China eyes Vanuatu for permanent South Pacific military base off the Australian coast

[Arkain2K]

China eyes Vanuatu military base in plan with global ramifications
By David Wroe | 9 April 2018

China has approached Vanuatu about building a permanent military presence in the South Pacific in a globally significant move that could see the rising superpower sail warships on Australia’s doorstep.

Fairfax Media can reveal there have been preliminary discussions between the Chinese and Vanuatu governments about a military build-up in the island nation.

While no formal proposals have been put to Vanuatu's government, senior security officials believe Beijing’s plans could culminate in a full military base. The prospect of a Chinese military outpost so close to Australia has been discussed at the highest levels in Canberra and Washington.

A base less than 2000 kilometres from the Australian coast would allow China to project military power into the Pacific Ocean and upend the long-standing strategic balance in the region, potentially increasing the risk of confrontation between China and the United States. It would be the first overseas base China has established in the Pacific, and only its second in the world.

Australian intelligence and security figures, along with their partners in the United States and New Zealand, have been watching with concern as Beijing deepens its influence with Pacific island governments through infrastructure building and loans.

Beijing has been showering Vanuatu, which has a population of about 270,000, with hundreds of millions of dollars in development money and last week committed to building a new official residence for Prime Minister Charlot Salwai as well as other government buildings.

Multiple sources said Beijing’s military ambition in Vanuatu would likely be realised incrementally, possibly beginning with an access agreement that would allow Chinese naval ships to dock routinely and be serviced, refuelled and restocked. This arrangement could then be built on.

One of the most substantial projects funded by Chinese money is a major new wharf on the north island of Espiritu Santo. Jonathan Pryke, a Pacific islands expert with the Lowy Institute, said the Luganville wharf had "raised eyebrows in defence, intelligence and diplomatic circles" in Canberra because while its stated purpose is to host cruise ships, it had the potential to service naval vessels as well.

The wharf is close to an international airport that China is helping Vanuatu upgrade.

Fairfax Media understands there are senior figures within China’s People’s Liberation Army who would like to move quickly to establish a proper base on Vanuatu.

Vanuatu's high commissioner in Canberra, Kalfau Kaloris, said his country's Foreign Ministry was "not aware of any such proposal".

A spokeswoman for the Chinese embassy in Canberra declined to comment.

China has already projected its military strength into the sea by building military capacity on a number of reclaimed reefs in the South China Sea, prompting condemnation from the international community, including Australia.

Vanuatu is one of the few countries that steadfastly support Beijing’s controversial island-building program.

Comparisons have been made in Canberra and Washington to methods China has used in the Indian Ocean, where it has recently established its first military base in the African nation of Djibouti and is reportedly considering military facilities in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Djibouti base features a port, helicopter base, hangars and accommodation for up to 10,000 troops.

Tonga has also been mentioned in government circles as a possible site for a Chinese base, though recent discussion has centred around the intense efforts China has been putting into Vanuatu.Foreign Minister Julie Bishop visited Vanuatu with Prince Charles on Saturday in a diplomatic tour that Fairfax Media has been told was aimed at demonstrating the merits of the Commonwealth’s commitment to a free and open system of international rules.

​

Defence experts said a military base on Vanuatu, which would likely be followed by bases elsewhere, would allow the PLA to challenge the US’s post-war dominance of the Pacific, which is strongly supported by Australia and has been seen as a cornerstone of Australia’s security.

“If it turns out there are one or more Chinese bases ... what it has the ability to do is challenge, and make much more challenging, American access into the region,” said Charles Edel, a former adviser to former US secretary of state John Kerry.

“Chinese presence in Vanuatu, while today about fishing access and commercial trade, tomorrow could represent a threat to Australia’s northern approaches."

Dr Edel, who is now at the US Studies Centre, said this would change Australia’s external security environment in a way not seen “probably since the 1940s”.

Such a Chinese presence would make the seas “more crowded” for the Royal Australian Navy, though professional forces could manage this safely and it would not stop Australian or US forces operating where they needed to, he said.

He added that access to plentiful fisheries to feed China’s fast-rising demand for protein were likely one reason for consolidating its influence in the South Pacific.

