China's military makes move into Africa

China is establishing its first military base in Africa, according to a top U.S. general, providing yet another sign of its growing reach beyond the Asia Pacific.

"They are going to build a base in Djibouti, so that will be their first military location in Africa," U.S. Army Gen. David Rodriguez, the commander of U.S. Africa Command, recently told defense reporters.

There has been speculation for years that China might establish a base in Djibouti, but Rodriguez said China has signed a 10-year contract with the African nation.

The base, he said, would serve as a logistics hub for China to be able to "extend their reach."

Setting up a military base in Africa makes perfect sense, given China's vast economic presence in the region, said J. Peter Pham, director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council. The base would be cheaper than China's current, temporary arrangements that allow for docking ships at Djibouti ports to conduct naval patrols, he said.

The base also gives China an airfield that could significantly improve its intelligence gathering capabilities over the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Eastern Libya, and well into Central Africa.

The move into Africa represents a challenge to the dominance of the United States, which has its own military base in Djibouti, at Camp Lemonnier, from which it conducts intelligence, counter-piracy and counterterrorism operations.

"U.S. global leadership is predicated heavily on the U.S. role in protecting and to an extent controlling sea lanes of communication," Pham said. "If China establishes itself as a fellow protector of the global commons, then it certainly increases its stature."

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, said the U.S. has to be vigilant in the face of China's growing ambitions.

"Overall, China's presence in Africa is certainly something we need to pay more attention to, but not just in Djibouti. Africa's middle class is growing faster than ever, and the continent offers great opportunities for partnerships between both governments and the private sector," Coons said.

"We don't want to lose out on those opportunities to Chinese companies or the Chinese government, whose interests might not always align with ours," he added.

China has recently signaled its desire to extend its military presence to more parts of the globe.

In a May white paper, China said its army would "adapt itself to tasks in different regions, develop the capacity of its combat forces for different purposes, and construct a combat force structure for joint operations."

China said its navy would "gradually shift its focus from 'offshore waters defense' to the combination of 'offshore waters defense' with 'open seas protection.' "

The move into Africa follows what U.S. officials consider increasingly aggressive behavior in the South China Sea by Beijing, centered on a series of man-made islands that China claims are sovereign territory.

The U.S. has begun stepping up "freedom of navigation" exercises in the South China Sea to ensure China does not use the disputed ownership of the islands to restrict access for planes and ships.

The U.S.'s top commander in the Asia Pacific region, Navy Adm. Harry Harris, over the weekend admonished China for its aggressive posture the South China Sea.

"For decades, China embraced Deng Xiao Peng's philosophy for addressing disputes. Essentially, be patient. China's recent actions, though, appear to be walking away from Deng's desire to 'find a solution acceptable to all.' In fact, China has transitioned from a patient nation to a nation in a hurry," he said at the Halifax International Security Forum.

For now, China's activities in Africa do not appear to be provocative, with their troops participating in a United Nations mission and the training of African military officials, Rodriguez said.

But Pham said even a small military presence in Africa could later turn into something greater. In 2008, then-President George W. Bush invited three Chinese warships to participate in counter-piracy missions around the Gulf of Aden.

That has now grown to more than 50 Chinese ships temporarily docked at a port in Djibouti, he said.

China has recently signaled its desire to extend its military presence to more parts of the globe.

And "BEYOND."

June 2015: China's space program is growing extremely fast

"..... A US Department of Defense report suggests that China might be working on an anti-satellite weapon designed to jam U.S. navigation satellites.

Some experts, including Paul Spudis, a senior staff scientist at the Planetary Institute, think that's why China is so interested in the moon.

"China's Chang'e 2 spacecraft moved in and out of lunar orbit, went to an L-point [a gravitationally stable Lagrange point], loitered there, left" and then it flew by an asteroid, Spudis told Space.com. "All of that activity is classic space control. If you combine these activities with their anti-satellite warfare experience, it's pretty clear what they are up to. I think that's their real agenda."

