By Sunil Jayasiri  
China is reportedly exploring the possibility of establishing military facilities in various countries, including Sri Lanka, in a bid to bolster their power projection capabilities and safeguard national interests, a latest report by US Intelligence Community revealed.  
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will continue to pursue the establishment of overseas military installations and access agreements in an attempt to project power and protect China’s interests abroad,” the annual threat assessment of the US Intelligence Community 2024 stated this week. 

“Beyond developing its military base in Djibouti and its military facility at Ream Naval Base in Cambodia, Beijing reportedly is considering pursuing military facilities in multiple locations, including—but not limited to—Burma, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, and the UAE,” it said.  
Beijing will focus on building a fully modernized national defence and military force by 2035 and for the PLA to become a world-class military by 2049, the 40-page report stated.  
The report, outlining the collective insights of the US intelligence community, says the US “…faces an increasingly fragile global order, strained by great power competition, transnational challenges and regional conflicts”.   
It further cautions that China, Iran and Russia are challenging the current international rules-based order.     
Chin is expected to comment on the matter later when it takes up geo politics as a whole.