China says it will increase its military presence in Africa
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
For decades, China's presence in Africa has largely focused on economic, commercial and peacekeeping activities. Now, Beijing is building on that by establishing greater military links to protect its national assets on the continent and gain greater geopolitical influence.
The People's Liberation Army conducts regular joint training exercises across the region and, in certain countries that are home to major Chinese infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road initiative , the communist state has been especially active.
In Djibouti, where Chinese companies have constructed strategic ports and Africa's first electric transnational railway, Beijing last year formally launched its first overseas military base , which also operates as a logistics and intelligence facility. Many experts now anticipate more Chinese bases in the years to come , with Namibia rumored as a potential location.
Meanwhile in Tanzania, where the state-run conglomerate China Merchants Holdings International is hoping to invest in the Bagamoyo mega port, China built a complex designed to train local armed forces earlier this year. And, at the first-ever China-Africa Defense and Security Forum in Beijing on Tuesday, the communist state announced it will provide African countries with "comprehensive support" on matters such as piracy and counter-terrorism. That includes providing technologies, equipment, personnel and strategic advice, local media reported.
All that comes amid expectations for the U.S. to reduce troops in Africa under President Donald Trump's "America First" policy, which is set to boost Chinese President Xi Jinping's government as the dominant foreign power on the continent.
The strengthened defense ties compliment China's existing ventures, particularly weapons sales , according to specialists.
"In recent years, Chinese arms sales to Africa have surpassed the United States," said Luke Patey, senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies: "In particular, Chinese small arms and light weapons have spread rapidly since China is less inhibited by selling arms to countries in the midst of conflict than Western providers." That goes hand in hand with Beijing's expanding military cooperation, he continued.
A desire to safeguard Chinese workers and Chinese-funded projects on the continent is likely behind the government's efforts.
"China’s security concerns are actually aimed at its own nationals, and military diplomacy is skillfully used to protect them and their interests," the Netherlands Institute of International Relations, or Clingendael, said in a recent report.
"The evacuation of hundreds of Chinese and foreign nationals from Yemen in 2015 — on a People’s Liberation Army frigate that sailed from the coasts of Somalia — proves just how crucial the presence of a military logistics base on the eastern coast of Africa is for China," it continued.
The world's second-largest economy has long described Sino-Africa cooperation as a "win-win" arrangement — one that provides China with natural resources and African economies with badly-needed infrastructure. But while the flood of Chinese resources may be welcomed by the region's cash-strapped governments, the fear is that increased capital could translate into political leverage .
In fact, many speculate that it was Beijing's concerns over its investments that resulted in the 2017 coup that ousted Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe — a charge that Xi's administration has denied.
"The concern from a lot of partners is exactly what role China is going to be playing in the region and how it's going to fit with existing military organizations and security forums," said Duncan Innes-Ker, Asia regional director at The Economist Intelligence Unit. "It's really an unsettling element of something new coming into the equation that's got a lot of people concerned."
"African countries should be clear-eyed that the days of China’s strict adherence to its longstanding noninterference policy are over," Patey added.
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As the US withdraws China moves into the gap.
IMO, between the economic, trade and investments in infrastructure by the Chinese the military move should be expected.
IMO, this move by the Chinese is, in the long run, going to be very beneficial to them. They will have a strong foothold in Africa with it's vast resources and growing economies. China has invested heavily over the last decade in Africa and I think that this will continue.
When one looks at a trade war it's best to look at everything that your competition is doing to spread it's influence around the globe.
It's called the ''long game''.....
Gotta agree with you Kavika. The one major thing that Africa has going for it is natural resources and China is seizing on that. It's very clever.
We need a long term international policy for making sure our presence is there. I am not an isolationist, especially when there is so much to gain.
In addition to the natural resources economic growth in some African countries is really moving forward. This, of course, leads to more and more trade. Something that the Chinese see and we don't seem to.
This also a continent with 1.3 billion people.
It's called the ''long game''....
We need a long term international policy....
