U.S. General Worried About China s Efforts to Establish Military Base on Africa s West Coast
On 5/6/21 at 8:48 AM EDT
A top U.S. general for Africa warned that China is looking to establish a navy port in Africa.
U.S. General Stephen Townsend, who heads U.S. Africa Command, told the Associated Press that Beijing has approached several countries stretching along Africa s west coast about establishing a navy facility capable of hosting submarines or aircraft carriers. They re looking for a place where they can rearm and repair warships. That becomes militarily useful in conflict, Townsend said. They re a long way toward establishing that in Djibouti. Now they re casting their gaze to the Atlantic coast and wanting to get such a base there.
China has embarked on a grand journey west. Officials in Beijing are driven by aspirations of leadership across their home continent of Asia, feelings of being hemmed in on their eastern flank by U.S. alliances, and their perception that opportunities await across Eurasia and the Indian Ocean. Along the way, their first stop is South Asia, which this report defines as comprising eight countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka along with the Indian Ocean (particularly the eastern portions but with implications for its entirety). China’s ties to the region are long-standing and date back well before the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949.