Seychelles chosen for China's first overseas naval base

[genmirajborgza786]

Seychelles chosen for China's first overseas naval base
Staff Reporter 2011-12-13 14:06 (GMT+8)

The Chinese navy will build a base in the Seychelles to help its resource exploration in the Indian Sea and bolster its anti-piracy efforts. (File Photo/Xinhua)

China's defence ministry announced on Dec. 12 that it will establish its first overseas naval base in the Indian Ocean island nation of Seychelles. The base will be located on Mahe, the country's largest island.

"The naval fleet may seek supplies or recuperate at appropriate harbors in the Seychelles or other countries as needed during escort missions," the ministry said.

China has already cemented its foothold in the region by signing contract with the UN-backed International Seabed Authority to gain rights to explore polymetallic sulphide ore deposits in the Indian Ocean over the next 15 years.

The Press Trust of India reported that the base in the Seychelles is regarded significant by analysts as China is about to commission its first aircraft carrier, which has just completed its second sea trial.

Playing down its significance, the defense ministry's statement said that it is international practice for naval fleets to resupply at the closest port of a nearby state on long-distance missions.

In addition to the planned base, the ministry said that the PLA Navy now has resupply facilities at ports in Djibouti, Oman and Yemen since China sent its first convoy to the Gulf of Aden in 2008.

The decision to establish the country's first naval base abroad was taken during Defense Minister Liang Guanglie's goodwill visit to the Seychelles earlier this month. During the visit, the foreign minister of the Republic of Seychelles, Jean-Paul Adam, said that his country has invited China to set up a military base on the archipelago to strengthen the fight against piracy.

"We have invited the Chinese government to set up a military presence on Mahe to fight the pirate attacks that the Seychelles face on a regular basis," Adam said.

References:

Seychelles chosen for China's first overseas naval base

the news is from dec 2011 but the thread is aimed at analyzing the growing Chinese navel power

 

[genmirajborgza786]

a map of the region

http://www.tamilnewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Seychelles_05_96350_445.jpg

Chinese Military Considers New Indian Ocean Presence

China is considering a proposal from the Seychelles, a tiny island nation off the coast of East Africa, for Chinese navy ships to use its ports to rest and take on supplies while participating in antipiracy patrols, according to both governments.

The Seychelles has also proposed that China base military reconnaissance aircraft and personnel at its main airport, from where the U.S. operates surveillance drones, the Seychelles' foreign minister, Jean-Paul Adam, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

If China were to use the Seychelles simply as a port of call it wouldn't necessarily concern the U.S. and its allies, which are keen for China to play a larger role in antipiracy efforts. Basing aircraft there could be more controversial as that would appear to be the first example of China basing military assets overseas.

The Seychelles, an archipelago about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) east of Tanzania with a population of about 89,000, is a potential strategic platform for China as it seeks to compete with the U.S. and India for naval dominance of the Indian Ocean, analysts say.

China's Defense Ministry declined to comment on the aircraft and personnel, while its Foreign Ministry said it was unaware of that part of the offer, and any naval supply stops in the Seychelles or other countries would be "completely transparent and should not worry other countries."

Navy Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said the Defense Department was aware of the press reports that China may conduct resupply visits to the Seychelles.

"We welcome China's participation in the multinational efforts to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia," Cmdr. Hull-Ryde said. "We look forward to deepening our cooperation in the region including conducting exercises together in the Gulf of Aden."

"If access to the islands helps China play a more effective part in the multinational counterpiracy effort, I say the more the merrier. We can't say we want to work with the Chinese on maritime security, then turn around and castigate them for putting adequate logistics in place to support the endeavor," said James Holmes, a China expert at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, R.I.

A senior U.S. military official said the presence of Chinese ships was "not a big concern" to the U.S. or to its drone base in the Seychelles.

Pentagon officials declined to comment on speculation about Chinese military aircraft being based in the Seychelles.

China has long denied that it plans to set up military bases overseas, but Chinese military experts have suggested for several years that the country needs to establish an overseas base—ideally in the Indian Ocean—as its navy expands operations far from China's shores, principally to protect the shipping lines that carry most of its oil imports.

India, whose navy ships regularly visit the Seychelles, is especially wary of any Chinese inroads into what it sees as its strategic backyard, and many India media outlets responded to China's announcement by reporting that Beijing was establishing its first overseas military base.

An Indian navy spokesman declined to comment, but Indian officials said in private they were watching the development with interest, although their understanding was that China had no current plans to establish an actual base in the Seychelles.

China has already funded construction or upgrades of ports in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, which some Indian and U.S. military officials believe could be used to provide Chinese navy ships with supplies and refuge in the event of a regional conflict.


Zuma Press

A Chinese navy special force carries out an antipiracy drill in March 2010.
China says those ports are purely for civilian use, but its navy has been conducting operations far from its shores with increasing frequency since late 2008 when its ships joined the anti-piracy patrols—the first time Chinese military ships had visited the African coast since the 15th century.

The Chinese ships taking part in the antipiracy patrols have so far been using ports in Djibouti, Oman and Yemen to collect supplies, according to the Chinese Defense Ministry.

But the Chinese military has been strengthening ties with other countries in the region, and sent two frigates on friendly visits to Tanzania, South Africa and the Seychelles in April, according to the Chinese Defense Ministry.

Mr. Adam, the Seychelles foreign minister, said his government had first proposed the idea of a Chinese military "presence" in his country in 2010, and that it was discussed during a visit there this month by Gen. Liang Guanglie, China's defense minister.

Mr. Adam said the Seychelles had appealed to China and other countries to help it expand anti-piracy operations around the country's territorial waters.

"This is a discussion on an open invitation to the Chinese," he said. "We'd welcome a long-term presence in the Seychelles, but that is not our expectation."