Zack Cooper, a former White House and Pentagon official now at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said he had expected China to establish bases in the Pacific and predicted more to follow.

Dr Cooper said with the US focused on north Asia, Washington would expect Australia to stop the South Pacific from sliding too deeply into Beijing’s hands.

“I think it is important that Australia appreciate that China is far away but Chinese activity is definitely affecting Australia in a much more proximate way.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Djibouti's President Ismail Omar struck a deal to establish China's first overseas naval base in Africa.
​

China has set a pattern in the Indian Ocean whereby it builds infrastructure paid for by concessional Chinese loans which the local government cannot repay. When the government defaults, China enacts a “debt-equity swap” and takes over the asset.

China reportedly accounts for nearly half of Vanuatu’s $440 million foreign debt.

Beijing last week announced it would pay for and build a new official house for the Vanuatu president, a new Finance Ministry building and an extension on the Foreign Ministry building at a reported total cost of about $36 million.

Chinese aid has previously paid for the parliamentary building and the prime minister’s office building, a 1000-seat convention centre and a major sports stadium, according to reports. Chinese builders are putting the finishing touches on a $14 million school that will be reportedly the biggest education facility in the South Pacific.

Early last year, Beijing donated 14 military vehicles to Vanuatu.

There are other signs that Pacific governments are increasingly beholden to Beijing, such as Taiwanese trade offices closing in the region as local governments bow to pressure from the Chinese government, which insists Taiwan is part of mainland China and should not be recognised even tacitly as an independent government.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...ith-global-ramifications-20180409-p4z8j9.html

 

[Orgasmo]

2000km is actually quite far away.

 

[Seaside]

Bet some will be upset by this. Despite US presence everywhere. Oh hypocrisy

Now Australia can become even more obedient to USA. This actually good for US maybe

 

[Arkain2K]

2000km is actually quite far away.

Didn't seem that far away for the Australians when the Imperial Japanese Navy took over those same islands on their doorsteps.

 

[Seaside]

Didn't seem that far away for the Australians when the Imperial Japanese Navy took over those same islands on their doorsteps.

agree but australians worry about this and chinese economic closing in on them should put themself in shoes of how russians and fsu states and chinese feel.

 

[Orgasmo]

Didn't seem that far away for the Australians when the Imperial Japanese Navy took over those same islands on their doorsteps.

Most fighter planes have less than 1000km combat radius. Besides, China already bought half of Australia, so no need to invade.

 

[Arkain2K]

New Zealand opposed to militarisation in the Pacific
By Fergus Hunter & David Wroe | 10 April 2018

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has made clear her government's strong opposition to militarisation in the Pacific after Fairfax Media revealed China has approached Vanuatu about establishing a permanent military presence on the island nation.

The New Zealand leader said any military arrangement was a matter for the two sovereign nations but added she would "privately and publicly" push her government's position against military build-up in the region.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she was not aware of a Chinese "military offer" to Vanuatu and expressed confidence the small Pacific nation considered Australia to be its preferred strategic partner.

Responding to the revelation that China and Vanuatu have conducted preliminary discussions about a military build-up, a move that would have global implications, Ms Ardern said she was not aware of a specific proposal.

"But what I can say is that we, of course, keep a watching eye on activity within the Pacific and that New Zealand is opposed to the militarisation of the Pacific generally," she told reporters in Wellington on Tuesday morning.

Senior Australian officials believe Beijing's plans could culminate in a full military base, a possibility that has been discussed in high-level meetings between Australia and the United States.

A base on Vanuatu would be China's second overseas military facility and the first in the Pacific, allowing the increasingly assertive government to project power more deeply into the region and challenge US strategic dominance.

Vanuatu's high commissioner in Canberra, Kalfau Kaloris, said his country's Foreign Ministry was "not aware of any such proposal".

Ms Bishop said it was a fact that China is boosting its development and infrastructure investment in the Pacific.

"I'm aware that China is more engaged in the Pacific, Chinese vessels visited Vanuatu last year as part of a broader visit to the region, but these sorts of visits are normal for many navies around the world," she told ABC radio.

