In an obvious attempt to hype the “China menace,” foreign media reported on Tuesday that a Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ship had just moored at the PLA Support Base in Djibouti “for the first time.”
Analysts, however, said that such a docking would be normal in order to replenish PLA vessels that conduct escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia, and that the Chinese military presence contributes to regional peace and stability, not the other way around, as some foreign media claimed.
newsinsicde
According to Voice of America, the Type 903A comprehensive supply ship Luomahu recently made a port call at the PLA Support Base in Djibouti, citing an analysis of commercial satellite imagery by US Navy.
The Voice of America report claimed that while the Chinese base started construction in March 2016, this is the first time a PLA vessel has docked there.
While the Chinese military has not announced this as of press time, the Luomahu is part of the 40th fleet of the PLA Navy to conduct an escort mission in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia, which set out from China on January 15, according to a report by the Xinhua News Agency at the time.
According to the PLA Daily on Tuesday, the special force unit on board the Luomahu recently conducted a rescue practice in the Gulf of Aden in a realistic combat scenario.
According to a Beijing-based military expert who requested anonymity, it would be customary for a replenishment ship in an escort task force to stop by the support facility in Djibouti to load supplies that can help continue the counter-terrorism and anti-piracy escort mission.
For example, on December 1, 2021, the comprehensive supply ship Taihu of the 39th escort task force accomplished contact-free loading of the first batch of supplies acquired through domestic channels while berthed at the commercial port of Djibouti, according to China Military Online.By making the supply loading directly at the dock of the base, it would further reduce the risk of COVID-19 contamination and simplify the process, analysts said.
In May 2018, the Chinese Defense Ministry confirmed that the PLA Support Base in Djibouti was building a new port to better carry out international obligations like escort and humanitarian aid missions in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia, and this would also contribute to Djibouti’s economic and social development, while also allowing China to make new and bigger contributions to safeguarding peace and stability in Africa and the world.
Foreign media have been hyping the “China threat” theory with the PLA Support Base in Djibouti since its construction, but they failed to understand or intentionally ignored that the base was built to contribute to regional peace and stability, and enables China to take its responsibilities as a major power in the world and provide public security goods, the expert said, noting that China is not like the US, which has the most overseas military bases and uses them to serve its hegemony.
According to a report by Voice of America, the Chinese installation is just down the road from a large US base and near port facilities used by numerous fleets, including those from the EU and NATO.
According to Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, the report is attempting to imply that Djibouti is under the influence of the US and NATO, and that China’s military support base poses a threat to the US’ dominance in the Red Sea and Africa.
It also reflects the fact that the West, led by the United States, has a significant difference with China in terms of the concept of a military base, as the US builds military bases all over the world to strengthen its military.