A Vital Maritime Pinch Point: China, the Bab al-Mandeb, and the Middle East

Abstract

:In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the proposal of a “New Maritime Silk Road” in conjunction with China’s “Silk Road Economic Belt” project or “One Belt and One Road” (OBOR) initiative to support China’s growing economy and to expand the PRC’s economic influence and network across Eurasia on land and at sea. This article examines the Maritime Silk Road initiative and how it aligns with a larger Chinese maritime strategy to expand China’s maritime presence in the Indian Ocean and Middle East for economic, political, and security reasons. It also looks at how China might soon be well positioned to act as an additional stabilizing force for the broader Middle East. Through an in-depth case study, it will examine China’s increased presence and interest in the world’s most strategic chokepoints: the Bab al-Mandeb. China’s navy has been an important contributor to the Combined Task Force 150 counter-piracy exercises off the Horn of Africa and Arabian Sea and this might bode well for a larger footprint in Djibouti and into the Arabian Peninsula. Understanding China’s increased presence in Djibouti and at the Bab al-Mandeb, in addition to new and emerging regional economic and political partnerships with China, is vitally important for our understanding of future regional security and politics.