US expert: China is becoming a maritime power in the Atlantic
(Baonghean.vn) - China is strengthening its naval power in the Atlantic with increased investment to protect its overseas interests as well as "distract" the US in the great power competition in East Asia. This is the content of a report recently published in the magazine of the Royal United Services Institute.
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| US Navy ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Photo: Getty |
“In addition to port visits and symbolic exercises, PLAN operations now include training and independent operations,” the report said. It also showed that China has begun initial efforts to develop a proficient ocean combat environment in key areas of the South Atlantic.
The report asserts that China’s naval presence has become more sophisticated and its operations have expanded. In August 2017, for example, a PLAN task force spent 24 days in the Atlantic before docking in Cape Town, South Africa. In another example, it took 13 days to travel from the port of Douala in Cameroon to Cape Town, longer than a typical trip. In both cases, Chinese forces conducted training, research, and simulated missile strikes, the report says.
After analyzing PLAN activities in West Africa, Professor Martinson concluded that Cape Town, located on the southwest coast of South Africa, is a frequent stopover for Chinese naval forces. PLAN ships docked in Cape Town six times between June 2014 and June 2018.
The report also said that the increased naval activity is part of China's efforts to protect its overseas interests. According to US Department of Commerce statistics cited in the report, of the five African countries receiving the largest amount of direct investment from China, four - South Africa, Congo, Nigeria and Angola - border the South Atlantic Ocean.
The report also said that China’s naval presence in the region could also reflect a shift in China’s strategy toward great power competition in East Asia. By developing its naval power abroad, China could force the United States to shift its air and naval forces away from the western Pacific to counter Chinese threats elsewhere.
Charlie Lyons Jones, a researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said that the Chinese navy's activities in the South Atlantic showed that China was trying to gain the experience and capabilities needed to maintain an elite force like the US Navy. However, this expert also said that the Chinese navy is facing many challenges such as lack of basic infrastructure and logistics factors.
Western experts and intelligence communities are said to be closely following the PLAN's progress to provide planners with the necessary insights to predict and grasp all of China's intentions./.