Beijing, January 16: Beijing is mulling over a proposal to establish a permanent naval base in the Gulf of Aden ”to support its regional anti-piracy mission”.
Several reports carried by Chinese and international media said such a naval presence would allow China to better support its vessels while strengthening ”its contribution to the anti-piracy mission” on the global level.
The Arab News said it was not immediately known whether Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, in his three-day visit to Saudi Arabia that concluded Thursday, discussed the subject of sea piracy and his country’s plan to send some naval guards or set up a naval base in the Gulf of Aden with the Arab and African countries he visited during the last 10 days.
China has also taken over from Saudi Arabia the lease of a giant crude oil storage facility in the Caribbean that gives Beijing unprecedented access to fuel and oil markets in America, including the US and Canada.
In fact, the Kingdom’s abandonment of the storage was on the cards after Riyadh was offered virtually free storage for crude oil in Japan.
Saudi Arabia consolidated its place as China’s top crude oil supplier in 2007. Riyadh is now likely to pull further ahead, as its oil exports to Beijing exceeded 40 million barrels last year.
The Kingdom has emerged as the largest supplier of crude to China.
The total trade including oil exceeded 41 billion dollar last year, while China, ranked as the largest exporting nation globally, plans to boost trade further with Riyadh.
India is the key competitor in commerce in the region for China and it is to be seen if the Chinese foray will impact India’s political and economic ties with the region.
—Agencies