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China’s defence minister visits Oman as Beijing eyes foothold in Arabian Sea
MEE employees
Fri, 04/29/2022 – 16:00
China’s minister of defence held talks with Omani officers within the sultanate’s capital Muscat on Thursday, with the 2 sides pledging to enhance their strategic partnership, as Beijing pushes to strengthen its presence within the Arabian Sea.
Wei Fenghe arrived in Oman from Iran, assembly Oman’s international minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi and Sultan bin Mohammed al-Nomani, the royal workplace minister.
In a press release, either side mentioned they mentioned “the event witnessed in Omani-Chinese language relations in varied fields and exchanges in addition to views on regional and worldwide problems with widespread curiosity.”
Chinese language and Omani officers additionally mentioned methods of enhancing joint army cooperation.
Fenghe, heading a army delegation, additionally met Omani Deputy Prime Minister for Defence Affairs Sayyid Shihab bin Tarik Al Stated and Lieutenant-Common Sultan bin Mohammed al-Numani.
Fenghe mentioned that “China is Oman’s sole strategic associate.”
“China and Oman have witnessed a steady and in-depth improvement of their bilateral relations,” he added, in keeping with the Chinese language information web site Xinhua.
Muscat, an ally of the the US and the UK, has all the time sought a impartial international coverage and stored ties with a number of conflicting events within the Center East and internationally.
In line with the London-based Al-Arab newspaper, Fenghe’s go to to Muscat is a part of Beijing’s push to spice up its presence within the coastal city of Duqm. This strategic area connects the gulfs of Oman and Aden, and the Arabian Sea to the Indian Ocean.
China has invested $10.7bn within the Chinese language-Omani Park within the Duqm area, 550km south of the capital Muscat, and leased lands from the Omani authorities to arrange gentle and heavy industrial areas and develop an oil refinery facility.
In February, Oman formally opened Duqm Port, poised to be a hub for commerce, business and funding, able to dealing with mega container ships and crude carriers.
The port has attracted curiosity from a number of regional and international gamers, together with India, Iran, the UK and the US.
In 2019, Washington agreed with Oman to permit the US navy to entry strategic port, which is massive sufficient to host plane carriers.
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