The Belt and Road Initiative, which was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, mainly focuses on the Maritime Silk Route, which connects China and Europe; the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt deals with Russia as well as countries in Central Asia and the Middle East.
Beijing may create more military bases across the world to protect its investments in its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project, also known as One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative, the Pentagon said in a report to Congress on Chinese military and security developments.
“China’s advancement of projects such as the ‘One Belt, One Road’ Initiative will probably drive military overseas basing through a perceived need to provide security for OBOR projects,” the document pointed out.
The document singled out China’s push to “establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan, and in which there is a precedent for hosting foreign militaries”.