"We must remember that Vanuatu's a sovereign nation and its foreign and defence relations are a matter for Vanuatu but I have been there recently, probably my fourth visit to Vanuatu since I became Foreign Minister. We have very good relationships in Vanuatu and I remain confident that Australia is Vanuatu's strategic partner of choice."

The Foreign Minister said strategic, economic and development engagement with the Pacific was a top priority for Australia, adding that the government was interested in working closely with China on its own activities in the region.

"We need more infrastructure spending in the Pacific. The question is how it is invested and the terms of that investment and that's why why believe the appropriate course is to work closely with China and indeed partner with China to ensure that investment in the Pacific is in the interests of the Pacific nation," Ms Bishop said.

Labor defence spokesman Richard Marles said Australia should be worried about the mooted Chinese base but expressed caution about jumping to that conclusion.

"I think it is a concern that China would have – if it played out this way – would have a military base so close to Australia, but actually a much bigger question in my mind is what it says about us," Mr Marles told 3AW radio.

"I mean, this is the part of the world where we're expected to play a leading – perhaps the leading – role, and we're not just expected to play [it] by the rest of the world but we're expected to by the countries themselves, by countries like Vanuatu."

He said a Chinese base would be "the most profound demonstration" that Australia was not playing that role and criticised successive governments over the decades, including the Turnbull government, for failing to develop a vision for the Pacific.

"I think it would be a very damaging thing for Australia globally were this to play out in that way," he said.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...e-pacific-jacinda-ardern-20180410-p4z8pa.html

 

[Fluffernutter]

Don't they have a new permanent base in Djibouti as well?

 

[Arkain2K]

Don't they have a new permanent base in Djibouti as well?

You mean the giant map in the OP?

 

[Fluffernutter]

You mean the giant map in the OP?

Yes.

Also, is that really a US base? I was under the impression it was a French base that had an agreement with US DOD.

The runway is shared by the military planes and commercial planes.

 

[Arkain2K]

Yes.

Also, is that really a US base?

Camp Lemonnier is our largest Naval base in Africa, dude. We also own the entire place until 2034, for a low low rent price of $70 million a year.

Before the U.S Navy arrives in 2001 and rebuilt it, the only thing roaming the area were grazing goats.

 

[Woldog]

Not to worried about it. If they show up I'll just shoot them with the Nerf Guns our government generously allows us to own.

 

[Neph]

There's going to be a lot more of this happening. The US has a huge global reach which Australia is an active participant in helping.

This is one of the big reasons I am a big supporter of the US.

 

[Ruprecht]

agree but australians worry about this and chinese economic closing in on them should put themself in shoes of how russians and fsu states and chinese feel.

Australia's position has been one of balancing US foreign policy alignment with Chinese economic alignment for quite some time now.
Selling minerals to China was the reason we managed to surf through the GFC.

 

[Fluffernutter]

Camp Lemonnier is our largest Naval base in Africa, dude. We also own it until 2034, for a low low rent price of $70 million a year.

Before the U.S Navy arrives in 2001 and rebuilt it, the only thing roaming the area were grazing goats.

This is why I thought it was French:

"Lemonnier originally belonged to the French military, and was named after General Emile-René Lemonnier. "

"Camp Lemonnier is located in the town of Ambouli on the southern side of the Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport, between the runway overflow areas and a French military munitions storage facility. After use by the French Foreign Legion, the facility was operated by the Djibouti Armed Forces. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the U.S. decided to start anti-terrorism efforts."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Lemonnier

I knew the US military was there, but I assumed it was due to a partnership with the French.

 

[Arkain2K]

Chinese military outpost in Vanuatu a ‘big nightmare’ for Australia, experts warn
China’s latest move in our region confirms the biggest fear Australian strategic thinkers have held since 1901

Defence experts have warned that China’s latest flagged move in the South Pacific presents a “massive nightmare” for Australia.

Fears have mounted following reports Beijing is seeking to establish a permanent military base in Vanuatu, less than 2000km from the Australian border.

Initial talks have already begun with Vanuatu, which could see Beijing establishing a major military presence and upsetting the strategic balance of the region, Fairfax Media reported today.

