China's "Pearl Necklace"

(Source- Shin In Kyun's Daily Defense 5.13) Shin put together a nice map of Chinese port interests extending from Hainan to Khartoum on the Red Sea, and to Bagamoyo, on the East Coast of Tanzania. The chart reminds one of the 15th Century trading patterns of China described in When China Discovered America by Gavin Menzies and When China Rules the World by Martin Jacques.

Starting from Hong Kong, and proceeding south to Hainan Island in the South China Sea, the Chinese maritime "pearl necklace"( 진주 목걸이 ), described by Shin, marks the military bases of the Spratley and Paracel islands, and then proceeds westward toward unspecified locations in Cambodia and Thailand; the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone in Myanmar on the Bay of Bengal; Chittagong, Bangladesh; Hambantota port project in Sri Lanka; the Maldives; Gwadar, Pakistan; Bagamoyo, Tanzania; Djibouti; and Khartoum. The Chinese prefer the term maritime silk road; the US coined term, "string of pearls," implies a military rather than economic objective.

One unidentified location is the Kuantan Port in Malaysia, a known Belt and Road Initiative. This is the only container port on the east coast of Malaysia.

https://en.businesstimes.cn/articles/104621/20181103/a-look-behind-the-development-of-malaysia-kuantan-port-funded-by-china.htm

One of BRI initiatives in Thailand is the Kra Canal project:

Another initiative that might have implications for the BRI is the controversial Kra Canal project. This would see a waterway excavated across the narrow 135-km isthmus linking the Gulf of Thailand directly to the Indian Ocean, enabling ships from China and other north Asian countries to save around three days sailing, via Singapore, on journeys westwards. The canal would cost around $28bn to complete, but has long been the subject of political controversy due to the impact it would have on fellow ASEAN members Singapore and Malaysia.*

*China's Belt and Road Initiative to reshape routes in Thailand and the broader South-east Asian region
https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/analysis/road-china%E2%80%99s-belt-and-road-initiative-reshaping-south-east-asia-2

Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) and the planned Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway are two BRI projects in Cambodia. Sihanoukville is the only Cambodian deep water port.
https://thediplomat.com/2019/04/the-belt-and-road-in-cambodia-successes-and-challenges/

Shin points out that the port of Gwadar is the centerpiece of the "string of pearls." Gwadar was the scene of a recent terrorist attack last weekend by separatists.

Gwadar port was constructed by China as part of the Belt and Road Initiative and is an important hub in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Beijing aims to expand its influence in Pakistan and across Central and South Asia.

Baloch separatists — both militant and political groups — oppose China's increasing involvement in the province. In March 2018, Aslam Baloch, a BLA commander, told Indian media that Pakistan and China are exploiting Baluchistan's resources.*

* Pakistan: Gunmen target luxury hotel in China-funded port city https://www.dw.com/en/pakistan-gunmen-target-luxury-hotel-in-china-funded-port-city/a-48701401

The thrust of Shin's presentation is that the BRI initiative by China is predatory, and that China is lending funds for capital infrastructure projects that cannot be paid back, that China is taking managerial control of the infrastructure, and in effect "taking over." He says the interest rates on the projects are 12 percent. He doesn't really present a source for this information and in general his presentation seems to oversimplify some of the contractual arrangements with host national entities who share an interest in these projects. How is what China does different from US overseas investment practices? One is reminded of John Perkins' book, Economic Hitman. One can't help but think about what is going in Venezuela, which is a paradigm for recreating the comprador model of imperialism in that part of the world. How much have African states benefited from western economic exploitation?