Panasian raised the issue of Chinese allies and oversea bases. There is the string of pearls that has incorrectly been hyped as a ring of naval bases.
Let's assume I am to build a string of secure lines for the PLAN to protect Chinese SLoC against as many continguencies as possible. As allies Myanmar and Cambodia would come to my mind as well as Pakistan.
Cambodia might have some qualms because of the support for the Red Khmer, but has overall been an old Chinese ally with an age old conflict with the US-ally Thailand. A connection to Cambodia can be established by land via Laos, that is poor and tries not to be on the wrong side and would like to profit from the proximity to China. There have been some tunnel building experiments along this route and China might show them how to build a safe military grade transport tunnel.
Myanmar wants economic development and certainly prefers Chinese attitudes of non-intervention to Western pressures, plus they share a large river and are reputed to have the most beautiful women (= makes them the natural ally China needs).
Pakistan, being allied to this country has always been a wild card, but India seems not available as Chinese ally as long as they agree to disagree on some border issues and continue negotiations year after year. Pakistan and India have a more beneficial relationship by saber rattling on the border and thus increase internal stability via an external enemy that even threatens with nuclear weapons. Pakistan is a key Muslim country, for Central Asia as well as for the Persian Gulf due to cultural and military influence. Making it a nuclear power with some Chinese help has boosted that alliance and the good price of Chinese arms exports due to PPP have create a pretty solid China fanclub in Pakistan. That's something the so-called Pakistani "ally" USA is totally missing. Pakistan might prove one of the most valuable Chinese allies that has a population equal to Russia and still needs lots of economic growth, a reason to admire China's strides. Pakistan has huge capabilities and while not being the strongest ally available, it is a strong ally that China can help to lift to a higher levels in military, economics and education for mutual benefits.
Other than Pakistan the lessons learned might be well received in former East Pakistan, today Bangladesh, that can be reached by sea over a short distance from Myanmar, has always been very maritime oriented society and is neither far away from China overland, although India with some disputes with China there is in the way.
These three allies can provide secure connections to the landmass of China and would enhance the Chinese position in the South China Sea (Cambodia) as well as the Indian Ocean (Myanmar, Pakistan). A huge advantage of Myanmar is the waterway to China, while the others can be connected by roads, railways and possibly large transport tunnels. Transport tunnels, like the
, are a concept China has been experimenting with and that can be highly effective for future transportation (due to predictable conditions and thus constant reliable speed. It's for example enacted in subways to transport people, but can be expanded to freight. Tunnels offer the additional capability to run adjacent serviceable pipelines protected underground.
Pakistan&Afghanistan(a Pakistani backyard called strategic depth where the US currently plays nation building) and the region of Tibet plus adjacent provinces of China all offer a suitable place for experimenting with
to overcome the mountains into one of the oldest and major mining regions of the world.
Infrastructure will in my opinion be a major source of alliances with China and China does have a great history of infrastructure and transport innovation to build upon:
(a very interesting blog, especially on green and transportation technology).
Other than these three allies, Africa wants a post colonial infrastructure that is not just meant to carry the riches to ports and off to somewhere else, but helps to develop sustained economies. China is in part very modern, in part third world with a high ingenuity in solutions to improve their living standard at low cost. The assembled know-how of all these contributions to raise China out of poverty will likely also have a positive impact on Africa. Chinese willingness to settle and work in Africa, despite the unavoidable tension with native factions, will likely have a deep influence on African outlooks at China if China is capable to create mutual prosperity benefits for all partners. Each of these African nations is small and weak, but they are natives to Africa, a continent known for difficulties for foreign invaders and occupiers.
Excuse me that I again made such a long statement about my point of view.
What are your opinions about future Chinese allies? Will these provide significantly improved security benefits to China?