Experts warn this will essentially see a Chinese military outpost planted directly in Australia’s backyard.

Adam Lockyer, a senior lecturer in Security Studies at Macquarie University, stressed that this is a huge deal for us.

“This is a big nightmare for Australia,” he told news.com.au. “A Chinese base here has been the primary fear of Australian strategic thinkers since Federation.”

So what’s China playing at?

Dr Lockyer said Australia had always been relatively safe as long as a great power — like China — didn’t have a base within proximity.

Since the end of World War II, we’ve fought to ensure no other power could interfere with us from the South Pacific region.

He explained that there’s a strategic military purpose to building a nearby base, in that you don’t need to defeat an entire army; you only need to defeat a small faction of the army that can be projected in one wave.

“As soon as you have that, Australia is vulnerable to military attacks and skyrockets,” he warned. “Canberra will be panicking if these reports are true. This is really going to shake the cage.”

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop downplayed fears this morning, saying she was confident of Australia’s strong relationship with the island nation 1750km east of Northern Australia.

She also noted that China has only established one military base — in Djibouti in northern Africa.

“I’m not aware of a military offer being made by China to Vanuatu,” she told ABC radio today.

She also noted that Vanuatu’s high commissioner in Canberra, Kalfau Kaloris, said his country’s foreign ministry was “not aware” of China’s plan to build a permanent presence on the island.

“We have very good relationships with Vanuatu and I remain confident that Australia is Vanuatu’s strategic partner of choice.”

Dr Lockyer also stressed this isn’t necessarily an active attack against Australia, and more a move to combat American influence in the region.

But it does send a clear message to us.

He suggested this may serve as a retaliation to Australia’s more aggressive stance on the rising superpower in recent times.

Chinese state media has attacked Mr Turnbull on several occasions for “standing up” against foreign interference in Australian politics, and for expressing concerns over China’s territorial aims in the South China Sea.

Just last month, Beijing accused Australia of becoming “an anti-China pioneer” over the past two years, accusing Mr Turnbull of “playing the China card”.

“The country’s unhealthy political environment prompts its politicians to play the China card,” the state-run Global Times editorial said. “Apparently, the above cannot be altered in the short run, and will exert long-term negative effects on Sino-Australian ties.”

According to Dr Lockyer, China’s response could be a reaction to that.

“Everyone knows this Melanesian region is vital to Australia. They (China) knew this would stir us up and make us feel very vulnerable, and if we felt vulnerable we might be less assertive,” he said.

“China’s media has been threatening us for a while now, and this is really hitting us where it hurts. It’s saying, ‘We know where you’re vulnerable, we know what you value, and we can hurt you there.’”

He also said China could be “holding up Australia as an example of a state that’s been naughty” to send a message to other countries in the region.

So what’s next?

It’s yet to be seen whether China will or plans to establish other bases in the region.

Dr Lockyer said Beijing acts opportunistically, rather than actively pursuing new military bases on a day-to-day basis.

“They’re setting up a network of close relationships around the world. If a door opens, then sure, they’ll take it,” he said.

But while Canberra does have some diplomatic and economic leverage, it may not be enough to contain Beijing if these “opportunities” continue to present themselves.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/i...n/news-story/204bd5280bb89afd7ebe8ab3602f330a

 

[Neph]

Australia's position has been one of balancing US foreign policy alignment with Chinese economic alignment for quite some time now.
Selling minerals to China was the reason we managed to surf through the GFC.

Not really.

We hit the 2008 crisis debt-free, growing strongly and with significant assets and running surplus budgets. We had a robust and strongly regulated finance sector and a housing market that wasn't so over-extended. We were in great health.

 

[Ruprecht]

Not really.

We hit the 2008 crisis debt-free, growing strongly and with significant assets and running surplus budgets. We had a robust and strongly regulated finance sector and a housing market that wasn't so over-extended. We were in great health.

The reason we were debt free was the decades of demand for minerals (and resulting increase in mineral prices) created by China's economic growth and the resulting growth in our economy.

 

[ShinkanPo]

Concerning a new arms race heating up.

 

[Karasu-Hanta]

As an Australian who cares?