BEIJING: China formally opened its first overseas military base on Tuesday with a flag raising ceremony in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, the same day as the People’s Liberation Army marks its 90th birthday, state media said.
Djibouti’s position on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fueled worry in India that it would become another of China’s “string of pearls” military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
China began construction of a logistics base in Djibouti last year. It will be used to resupply navy ships taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia, in particular.
It is China’s first overseas naval base, though Beijing officially describes it as a logistics facility.
State radio said more than 300 people attended the ceremony, including deputy Chinese naval commander Tian Zhong and Djibouti’s defense minister.
The base will enable China to better support its patrols in waters off Somalia and Yemen and carried out its international humanitarian obligations, the report said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is overseeing an ambitious military modernization program, including developing capabilities for China’s forces to operate far from home.
Djibouti, which is about the size of Wales, is at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal. The tiny, barren nation sandwiched between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia also hosts US, Japanese and French bases.
Ships carrying personnel for the Djibouti base left China last month.
There has been persistent speculation in diplomatic circles that China would build other such bases, in Pakistan for example, but the government has dismissed this.
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China formally opens first overseas military base in Djibouti
China formally opens first overseas military base in Djibouti
India’s prime minister says it has reached a free trade deal with the EU
- It touches a whopping 2 billion people and is one of the biggest bilateral engagements on commerce
- The timing comes as Washington targets both India and the EU with steep import tariffs
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday that India and the European Union have reached a free trade agreement to deepen their economic and strategic ties.
The accord, which touches a whopping 2 billion people, was concluded after nearly two decades of negotiations. It was dubbed the “mother of all deals” by both sides.
It is one of the biggest bilateral engagements on commerce. The timing comes as Washington targets both India and the EU with steep import tariffs.
“This agreement will bring major opportunities for the people of India and Europe. It represents 25 percent of the global GDP and one-third of global trade,” Modi said while virtually addressing an energy conference.
The deal comes at a time when Washington is targeting both India and the EU with steep tariffs, disrupting established trade flows and pushing major economies to seek alternate partnerships.
Modi was scheduled to meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later Tuesday to jointly announce the agreement.
India has stepped up efforts to diversify its export destinations as part of a broader strategy to offset the impact of higher US tariffs.
The tariffs include an extra 25 percent levy on Indian goods for its unabated purchases of discounted Russian oil, bringing the combined tariffs imposed by the United States on its ally to 50 percent.
The deal gives the EU expanded access to one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies, helping European exporters and investors to reduce their reliance on more volatile markets.
Bilateral trade between India and EU stood at $136.5 billion in 2024-25. The two sides hope to increase that to about $200 billion by 2030, India’s Trade Ministry officials said.
“Ultimately, the agreement is about creating a stable commercial corridor between two major markets at a time the global trading system is fragmenting,” said Indian trade analyst Ajay Srivastava.
The EU is still reeling from the aggressive approach of its once-stalwart ally across the Atlantic. There’s a widespread sense of betrayal across the 27-nation bloc from US President Donald Trump’s onslaught of higher tariffs, embrace of far-right parties, and belligerence over Greenland.
Brussels has accelerated its outreach to markets around the world: Over the past year, von der Leyen has signed deals with Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, and South America under the catchphrase “strategic autonomy,” which in practice is akin to decoupling from a US seen by most European leaders as erratic.
“We are showing a fractured world that another way is possible,” she posted on X after arriving in India on Sunday.
The accord, which touches a whopping 2 billion people, was concluded after nearly two decades of negotiations. It was dubbed the “mother of all deals” by both sides.
It is one of the biggest bilateral engagements on commerce. The timing comes as Washington targets both India and the EU with steep import tariffs.
“This agreement will bring major opportunities for the people of India and Europe. It represents 25 percent of the global GDP and one-third of global trade,” Modi said while virtually addressing an energy conference.
The deal comes at a time when Washington is targeting both India and the EU with steep tariffs, disrupting established trade flows and pushing major economies to seek alternate partnerships.
Modi was scheduled to meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later Tuesday to jointly announce the agreement.
India has stepped up efforts to diversify its export destinations as part of a broader strategy to offset the impact of higher US tariffs.
The tariffs include an extra 25 percent levy on Indian goods for its unabated purchases of discounted Russian oil, bringing the combined tariffs imposed by the United States on its ally to 50 percent.
The deal gives the EU expanded access to one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies, helping European exporters and investors to reduce their reliance on more volatile markets.
Bilateral trade between India and EU stood at $136.5 billion in 2024-25. The two sides hope to increase that to about $200 billion by 2030, India’s Trade Ministry officials said.
“Ultimately, the agreement is about creating a stable commercial corridor between two major markets at a time the global trading system is fragmenting,” said Indian trade analyst Ajay Srivastava.
The EU is still reeling from the aggressive approach of its once-stalwart ally across the Atlantic. There’s a widespread sense of betrayal across the 27-nation bloc from US President Donald Trump’s onslaught of higher tariffs, embrace of far-right parties, and belligerence over Greenland.
Brussels has accelerated its outreach to markets around the world: Over the past year, von der Leyen has signed deals with Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, and South America under the catchphrase “strategic autonomy,” which in practice is akin to decoupling from a US seen by most European leaders as erratic.
“We are showing a fractured world that another way is possible,” she posted on X after arriving in India on Sunday.
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