We do, trump's long term policy is "To Make America Great"
Unfortunately, it seems its also his policy to do it as a boss instead of as a president.
Hopefully he'll reveal the details as he makes them up.
Even more hopefully, he'll never make any mistakes.
lol
PS: I've always figured sooner or later "We'd all be eating rice before it's all over anyway" Like you say China plans in centuries we cant even take care of crap today. Sooner or later ......
Ha, I've been using that term for a long time steve...
Our planning is one election to the next. The Chinese and other Asian cultures take in terms of decades/centuries..China, IMO, will lose some battles and make some concessions if it plays into their long game..
I don't mind rice...it's the tofu that will gag me
Well, when this country is running an empire spread out over the world and trying to micromanage every international incident WHILE also running a massive entitlement system at home while letting everyone in to get their take... then something has got to give.
Hmm! Something else we agree on.
What!!! you don't like tofu, how un-Murican of you.
Tofu, as well as shellfish, can cause gout, as I have painfully discovered.
See? I knew there was something wrong with that stuff!
Dear Friend Trout Giggles: Any soy product is a phyto-estrogen.
Good for the ladies.
To be avoided by the men folk.
There are gender differences.
Diet should be tailored to meet them.
A good discussion to have with a certified nutritionist.
Enoch.
Let China be the worlds policeman and deal with all the problems of colonialism, international criticism and people in China complaining why can't they have free stuff like Europe while paying for a massive military.
China has only one foreign military base and it's in Djibouti because of it's strategic location, they made add a few more but they are will be there to protect the huge investment and trade lanes that they are building in Africa.
China is helped/financed the advancement of railroad though out Africa. Here is a map showing the latest.
I posted an article a few days ago showing the new RR line for containers from China to London with spurs to Italy and Spain.
Also the opening of a rail link to Finland.
This is what is the most dangerous to the US. Not the military but the trade routes and investments in trade.
I'm glad to see they didn't fall into the trap of giving cash directly to dictators who horde it or spend it on vanity projects. China didn't let itself be pressured by good will over common sense like so much other international aid efforts.
IMO, trade is the way of the Chinese unless they are backed into a corner. The investments that they are making on a worldwide basis ensures them of significant outlets for the products and an availability of products from other countries that they are in need of.
This speaks directly to your point of money/loans etc.
President Xi Jinping pledged $60 billion to African states. What does that mean exactly?
This isn’t aid in the traditional sense. Most of the announced $60 billion will come in loans and export credits. Only $5 billion is to arrive as grants and interest-free loans.
China doesn't give cash to leaders, that finds its way into secret Swiss accounts, it builds infrastructures, and employs its own citizens along with local labour to do so. That's a little different from sending secret bundles of cash in unmarked airplanes to theocrats, and it turns out to be much more effective.
Another country that does the same type of thing is Israel, by assisting drought-prone countries with brilliant agricultural methods such as water-saving drip irrigation, and waste-water recycling, natural disaster-experiencing countries with medical and psychological teams, war-torn civilians with equipment such as tents, blankets, food, medical equipment and supplies, etc etc.
Of course, the benefits that Israel provides the the world are ignored by the leftist media, but if the IDF should kill one Hamas terrorist who breaks though the security border fence, it will make sensational headlines world-wide: "Israeli IDF murders innocent Gazan near border". When you get down to the third or fourth paragraph in the story you discover that it was a Hamas terrorist armed with explosives on his way to blow up Israeli children in a kindergarten, but nobody bothers to read that far into the story. And if you can believe it, we have supposedly intelligent members of NT who will disparage Israel for defending itself.
That's what I said in this comment....
I wasn't disagreeing with you, Kavika, I was providing more information to back up what you wrote.
Oh, ok...Thanks
Have to agree here. The US seems to be withdrawing and becoming more isolationist while nations like China are expanding their reach.
China is forming bonds that will last decades.
The US is just setting itself up to be a lone wolf while the rest of the world forges ahead.
Yes they are and it's world wide. And it seems, as you stated, we are withdrawing. Not a good position IMO.