China to construct naval bases only in Djibouti

[AmirPatriot]

It will be, especially with regard to its economy.

Riiiiiiiiight.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1070091/saudi-arabia

RIYADH : Saudi Arabia this week donated a large consignment of civil defense equipment to Djibouti.

The consignment was handed to Djibouti Prime Minister Abdolqader Kamil Mohamed by the Saudi Director-General of Civil Defense Sulaiman Al-Amro, in the presence of Saudi Ambassador Abdulaziz Daoud and Djibouti Ambassador Diaa-Eddin Saed Bamakhrama.

The presentation was held at a ceremony in which Al-Amro was given a prestigious medal in appreciation of his services to Djibouti.

The donation included security vehicles, ambulances, fire-fighting equipment and civil defense technical devices.
Al-Amro hailed excellent bilateral relations, and said such donations will help Djibouti improve the efficiency of its civil defense.

He added that the Kingdom offered its expertise to train Djibouti civil defense officials to help them carry out their tasks efficiently with the donated equipment.

Speaking to Arab News, Bamakhrama expressed his country’s thanks to King Salman and his government, and announced that Saudi Commerce and Investment Minister Majid Al-Qassabi is expected to visit Djibouti to participate in trade and investment talks.

 

[Somali-Turk]

why people discuss what they dont know? in this case Djbouti?

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/8635800_US-Defence-Secretary-Mattis-visits-strategic-Djibouti.html

Djibouti, Apr 23 (AFP) US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis arrived today for a short visit to Djibouti, a strategically important country on the Horn of Africa which hosts the United States' only permanent military base on the African continent.

Camp Lemonnier, home to some 4,000 US soldiers and contractors, is vital to US military operations in Somalia against militant groups like Al-Shabaab, and also provides support for US operations in Yemen, where special forces regularly carry out drone strikes against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

China is also in the process of establishing its first overseas military base in the small port country just a few miles from the US camp, which has raised concern in Washington.

Mattis is scheduled to meet with Djibouti's president, Ismael Omar Guelleh, during his trip as well as with General Thomas Waldhauser, commander of US troops in Africa.

"For (the defence department) Camp Lemonnier and Chabelley are critical in terms of logistics. They support multiple US combat command", a senior defence official said, referring to an airfield close to the camp, from which the US military operates drones.

Another senior defence official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, also played down any concerns about China's base construction.

"At this point I don't see why we should not be able to comfortably coexist with the Chinese presence, the way we do with the Japanese, the French..." the official told reporters last week.

However, Waldhauser assured the US Senate's armed forces committee in March that he had spoken to Guelleh "and expressed our concerns about some of the things that are important to us about what the Chinese may or may not do".

With a population of 875,000 people, Djibouti lies on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a gateway to the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest shipping routes.

The former French colony has launched major infrastructure projects aimed at turning it into a regional hub for trade and services, using money largely borrowed from China.

China has said it wants the base to support its UN peacekeepers in Africa, allow it to evacuate its nationals in a crisis, and to support its anti-piracy activities off Somalia.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://zeenews.india.com/india/indi...rcraft-carriers-to-contain-china-1998859.html

China yesterday celebrated 68th anniversary of the establishment of its navy amid massive expansion of its fleet.

A fleet of three Chinese naval ships left Shanghai in the morning for a friendly visit to more than 20 countries in Asia, Europe and Africa.

"With the expansion of foreign trade, as well as China's 'One Belt and One Road' initiative, the Chinese navy has taken on a new mission, which is to protect the country's overseas interests," a report in the same daily said.

As a consequence, China's military strategy for the navy has changed and it must increase its presence overseas to meet the new requirements, military expert Song Zhongping said.

As a signature achievement of the navy, the Liaoning aircraft carrier built from an empty hull of former Soviet ship has finished its blue sea training, he said.

While the Chinese Navy flexed muscle with massive expansion of overseas with new "logistic" based in Gwadar in Pakistan and Djibouti in the Indian Ocean, the Chinese official media sought to project India deploying aircraft carriers decades ahead of China in a negative light.

"As the world's second-largest economy, China is now capable of building a strong navy to safeguard the security of strategic maritime channels. China's construction of its first aircraft carrier is a result of economic development," an article in the Global Times said.

"The country would have finished work on it several years ago if Beijing had simply wanted to engage in an arms race to have more influence in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions," the article said in defence of China deploying its first aircraft carrier in 1912.

"India itself could be taken as a negative example for a build-up of aircraft carriers," it said.

Unlike China, India operated the aircraft carrier since 1961.

INS Vikrant which was purchased as an incomplete carrier in 1957 played a key role in enforcing the naval blockade of the East Pakistan in 1971 before it was decommissioned in 1997.

Its successor INS Virat that was commissioned in 1987 has just been decommissioned this month after an eventful four decades of service.

It was succeeded by INS Vikramaditya, a modified version of Russian ship Admiral Gorshikov, which became operational in 2013.

The second INS Vikrant being built in Cochin Shipyard is expected to be ready by 2018.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1091381/saudi-arabia


RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Djibouti have signed an agreement to strengthen defense cooperation, enhance security and monitor military meddling in the region.

Djibouti’s Defense Minister Ali Hasan Bahdon held talks at a reception hosted by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Wednesday in Riyadh, where they signed the agreement, Dya-Eddin Said Bamakhrama, Djibouti ambassador and dean of the diplomatic corps, told Arab News.

During the talks, the two stressed the need to further improve bilateral relations, Bamakhrama said. The agreement will include exploring the possibility of a defense committee holding meetings whenever required and overlooking military interference.

“The two ministers discussed the latest developments taking place in the region, including the joint efforts exerted by both to support peace, security and stability,” Bamakhrama said, adding that they shared the same vision in this regard.

Djibouti is very close to the Kingdom, and is a member of the Arab Coalition on Yemen and the Saudi-led Islamic alliance against terrorism, he said.

Bahdon told Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News, that the defense agreement will provide safety and security to the region and to the people of both countries.

He described the Kingdom as the backbone of regional stability, saying it has a long history of supporting Djibouti and other Arab countries, and is being targeted because of this.

Djibouti is cooperating with the Kingdom to monitor any military intervention or weapons-smuggling from Iran to Yemen, Bahdon added.

Condemning the use of chemical weapons in Syria and Houthi rebels targeting civilians in Yemen, he said Iranian intervention is the reason behind the crises in both countries.

Bahdon also met King Salman and gave him a letter from Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh on enhancing bilateral relations.