The 300 British troops deployed to fight Islamist violence in Mali will work as part of a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force under a Chinese sector commander.
Lt. Col. Tom Robinson, commander of the Light Dragoons, said the Chinese military has provided hospitals to the UN’s Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, the Daily Telegraph reported Feb. 1. The Chinese military has provided hospitals to the U.N.’s Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali and is responsible for protecting the British camp.
I work for a Chinese soldier who is a sector commander,” said Lt. Col. Robinson. He is a professional and I really enjoyed working with him.”
Although the Royal Navy works alongside the Chinese Navy on anti-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa, this is reportedly the first Time British forces have been under the command of Chinese officers.
The news comes as tensions between Britain and China, following human rights abuses in Hong Kong, China’s aggressive sovereignty claims in the Indo-Pacific, and questions about the origins of the Wuhan pneumonia (Covid-19) pandemic, have soured relations between London and Beijing.
The British task force, consisting mainly of Light Dragoonettes and the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment (RAR), whose troops have just successfully completed their first patrol in West Africa.
Approximately 200 soldiers patrolled in 60 vehicles specifically designed to cope with the harsh desert conditions.
During the initial deployment, the troops traveled only 30 miles deep into the countryside, an area largely inaccessible to Malian authorities. Future patrols are planned to go much farther.
This is an opportunity for us, as the first British troops to deploy to Mali, to really understand how we will operate,” said Lt. Col. Robinson. We’ve been training [and] preparing in the U.K. for a long time to make sure we’re ready. There’s nothing like getting out of camp for the first time, testing our vehicles in the unfamiliar African bush, meeting the Malian people and really getting a proper feel for the country and how we can help them.”
He said the British patrol was the first U.N. peacekeepers some of the Malian people had met in the eight years since the U.N. peacekeeping mission existed.
Writing exclusively in the Daily Telegraph last December, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said it was in Britain’s interest to join the 14,000 UN troops from 56 countries.
Wallace said, “History tells us that extremist groups that oppose our way of Life thrive in lawless spaces that lack governance.”
The U.N. force, which is separate from the French-led counter-insurgency mission, also in Mali, is pursuing local Islamist groups affiliated with Islamic State (ISIS) and al Qaeda in the region.
The UK is supporting France’s Operation Barkhane, providing three Chinook heavy-lift helicopters and some 90 troops.
The two British missions are completely separate, but senior commanders acknowledge that combat organizations opposing Malian and Western forces may not see the difference.
Lt. Col. Robinson said, “This is a dangerous country, and if we get complacent and we don’t take this threat seriously, if I don’t put focused attention on making sure they do everything possible to stop and protect themselves from those who want to do us harm, then I and my command team are failing our soldiers.”
When the troops were deployed last month, Maj. Gen. Nick Borton, from the Ministry of Defense’s Northwood headquarters, acknowledged the danger of the mission but said it was fully in line with the U.K.’s broader strategy in the region.
He added that it was “an opportunity to push for reform of UN peacekeeping operations,” which have largely been considered expensive and inefficient.
The UN mission in Mali began in 2013, with French forces deploying a separate counterterrorism operation the following year, and in 2015 the Malian government signed a peace agreement with numerous combatant groups.
Mali and the broader Sahel region of West Africa are considered areas of growing Islamic extremism and terrorist violence.
As part of the UN deployment, the UK will provide a specialist reconnaissance force for three years.
Netizens express concern
A Daily Telegraph user commented, “It doesn’t matter if the commander is Chinese or not, what matters is that China is a communist dictatorship. The People’s Liberation Army is the party’s army, not the army of the Chinese state. Western countries need to be more cautious in their dealings with China because China’s ruling Communist Party is ruthless, bloodthirsty and expansionist.”
Another netizen chimed in, “Especially since they will be very careful to watch our tactics.”
Still another netizen said, “But it does matter, in short, whatever intelligence the commander picks up about the UK he will undoubtedly report to the Communist Ministry of Defense, all with the Communist Ministry of Defense controlling him, and all of course guided by the core philosophy of communism.”
Others said, “The British military is under the leadership of a Chinese commander. This is a country that has a regime that has sent thousands of people to concentration camps, and what’s worse, look at Hong Kong today, you can’t make this (lies about the Chinese Communist Party) up.”
Background
Since the conflict erupted in 2012 in the northern West African country of Mali, the escalating violence in the country has had serious political, security, socio-economic, humanitarian and human rights consequences. The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in 2013 establishing the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) to protect civilians, support the restoration of state authority throughout Mali, and facilitate humanitarian assistance efforts. To date, the Mission has more than 16,000 military, police and civilian personnel who work around the clock to carry out what is considered the world’s most dangerous peacekeeping mission.
For a U.N. soldier, peacekeeping in Mali is the most dangerous of all the world’s war-torn regions. Every day, they may face the same question: Can they return to camp safely? UN data shows that 195 people have died since MINUSMA was established in 2013, making it one of the UN’s top peacekeeping operations in terms of casualties. MINUSMA Commander Gillen Spohr said the mission will be determined and focused on completing its mission, no matter how dangerous Mali is, because it is vital to peace and security in Mali and the West African region.
Mali, which is located in the Sahel belt and Home to 23 ethnic groups, gained independence from colonial suzerain France in 1960. 2012 saw a military coup in the country and several extremist Islamist armed groups became active in the north and gradually spread to the center. on May 15, 2015, the Malian government and some armed groups in the north signed a Peace and Reconciliation Agreement and on June 20 finalized The agreement was completed, but its control over the northern and central Mopti regions is very weak, the situation there is volatile, many weapons flow in through illegal channels, and many people lack trust in the government and choose to take up arms to defend their homes on their own, making inter-ethnic violence increasingly serious.
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