China plans to build military base in Pakistan

Officially it is not confirmed by Chinese government, but according to the Pentagon’s newly released report on trends and developments on China’s military China is continuing the rapid development of its military and power-projection capabilities, with Pakistan being touted as the likely location of its second overseas base.

This would follow the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, or PLA, setting up its first overseas base at Djibouti on the Horn of Africa, construction of which started in February 2016 and is expected to be completed in 2018. China previously said the base is meant “to help the navy and army further participate in United Nations peacekeeping operations, carry out escort missions in the waters near Somalia and the Gulf of Aden, and provide humanitarian assistance.”

Overseas bases will “better position the PLA to expand its participation in non-combatant evacuation operations, search-and-rescue, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HA/DR), and SLOC security," the report added. Although it also warned that China’s ability to build overseas bases “may be constrained by the willingness of countries to support a PLA presence in one of their ports.”