On Nov. 26, Beijing announced its plans to establish its first overseas naval installation in the small nation of Djibouti, a strategic location on the Horn of Africa about 7,700 kilometers (4,800 miles) from China. China is growing into its role as a great power and is setting the stage for more active involvement by its military to defend Beijing's interests abroad. To that end, China will continue to work toward establishing a capable and expansive logistics network to support its increasingly global operations.
As China works to bolster its access to logistics nodes around the world, it will continue to rely heavily on underway replenishment vessels, or supply ships, to replenish its warships while at sea. Chinese warships, especially those on long voyages over the high seas, will require continuous resupply at times when they are far from shore or do not have access to a friendly and reliable resupply port in the area. The Chinese, in fact, already have considerable experience with the use of these supply vessels, which routinely accompany their naval forays.
As Stratfor explained last year, the Chinese are already investing heavily in expanding their underway logistics capabilities. This year, Beijing has launched two additional Type 903A replenishment ships and has started construction on a new type of underway replenishment vessel, the Type 901, at Guangzhou Shipyard International's Longxue shipyard. With its reported 45,000-ton displacement, the Chinese Type 901 could very well be the largest vessel of its kind in the world.
Relative to the global maritime reach of the United States, China is still very much in the early stages of building up its maritime logistics network. Though the Chinese navy already deploys the second-largest underway replenishment fleet in the world, Chinese warships lack the U.S. Navy's access to a vast number of friendly ports with considerable replenishment and maintenance capabilities. These logistics points greatly enhance both U.S. peaceful and wartime operations. As the Chinese grow into their great power status and seek to protect their interests across the globe, they, too, will look to build up both their underway replenishment fleet and their logistics port network.