In other words, it looked a little like a military drill in space.........

From the Sino-Russian Joint Statement of April 23, 1997:
"The two sides [China and Russia] shall, in the spirit of partnership, strive to promote the multipolarization of the world and the establishment of a new international order."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/HI29Ag01.html
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"Joint war games are a logical outcome of the Sino-Russian Friendship and Cooperation Treaty signed in 2001, and reflect the shared worldview and growing economic ties between the two Eastern Hemisphere giants."

http://www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2005/09/war-games-russia-china-grow-alliance

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,170287,00.html
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Sept 11, 2014

China and Russia to build major seaport: report

China and Russia will build one of the largest ports in north-east Asia on Russia's Sea of Japan coast, reports say, in a further sign of the powerhouses' growing alliance.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-11/china-and-russia-to-build-major-seaport-report/5738036
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Obama: "We Welcome China's Rise"
CBS News ^ | January 19, 2011 | Stephanie Condon
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In other words, it looked a little like a military drill in space....

Ffrom 2008...

2008 Pentagon Report (March 2008):
China's Growing Military Space Power
By Leonard David
Special Correspondent, SPACE.com
March 6, 2008

GOLDEN, Colorado - A just-released Pentagon report spotlights a growing U.S. military concern that China is developing a multi- dimensional program to limit or prevent the use of space-based assets by its potential adversaries during times of crisis or conflict.

Furthermore, last year's successful test by China of a direct-ascent, anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon to destroy its own defunct weather satellite, the report adds, underscores that country's expansion from the land, air, and sea dimensions of the traditional battlefield into the space and cyber-space domains.

Although China's commercial space program has utility for non- military research, that capability demonstrates space launch and control know-how that have direct military application. Even the Chang'e 1 - the Chinese lunar probe now circling the Moon - is flagged in the report as showcasing China's ability "to conduct complicated space maneuvers - a capability which has broad implications for military counterspace operations."

To read the entire publication [29.67MB/pdf], see U.S. Dept of Defense:

http://web.archive.org/web/20090326011643/http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/China_Military_Report_08.pdf
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Also from 2008...

From the campaign trail...

Obama Pledges Cuts in Missile Defense, Space, and Nuclear Weapons Programs

February 29, 2008 :: News
MissileThreat.com

A video has surfaced of Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama talking on his plans for strategic issues such as nuclear weapons and missile defense.

The full text from the video, as released, reads as follows:

Thanks so much for the Caucus4Priorities, for the great work you've been doing. As president, I will end misguided defense policies and stand with Caucus4Priorities in fighting special interests in Washington.

First, I'll stop spending $9 billion a month in Iraq. I'm the only major candidate who opposed this war from the beginning. And as president I will end it.[i.e. not win it]

Second, I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending.

I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems.

I will not weaponize space.

I will slow our development of future combat systems.

And I will institute an independent "Defense Priorities Board" to ensure that the Quadrennial Defense Review is not used to justify unnecessary spending.

Third, I will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons. To seek that goal, I will not develop new nuclear weapons; I will seek a global ban on the production of fissile material; and I will negotiate with Russia to take our ICBMs off hair-trigger alert, and to achieve deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals.

You know where I stand. I've fought for open, ethical and accountable government my entire public life. I don't switch positions or make promises that can't be kept. I don't posture on defense policy and I don't take money from federal lobbyists for powerful defense contractors. As president, my sole priority for defense spending will be protecting the American people. Thanks so much.

Article: Obama Pledges Cuts in Missile Defense, Space, and Nuclear Weapons Programs:

http://web.archive.org/web/20090412030633/http://missilethreat.com/archives/id.7086/detail.asp

"MissileThreat.com is a project of The Claremont Institute devoted to understanding and promoting the requirements for the strategic defense of the United States."
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I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems.

I will not weaponize space.

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