Why US fears over China’s military ambitions in Africa should focus on Atlantic, Indian Ocean ports

Pentagon believes Beijing is planning to expand beyond Djibouti with bases in Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Namibia, the Seychelles and Tanzania

A PLA installation on the continent’s west coast or near strategic Indian Ocean maritime routes would pose biggest threat to Washington, observers say

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China’s military base in Djibouti officially opened in 2017. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:00pm, 13 Feb 2023Updated: 7:06pm, 13 Feb 2023

The spectre of another Chinese military base in Africa has long raised alarms in Washington, but analysts say the US should focus on the possibility of Beijing gaining a foothold on West Africa’s Atlantic coast or key Indian Ocean ports, rather than fret about its ambitions elsewhere on the continent.

China has only one base on the continent, located in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. But the Pentagon says Beijing is planning to build others in countries including Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Namibia, the Seychelles and Tanzania.

Meanwhile, the United States has a permanent base in Djibouti, an air force facility in Niger, and troops in Kenya and Somalia.

Dawn Murphy, an associate professor of national security strategy at the US National War College, said in a recent policy brief that “preventing Chinese and Russian basing in sub-Saharan Africa should be a lower priority”. The brief was published last week by the Brookings Institution, a left-leaning think tank in Washington.

Murphy said the US government should focus on preventing China from building a military base on the west coast of Africa that could provide Beijing naval access to the Atlantic.

The other possibility that should worry Washington would be a base in East Africa that could significantly affect important maritime routes, known as sea lines of communication (SLOCs), and provide China with more power projection ability in the Indian Ocean, according to Murphy.

“Other potential Chinese basing locations in the region should be less of a concern,” she said.

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