Reuters quoting Xinhua reported on July 12, 2017, that ships carrying Chinese military personnel had departed from Zhanjiang in southern China "to set up a support base in Djibouti", Beijing's first overseas military base. It said PLA Navy Commander Shen Jinlong "read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti" but the report did not say when the base might formally begin operations. It added that "The base will ensure China's performance of missions, such as escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia. The base will also be conducive to overseas tasks including military cooperation, joint exercises, evacuating and protecting overseas Chinese and emergency rescue, as well as jointly maintaining security of international strategic seaways." in a front-page commentary the People's Liberation Army Daily said this was a landmark move that would increase China's ability to ensure global peace, especially because it has so many United Nations peacekeepers in Africa and is so involved in anti-piracy patrols. It said China would not seek military expansionism or get into arms races no matter what happened. "These promises will not change because of the construction of the overseas logistics base." The state-run Global Times said in an editorial on Wednesday there could be no mistake that this was in fact a military base. It said "Certainly this is the People's Liberation Army's first overseas base and we will base troops there. It's not a commercial resupply point. It makes sense there is attention on this from foreign public opinion." However, it added, China's military development was about protecting its own security, "It's not about seeking to control the world."
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