Pentagon predicts China will convince People’s Liberation Army around the world

China is sniffing out the establishment of military bases in much of the world, according to the US Department of Defense.

In the spring of 2018, American military pilots experienced something they had not anticipated. During the approach to the American base in Djibouti, a mini-state in the Horn of Africa, they were dazzled by powerful lasers.

Who was behind this? American military leaders pointed to China’s then relatively new military base in the country. The Chinese refused.

The events may have been a warning of increased tension between the world’s only superpower after the end of the Cold War and an emerging Chinese challenger.

Stronger than the United States

Before, the Chinese had the doctrine of having no bases abroad, but this was abandoned at the beginning of this century. Currently, the base in Djibouti remains China’s only overseas military base, but that may change.

The Pentagon, the United States Department of Defense, has presented its annual analysis of China’s military strength to Congress. Contains geopolitical explosives. China is now closer to the United States, or stronger, in military upgrades in some areas:

• Naval building: China has the largest navy in the world with a combat force of 350 ships and submarines. 130 of them are large surface ships. By comparison, the United States Navy’s combat force consists of 293 ships. China also has the world’s greatest capacity to build more.
• Conventional ground missiles: China has 1,250 land, ballistic and cruise missiles aimed at ordinary warheads. They have a range of 500 to 5500 kilometers. The United States has only one type of ballistic missile without nuclear weapons and without cruise missiles.
• Air defense: China has one of the world’s largest capabilities in advanced long-range ground-to-air protection systems. Among other things, they have Russian-made S-400 and S-300.

Duplication of nuclear weapons

At the same time, US defense analysts believe China will double its nuclear weapons arsenal in the next decade. The Chinese have a few hundred, while the United States and Russia each have around 5,000 nuclear warheads.

The Americans want the Chinese to join the nuclear talks with Russia, but China says not unless the United States first reduces its strike force to their level.

More bases?

American analysts believe that the Chinese, in their strategy to become a world superpower, will try to gain a military foothold in more places than Djibouti.

The Americans do not foresee that all countries want to give the Chinese the opportunity to mark strength and presence. The countries that they think the Chinese are considering are: Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Angola, and Tajikistan.

Additionally, the Chinese have had sensors in Namibia, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands.

In Cambodia, the authorities rejected a US offer to pay for the renovation of an original US building at the Ream naval base. The Americans suspect that the Chinese may have paid to enter, but both Cambodia and China have denied it.

– Ambition for great power status

Chad L. Sbragia, Secretary of State for Chinese Affairs at the US Department of Defense, described China’s strategy at the American Enterprise Institute.

– The Chinese have ambitions to achieve great power status by every standard you can imagine, he said.

He believes they must have a global reach to achieve this.

– For the People’s Liberation Army, it means that they intend to leave, he said.

China: Cold War mentality

The Chinese authorities have broadly distanced themselves from the content of the Pentagon report.

According to the Chinese Defense Ministry, the Americans are raising a theory about a Chinese military threat and inciting clashes and tensions in the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese believe that the American report is full of “zero-sum games and the Cold War mentality.”

Missiles, fighter jets and diplomats

The warnings from Americans about China’s military growth come in the wake of several recent episodes. The events highlight a growing distrust and tension between the great powers after the trade war and the war of words over the pandemic.

• When US Health Secretary Alex Azar recently visited Taiwan, the Chinese sent fighter jets on a cruise to the strait between the mainland and the island, which they believe is part of the People’s Republic of China.
• On Wednesday August 26, China launched two missiles, DF-26B and DF-21D, in the South China Sea between Hainan and the Paracel Islands, an area where sovereignty is disputed. These are medium-range ballistic missiles, and the latter is called an “aircraft carrier killer.” This was interpreted as a response to the fact that US spy planes had monitored a Chinese naval exercise.
• Also diplomatically, the fronts have hardened. On Tuesday, the US secretary of state cracked down on Chinese diplomats in the United States. From now on, they will have to request permission to hold meetings at American universities, events with more than 50 participants and with local authorities. This is a response to the fact that for years China has had a system to control and restrict the activities of American diplomats in China, while the Chinese have freely operated in the United States.