He said his government had suggested that China based two or three planes—probably Y-12 twin-engine turboprop surveillance aircraft—at the main airport in the Seychelles along with enough personnel to maintain and operate them.

Under the proposal, Chinese naval ships would regularly visit ports in the Seychelles to collect supplies, and allow their crews to rest, but they wouldn't be permanently based there, he said.

"I know there's sensitivity to Chinese military growth but the Seychelles has offered a platform that is complementary for all partners," he said, adding that the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization had also operated aircraft from his country.

This year, the U.S. Africa Command redeployed unmanned drones to the Seychelles. A spokesman for Africom said the drones could be configured for either "surveillance or strike." U.S. officials said that this deployment would include armed drones, used to both monitor and potentially strike terrorist targets in east Africa.

China's Defense Ministry said in a statement on its website that the Seychelles had offered the use of its ports for "resupply, rest and reorganization," and that the navy was considering using ports there and in other countries in accordance with international practice.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Liu Weimin, at a daily briefing on Tuesday said: "Such acts are completely transparent and should not worry other countries."

When asked if China was also discussing the offer to base personnel or planes in the Seychelles, Mr. Liu said: "I have not heard of this. On this issue China's position is clear. China has never set up military bases in other countries."

—Julian E. Barnes, Adam Entous and Keith Johnson contributed to this article.
Write to Jeremy Page at jeremy.page@wsj.com and Tom Wright at tom.wright@wsj.com

Copyright 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

China Considers Navy Presence in Seychelles - WSJ.com

 

[Bombay Dude]

First Source is CrapSh!t.

From Second,

China is considering a proposal from the Seychelles, a tiny island nation off the coast of East Africa, for Chinese navy ships to use its ports to rest and take on supplies while participating in antipiracy patrols, according to both governments.

Chinese Ships can Berth at Seychelles for Re-Supplying only for Anti Piracy Missions.

Indian Navy already has Renossance Capability in Seychelles, Plus a Listening Post.

 

[genmirajborgza786]

Chinese plans in Seychelles revive Indian fears of encirclement

(Idea that Beijing is seeking to establish a 'string of pearls' in Indian Ocean has been dismissed – for now)

When China recently confirmed that Seychelles would be used as a refuelling port for its navy, it revived popular fears in India of becoming encircled in the Indian Ocean by its larger Asian neighbour.

Chinese plans in Seychelles revive Indian fears of encirclement | World news | The Guardian

"Chinese military base in Indian Ocean?" ran the headline of a report in the Times of India, which concluded that "the base could be of vital importance for China as it is about to launch its first aircraft carrier".

But others pointed out that Chinese naval ships engaged in anti-piracy operations off the African coast needed a resupply and recuperating port in the region, especially since they had stopped using Karachi due to the dangerous security situation in Pakistan.


"India is a dominant force in the Indian Ocean, and does not feel threatened at all by China," said Mohan Guruswamy, a strategic affairs expert at Delhi's Centre for Policy Alternatives.

"China is not stupid to attempt to encircle India by setting up naval bases thousands of miles away from home, and within easy striking distance of India's powerful air force," he said.

The debate over China's plans in the Indian Ocean became intense after Beijing got involved in the development of deep-sea commercial ports in a string of littoral states in India's neighbourhood – Burma, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

The controversy gets periodically revived with every new development or official pronouncement – before the news from Seychelles, there was excitement over the Pakistan defence minister's claim (denied by Beijing) that Islamabad had asked China to create a naval base at Gwadar and a major new commercial port in Baluchistan built with Chinese money.


The idea that China is seeking to dominate the Indian Ocean by planning a series of strategic naval ports – a "string of pearls" enclosing India – was first suggested by the US defence consultancy firm Booze-Allen Hamilton and reported in the Washington Post in January 2005.

Ever since, there has been deep division among Indian strategic experts over China's ambitions. The debate also retains currency due to Beijing's territorial claims along the 2,500-mile India-China border, a dispute that triggered a brief border war in 1962 and does not appear anywhere near resolution.

"China has so far not put up a strategic doctrine for the Indian Ocean, but my reading is that the 'string of pearls' could become a reality by 2020," said Srikanth Kondapalli, professor of Chinese studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University.

"China will start showing its teeth only when it becomes an even bigger economic power."

But for now, unlike with the face-off along its land border, Delhi appears unperturbed by the increased Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean. In fact, earlier this month it agreed to engage in a maritime dialogue with Beijing – to be conducted by officials not from the defence but from the foreign ministry.

Chinese plans in Seychelles revive Indian fears of encirclement | World news | The Guardian

 

[GCTom]

It is not a Navy Base. No ships will be based there. China will only use Seychelles sometimes to replenish supplies.

 

[Peacefull]

It is not a Navy Base. No ships will be based there. China will only use Seychelles sometimes to replenish supplies.

you are thinking indians are stupid ???????????

 

[T90TankGuy]

i was under the impression we already have a listening post there , will try to find a link .

 

[manofwar]

you are thinking indians are stupid ???????????

What do you mean bro??

 

[Tshering22]

It is not a Navy Base. No ships will be based there. China will only use Seychelles sometimes to replenish supplies.

Well, Piracy is a menace that we both have to deal with. Berthing rights are good enough. Whether PLAN or IN, men cannot be onboard all the time.

 

[rashtriya.rifles]

PLAN ships involved in anti piracy operations will have berthing rights... seychelles if I am not wrong, has given similar rights to several countries.
As far as India is concerned, we have a listening post in seychelles and a reconnaissance unit posted there..

 

[Sasquatch]

Older News but yes China is stepping up Anti Policy Operations.

 

[WS-10 Engine]

we need to build military bases overseas to protect chinese interests.
if other dont like it, we dont give a damn what they think.