Thursday July 13, 2017
China has refuted ‘Western media reports’ on the Djibouti military base as a prejudice against Beijing and has said that the two ships carrying military personnel are solely for the purpose of anti-piracy mission.
"China's base in Djibouti has basic differences with military bases of other countries in scale, function and equipment. Compared with the specialized function of logistics support of the Chinese base, other military bases station more troops and fighters and conduct military training," Xu Guangyu, a senior adviser to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association was quoted as saying by the Global Times Wednesday.
"Whether a country needs to build an overseas base should come out of its own concerns and it merely involves bilateral talks with the other nation. Why do some Western countries make carping comments about China's first overseas base, while they already have many?" Xu said.
Xu said that the western media should not hype the China threat theory. The two navy warships, Jinggangshan and Donghai Island semi-submersible ship left from Zhanjiang in South China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday for the support base in Djibouti.
"Jinggangshan is a Type 071 amphibious transport dock, which can load more helicopters and special troops and is more capable of dealing with pirates or maritime attacks and taking part in protective convoys," Song Zhongping, a Beijing-based military expert who served in the Second Artillery Corps (now called the Rocket Force) of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), told the Global Times on Wednesday.
The Donghai Island can serve as a rescue vessel since it could be used to build a temporary wharf and offer assistance in repairing damaged ships during war time, Song said, adding that the ship is usually used to transfer materials and goods.