Berlin (EAST SEA) Wednesday, October 23rd, 2019 / 02:44 AM

On the way to the largest naval power: China wants sea

The “New Silk Road” is to extend Beijing’s influence on the water – to the North Sea. It’s not just about economic interests. The huge project intensifies military tensions.

Hardly any major project of the Chinese government is internationally so controversial and yet as successful as the “New Silk Road”. Just last weekend, dozens of heads of state and government gathered in Beijing for the summit to discuss the gigantic infrastructure plans.

New harbors, roads and railway lines are to open up trade routes between China and other parts of the world – as far as Europe. At the end of the two-day summit, Switzerland, like Austria and Italy, had signed a joint declaration to join the initiative.

President Xi Jinping’s “New Silk Road” aims to expand China’s economic and political influence not only by land, but also at sea. The quest for it goes way back. During the Ming Dynasty in the early 15th century, China was the most important naval power. The government in Beijing wants to build on that. “The task of forming a strong navy has never been as urgent as it is today,” Xi said last year.

The chances of success are good: The economic upturn of the past few years provides plenty of financial resources, and at the same time there are more and more experts with technical know-how in the country.

The “Pearl Necklace” model provides for a worldwide network of strategic ports, marine bases and special trade zones. The route runs from China’s coastline across the South China Sea through the Straits of Malacca and the Indian Ocean and on through the Mediterranean to the North Sea.

Beijing is mainly about economic interests . The so-called Blue Economy already accounts for about ten percent of China’s gross domestic product. The focus is on the economic use of waters:

  • by fishing and
  • the extraction of raw materials .
  • China also handles much of its international trade by sea.

The maritime infrastructure is thus a decisive factor for the further rise of the country.

A major problem now seems solved: “Chinese strategists have been complaining for a long time the so-called Malacca dilemma, so the vulnerability of China’s raw material import routes through possible blockages of maritime bottlenecks,” said Sarah Kirchberger of the Institute for Security Policy magazine “military”.

Now an alternative for the previous way of the oil transport is found. According to Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI), the foreign trade agency of the Federal Republic of Germany, the deep-sea port in Gwadar in Pakistan offers an alternative to the Malacca-threatened Strait. The port is located at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, which pass 40 percent of petroleum shipments.

China also pursues military interests with the “Maritime Silk Road”. Beijing, for example, has set up its first naval base abroad, the Djibouti port, officially to support peacekeeping missions and humanitarian aid in Africa and West Asia. Also as a logistical support of the anti-piracy struggle in the Horn of Africa. (Read more about the background here.) In addition, China has been steadily expanding its naval fleet for years.

However, the growing Chinese presence causes tensions, especially in the South China Sea between China, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. Beijing claims 80 percent of the sea area, through which important shipping lanes pass. In the seabed rich oil and gas resources are suspected.

Beijing is shelling islands within the zone, armed forces are building harbors and runways, and deploying rockets. In May last year, the Chinese Air Force landed long-range bombers in the disputed area for the first time. Many of the islands and reefs are also claimed by other states in the region, most of which are US allies.

Tellerreport/ Spiegel Online

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