China is considering setting up a naval base in the Gulf of Aden to combat the rising Somali piracy.
Four Chinese warships are currently stationed in the waters outside Somalia together with vessels from the United States and Europe, but the Chinese vessels are reliant on a French naval base in the region for supplies and refueling.
Admiral Yin Zhuo, a senior Chinese naval officer, was quoted saying that China needs to strengthen its support capabilities in order to fulfill its international obligations.
“This is an economic issue,” Brig. Gen. (Retd) Musa Qallab, Former Program Manager for GCC Defense Issues at the Dubai Gulf Research Center told The Media Line. “China is looking at it economically, not strategically or in a way related to defense or political issues.”
“In the long run they cannot afford to get supplies from the French naval base located in the Horn of Africa,” he said. “In the short run, the French base solves some problems regarding support.”
“The area around Aden [in Yemen] is possibly a location for the Chinese naval base to support trade along this critical area,” Qallab said, referring to the trade route that runs outside the waters of Somalia.
Analysts have suggested that Djibouti is another option for the Chinese as it is both politically more stable than Yemen and has the required infrastructure.
The French naval base in Djibouti is its largest military base outside of France and home to the French naval task force in the Indian Ocean.
On Tuesday the Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi held talks with his Djiboutian counterpart Mahamoud Ali Youssouf in China.
“China is ready to work with Djibouti to further enhance friendly exchange and cooperation in all areas so as to push bilateral ties for greater development,” a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry read. “Youssouf expressed appreciation for China’s long-term assistance to his country without attaching any political conditions.”
Despite an international anti-piracy campaign, criminality is flourishing off Somali waters as increasingly larger ships traveling further away from the coast are being hijacked.
A total of over $30 million in ransoms have reportedly been paid to pirates, already surpassing the 2008 level.
Analysts have estimated that the income is further fuelling a rise in hijacking as pirates both afford better equipment and as the financial gains grow.
Somalia’s political instability during the past 19 years has contributed significantly to a rise in lawlessness off its coast as civil war rages between regional clans and religiously based militias.
The Islamic inspired Al-Shabaab is currently the strongest anti-government militia.