https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b...iers-2kdns0xsg
Beijing’s African port ready for aircraft carriers
A huge extension to China’s naval base in Africa has given Beijing its first permanent overseas military port capable of accommodating aircraft carriers, satellite images have shown. Although
China calls its presence in Djibouti a logistics base, the new 330m pier indicates a grander strategy: a forward-operating facility for Beijing’s rapidly growing “blue-water” navy that can operate around the world.
US defence sources said that China seemed intent on developing strategic facilities allowing it to base parts of its navy in key parts of the world.
Djibouti, where China opened its naval base in 2017, is strategically located at the mouth of the Red Sea on one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.
On the other side of the Arabian Sea, at the mouth of the Gulf of Oman, Beijing has largely financed a huge development of a port at Gwadar in western Pakistan. US defence sources say that it also appears to be interested in building a naval facility in South America.........
The satellite images of the Chinese naval base, built at a cost of nearly $600 million, were published by
Forbes magazine. They show further excavation under way, suggesting that a second pier might be planned. The People’s Liberation Army Navy, which runs the base, has two aircraft carriers, the
Liaoning, which is 304m long, and the 315m
Shandong, each of which could have just enough space to dock in Djibouti. A third one under construction is estimated to be 400m.
A senior US defence source said: “After 9/11 we thought that China was largely defensive militarily . . . There was no blue-water navy and no long-range missiles or any basing strategy outside their region . . . all that has changed. In the 20 years since, China has a blue-water navy and an offensive missile capability, they have man-made islands in the East and South China Seas for military purposes and they have a base overseas [Djibouti] and, we believe, plans for one in Pakistan.”.......