Monday, January 26, 2015

China Sending an Infantry Battalion to South Sudan

The Washington-based Institute for Defense Analyses published on 26 January 2015 an article titled "Trading White Hats for Blue Ones? China Sends an Infantry Battalion to South Sudan" by Eliza Johannes. 

A small advance party of this Chinese combat force arrived in South Sudan early this year.  The number is expected to reach 520 soldiers by March and eventually a full battalion of 700.  They are assigned to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in the capital of Juba and will be in addition to the 350 Chinese engineers and medical staff located to the northwest in Wau.  China is the largest investor in South Sudanese oil, which underscores its interest in encouraging political stability in this conflicted area.