arabian Peninsula.Strategically, Djibouti offers an excellent place from which to protect oil imports from the Middle East that traverse the Indian Ocean on their way to China, military experts say. From Djibouti, China gains greater access to the Arabian Peninsula.
Mr. Hong’s comments coincided with the last day of a three-day meeting on military changes opened on Tuesday by Mr. Xi, who oversees the armed forces as chairman of the Central Military Commission. The news on Thursday of broad changes to the Chinese military signaled a major step forward in Mr. Xi’s program to shift its focus from traditional land armies to a more flexible, cohesive set of forces. China’s military planning and spending have increasingly focused on territorial disputes in the South China Sea and in waters near Japan.
The meeting signaled a major step forward in his program to shift the focus of China’s military from traditional land armies and military regions to a more flexible, cohesive set of forces that can advance the country’s maritime claims and external interests. China’s military planning and spending have increasingly focused on territorial disputes in the South China Sea and in waters near Japan.
“My quick take is that, if implemented successfully, these reforms would constitute the most significant reorganization of the highest levels of the P.L.A. since 1949,” M. Taylor Fravel, an associate professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies China’s military, said in emailed comments.
“It appears designed to reduce layers of command structures that would hamper P.L.A.’s flexibility overall and joint operations in particular,” Professor Fravel said. “Another wrinkle is that it will create a separate leadership organization for the ground forces, which may weaken the influence of the ground forces.”
Mr. Xi told a gathering of more than 200 senior military officers that the planned changes would take years and were essential to ensuring that the People’s Liberation Army could shoulder its increasingly complex and broad responsibilities, the official Xinhua news agency said Thursday.Mr. Xi told a gathering of more than 200 senior military officers that the planned changes would take years and were essential to ensuring that the People’s Liberation Army could shoulder its increasingly complex and broad responsibilities, the official Xinhua news agency said Thursday.
The report also quoted Mr. Xi as telling the officers to “build robust national defense and a strong military that matches our country’s international stature, and is suited to our national security and developmental interests” and “focus on seizing the high ground of future strategy for military competition.” But until now, efforts to revamp the way the military is run have stumbled because of the entrenched power of land forces that have dominated seven military regions, as well as the sheer complexity of reorganizing a force of over two million.
At a military parade in Beijing on Sept. 3, Mr. Xi announced that the People’s Liberation Army, which includes naval, air force and ballistic missile forces, would reduce its number of personnel by 300,000 in coming years, bringing the total to around two million. Currently, about 1.4 million of these members of the military are with land forces. Enactment of the military reforms would be a political victory for Mr. Xi, who since coming to power in November 2012 has enforced an intense campaign against corruption that took down dozens of senior military officers. They have including two former vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission, Gens. Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou.
In November 2013, Communist Party leaders approved a program of initiatives that included restructuring the military. That military graft was lubricated by rapidly rising defense budgets. In the decade up to 2014, China’s official military budget grew an average of 9.5 percent annually, after taking inflation into account, according to a recent Congressional Research Service study. That budget is set to grow an additional 10 percent this year, reaching about $145 billion. But many foreign analysts say China’s real military spending is higher.
But until now, efforts to revamp the way the military is run have stumbled because of the entrenched power of land forces that have dominated the seven military regions, as well as the sheer complexity of reorganizing a force of over two million. Despite Beijing’s traditional rejection of what it calls American imperialism and hegemony, some Chinese experts believe that it is time to reconsider the need for overseas military facilities.
In his reported comments to the meeting, Mr. Xi said he wanted to introduce new means of command that encouraged the different arms of the military to coordinate. Shen Dingli, a professor of international relations at Fudan University in Shanghai, who has argued that China should develop bases commensurate with its growing military power, said on Thursday that in doing so, China would only be doing what America had done.
These, he said, would include “integrated design of the leadership administration system with a joint operations system,” as well as revised theaters of operations that would break down the traditional barriers between ground, air and sea forces. The Central Military Commission, the party committee that oversees the People’s Liberation Army, would also be reorganized, he said.
Mr. Xi also hinted that he would continue to shift military spending and personnel from the traditional infantry forces.
Planned military streamlining notwithstanding, China — despite its growing economic and geopolitical might — has long said that it would not emulate the United States in building bases around the world, on the grounds that it does not believe in interfering in the affairs of other countries.
