Chinese ships have participated in a multination campaign against pirates striking out from Somalia, and have used ports in Djibouti, Oman, and Yemen to take on supplies, according to the International Institute For Strategic Studies in London.

A resupply port in the Seychelles, an island country in the western Indian Ocean 1,600 km off the African coast, could raise concerns in India, which has been wary of China’s growing military reach.

The Chinese Ministry of Defense, however, said the Seychelles proposal was still just under consideration.

“According to escort needs and the needs of other long-range missions, China will consider seeking supply facilities at appropriate harbors in the Seychelles or other countries,” the ministry said on Monday, according to the China Daily.

Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie visited the Seychelles earlier this month, said the report.

Li Jie, a scholar at China’s Naval Military Studies Institute, told the paper that “as China will not send troops to protect the supply stop in the Seychelles, by no means can it be called an overseas military base.”

In an effort to douse fears about Chinese plans, Beijing has repeatedly said it does not want military bases abroad. In 2009, Chinese officials distanced themselves from comments by a rear admiral, Wu Shengli, who urged the nation to set up navy supply bases overseas for the anti-piracy fight.

Chinese ships have undertaken anti-piracy operations off Somalia since late 2008, and in early 2010 Beijing agreed to join the multination effort to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden and nearby stretches of the Indian Ocean.

Experts have said the effort has helped China master some of the logistical challenges of operating naval forces far from their home ports.

Meanwhile, a US drone aircraft crashed at Seychelles International Airport on Tuesday, the US Embassy in Mauritius said.

"A US Air Force remote-piloted MQ-9 crashed at the Seychelles International Airport in Mahe. The MQ-9 was not armed and no injuries were reported," the embassy said.

The Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) confirmed the incident and said that the plane was on a "routine patrol" and had crashed because of mechanical failure.

The US Embassy did not comment on the plane's mission and said that the cause of the crash was unknown.