On Tuesday, Pentagon released a report, which predicts that in the coming days, Pakistan could turn to a Chinese military base. The 97-pages long report forecasts that in future Beijing would build more overseas bases after it has established its base in Djibouti, an African nation.
According to a report from the Pentagon, the United States has forecasted that in future, China might build a military base in Pakistan. The advances made by Beijing were tracked since 2106 and it is estimated that the defence spending would amount to over $180 billion, Reuters reported. Notably, this is way higher than its official budget of $140.4 billion. Moreover, it also highlights that the Chinese leaders are focusing on defense even though if it means a slower economic growth.
The report states that China's overseas base in Djibouti is situated near the Red Sea and is on the route to the Suez Canal. The strategic location of Djibouti in the Indian Ocean also has India worried as it could be another addition to China's military alliances. The report further states, "China most likely will seek to establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan."
It must be mentioned here that China and Pakistan are known to have friendly ties. In the Asian-Pacific region, Pakistan is the main market for Chinese arms and from the year 2011 to 2015, the Chinese arms export rose from $9 billion to $20 billion. Moreover, it was last year that an agreement was signed by China, which had Pakistan purchasing eight submarines.
However, the Pentagon report has been rebuffed by China. China has criticized the contents of the reports stating that it is pure conjecture. The statement issues by China further states that China believes in peaceful development and it has "open and transparent" defense expenditure.