Chinese military experts have been divided on whether China should establish bases overseas.
Shen Dingli, a professor of international relations at Fudan University in Shanghai, who has argued vigorously that China should develop bases commensurate with its growing military power, said on Thursday that in doing so, China would only be doing what America had done.
“The United States has been expanding its business all around the world and sending its military away to protect those interests for 150 years,” Mr. Shen said. “Now, what the United States has done in the past, China will do again.”“The United States has been expanding its business all around the world and sending its military away to protect those interests for 150 years,” Mr. Shen said. “Now, what the United States has done in the past, China will do again.”
Mr. Shen, who referred to the planned facility in Djibouti as a “base,” said it was necessary because “we need to safeguard our own navigational freedom,” adding that “if whoever — pirates, ISIS or the U.S. — wants to shut down the passage, we need to be able to reopen it.” Mr. Shen, who referred to the planned facility in Djibouti as a “base,” said it was necessary because “we need to safeguard our own navigational freedom.”
He added, “If whoever — pirates, ISIS or the U.S. — wants to shut down the passage, we need to be able to reopen it.”
The head of the United States Africa Command, Gen. David M. Rodriguez, said in Washington last week that China planned “to build a base in Djibouti” and had reached a 10-year agreement with the country’s government to do so. He said the installation would serve as a logistics hub and would enable the Chinese to “extend their reach.”The head of the United States Africa Command, Gen. David M. Rodriguez, said in Washington last week that China planned “to build a base in Djibouti” and had reached a 10-year agreement with the country’s government to do so. He said the installation would serve as a logistics hub and would enable the Chinese to “extend their reach.”
The United States military has praised China’s participation in the international antipiracy operations, which protect vital commercial shipping in a volatile part of the world. But some American military experts, concerned about Beijing’s growing military capacity, have expressed unease about China having a land facility in Djibouti so close to Camp Lemonnier, a major American base where 4,000 service members, including Special Forces, and civilians train and carry out counterterrorism operations. The United States military has praised China’s participation in the international antipiracy operations, which protect vital commercial shipping in a volatile part of the world.
Mr. Hong of the Foreign Ministry offered few details about the Djibouti facility, but he said it would provide Chinese ships with access to reliable supplies and enable its crew members to rest. “These facilities will help Chinese vessels to better carry out Chinese missions like escort and humanitarian operations,” he said. But some American military experts, concerned about Beijing’s growing military capacity, have expressed unease about China having a land facility in Djibouti so close to Camp Lemonnier, a major American base where 4,000 service members, including Special Forces, and civilians train and carry out counterterrorism operations.
Such statements suggest a far more modest facility than the sprawling American base at Camp Lemonnier, which the United States has used since 2003 for weapons as varied as drones and F-15 fighter jets. Washington announced in 2013 that $1.4 billion would be spent on expanding the base, from which drone operations over Somalia and Yemen are conducted. Hong Lei, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, offered few details about the Djibouti facility, but said it would provide Chinese ships with access to reliable supplies and enable its crew members to rest. “These facilities will help Chinese vessels to better carry out Chinese missions like escort and humanitarian operations,” he said.
Such statements suggest a far more modest facility than the sprawling American base at Camp Lemonnier. Washington announced in 2013 that $1.4 billion would be spent on expanding the base, from which drone operations over Somalia and Yemen are conducted.
France also maintains a base in Djibouti, which is a former French colony. Japan, which also participates in the United Nations antipiracy operations, keeps surveillance aircraft and several hundred personnel there.France also maintains a base in Djibouti, which is a former French colony. Japan, which also participates in the United Nations antipiracy operations, keeps surveillance aircraft and several hundred personnel there.
Whatever the scope of the Chinese facility, and regardless of whether China calls it a base, there is little doubt that it reflects the country’s extended interests and investments in Africa and the Middle East.
A former United States ambassador to Ethiopia, David H. Shinn, said there were many reasons for China to want an installation in Djibouti. “I have argued over the past year that China will make every effort to establish some kind of facility in Djibouti that China plausibly can describe as something less than a military base,” he said.
Among those reasons, he said, is the need to protect one to two million Chinese citizens living in Africa. This year, China’s navy evacuated several hundred Chinese citizens and foreign nationals from war-torn Yemen, routing them through Djibouti for their journeys home.