How the West should respond to China’s search for foreign outposts
A Chinese deal with the Solomon Islands should be a wake-up call
THE UNITED STATES maintains hundreds of military bases in at least 45 countries. Britain runs plenty of outposts overseas. French forces are stationed from Ivory Coast to New Caledonia. Even tiny Singapore has training camps abroad. But five years after it opened—to the alarm of Western officials—China’s naval base in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, remains its only military bastion beyond its borders.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Cover your bases”
Leaders May 7th 2022
- How to save the Supreme Court from itself
- Wearable technology promises to revolutionise health care
- The Fed causes gyrations in financial markets
- How the West should respond to China’s search for foreign outposts
- Press freedom is under attack. It needs defenders
- How to solve Britain’s dirty-money problem
From the May 7th 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Leaders
How to improve clinical trials
Involving more participants can lead to new medical insights
Houthi Inc: the pirates who weaponised globalisation
Their Red Sea protection racket is a disturbing glimpse into an anarchic world
Donald Trump will upend 80 years of American foreign policy
A superpower’s approach to the world is about to be turned on its head
Rising bond yields should spur governments to go for growth
The bond sell-off may partly reflect America’s productivity boom
Much of the damage from the LA fires could have been averted
The lesson of the tragedy is that better incentives will keep people safe
Health warnings about alcohol give only half the story
Enjoyment matters as well as risk