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One key element in Communist China's Belt and Road ambitions is building a modern ocean-going navy; prior to 2017 Communist China's military budget was largely funded by its [[trade surplus]] with the United States. American consumers were paying to build a navy to rival its own through the purchase of cheap Chinese manufactured goods and consumer products. American taxpayers then had to meet the challenge of rival military spending by modernization and upgrades of its own defense budget.
One key element in Communist China's Belt and Road ambitions is building a modern ocean-going navy; prior to 2017 Communist China's military budget was largely funded by its [[trade surplus]] with the United States. American consumers were paying to build a navy to rival its own through the purchase of cheap Chinese manufactured goods and consumer products. American taxpayers then had to meet the challenge of rival military spending by modernization and upgrades of its own defense budget.
==Sri Lanka==
Sri Lanka is fast becoming the pivot of rising Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean Region, in that, China also has a substantial controlling stake in the Hambantota port, with Colombo agreeing to grant Chinese state-owned companies operating rights to as many as four berths in exchange for an easing of loan conditions. Besides, there are unconfirmed reports of construction of a Chinese-run aircraft maintenance facility near Hambantota in order to service the [[Peoples Liberation Army]] [[Air Force]] (PLAAF) assets based in Sri Lanka. In neighboring Pakistan, the docking of a Chinese submarine in [[Karachi]], following the handing over of the port's operational control to China Overseas Port Holdings is another step towards consolidating Chinese permanent naval presence in South Asia.
These developments, significantly, are in sync with [[China]]'s much pronounced Maritime Silk Route strategy — a prominent feature of the upcoming 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020). The maritime route is a proposed sea network of ports, coastal infrastructure projects beginning in Quanzhou in the Fujian province and culminating in the northern [[Mediterranean Sea]]. By virtue of this fresh strategy, [[Beijing]] seeks to gain greater access to the strategic pathways of the [[Indian Ocean]], alleviated access to [[Persian Gulf]] oil — which consequently shall reduce its dependence on the passage through the [[Straits of Malacca]] — a key potential vulnerability for China in the event of a future conflict.<ref>http://www.sunday-guardian.com/analysis/china-eyes-18-overseas-naval-bases</ref>
==Kra Canal==
==Kra Canal==