Do China’s Africa ambitions include a second military base?
- Washington unconvinced by Beijing’s denials of plans to expand its presence on the continent, but the move would align with global power aspirations
- Equatorial Guinea and Namibia are believed to be the most likely locations for any new base, as they would give the PLA a foothold in the Atlantic
The US remains unconvinced by Beijing’s continued denials of reports it may build a base on either the Atlantic or Indian Ocean coasts of Africa, and observers point out there were similar rebuttals over its first overseas base in Djibouti – until work started in 2016.
Washington has warned a new PLA naval base on either side of the continent “would threaten US national security”, with particular concerns over potential locations in Equatorial Guinea and Namibia.
Chinese state-owned shipping firms have already built, financed or are operating major ports on Africa’s Atlantic coast, including in Angola, Nigeria, Namibia and Equatorial Guinea.
On the eastern side of the continent, four Indian Ocean ports would be capable of berthing major Chinese military vessels, according to Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies at Washington’s National Defence University.
These are Mombasa in Kenya, the Tanzanian port city of Dar es Salaam, and Victoria in Seychelles, in addition to the Djibouti base at Doraleh, near the entrance to the Red Sea.