China’s military vulnerability revealed in search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370
China’s deployment for the search has stretched the supply lines and logistics of its rapidly expanding navy
When Chinese naval supply vessel Qiandaohu entered Australia’s Albany Port this month to replenish Chinese warships helping search for a missing Malaysian airliner, it highlighted a strategic headache for Beijing - its lack of offshore bases and friendly ports to call on.
China’s deployment for the search - 18 warships, smaller coastguard vessels, a civilian cargo ship and an Antarctic icebreaker - has stretched the supply lines and logistics of its rapidly expanding navy, Chinese analysts and regional military attaches say.
China’s naval planners know they will have to fill this strategic gap to meet Beijing’s desire for a fully operational blue-water navy by 2050 - especially if access around Southeast Asia or beyond is needed in times of tension.
China is determined to eventually challenge Washington’s traditional naval dominance across the Asia Pacific and is keen to be able to protect its own strategic interests across the Indian Ocean and Middle East.
“As China’s military presence and projection increases, it will want to have these kind of (port) arrangements in place, just as the US does,” said Ian Storey, a regional security expert at Singapore’s Institute of South East Asian Studies.