The Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka has responded to a questioned posed by journalist Roel Raymond about the country’s intention to set up a military base in Sri Lanka.

Earlier today Raymond Tweeted, ‘China considering military base in Sri Lanka?’ followed by details from a US Pentagon report that said China was considering establishing military bases in a number of countries, including Sri Lanka.

‘Beyond its base in Djibouti, the PRC is pursuing additional military facilities to support naval, air, ground, cyber, and space power projection. The PRC has likely considered a number of countries, including Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Seychelles,Tanzania, Angola, and Tajikistan, as locations for PLA facilities,’ the report said.

Responding to Raymond, the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka which has a very active Twitter presence did not deny it confirm the fact. Instead, it pointed to the United State’s own behavior.

‘“A thief believes everybody steals,” it tweeted.

‘Despite the withdrawal of US military bases and troops from Afghanistan, the US continues to maintain about 750 military bases abroad. These bases are costly in a number of ways: financially, politically, socially, and environmentally.’