China denies reports by India to set up 18 naval bases in Indian Ocean

BEIJING : Defending its submarine's docking at  Colombo  port as common practice, Chinese military today termed "utterly groundless" reports that it is setting up 18 naval bases in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar and several other places in the western and southern Indian Ocean.  "The report is not accurate", Geng Yansheng told a media briefing here replying to a question about a report published in a Namibian newspaper on November 11 quoting a Chinese media report stating that China plans to set up 18 naval in …