U.S. forces in Africa are watching the Chinese Communist Party warily, concerned that it is working to establish a network of land and naval bases across Africa.
“We know that the Chinese (Communist) side wants to build a network of bases around the globe,” Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander of U.S. Africa Command, told members of Congress Thursday (April 22), “and I’m most concerned about the Atlantic Ocean in Africa coast region.”
The Communist Party’s establishment of its first military base in Doraleh, Djibouti, on Africa’s east coast in 2017 has heightened the concerns of U.S. military officials. They said the Chinese Communist military base is just outside the gates of Camp Lemonnier, the U.S. military camp in Djibouti.
FILE PHOTO: A Twitter photo released by U.S. Africa Command shows Adm. Townsend (right) with other officials at a joint media event in Mogadishu, Somalia. (Nov. 5, 2019)
Gen. Townsend said Thursday that the Chinese Communist Party has since begun to expand its foothold in Djibouti and has set its sights on more locations.
“They’ve built a very large and capable naval dock next to their base in the last two years,” Townsend said. “This pier has the capacity to berth their largest ships, including CCP aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines.”
Now, U.S. officials say the Chinese Communist Party wants to open up their presence in Tanzania, further south on the eastern coast of Africa, and has more ambitious plans for the Atlantic coast of Africa.
Townsend told the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday, “This is the most significant threat from the Chinese (Communist) state.” He said the Chinese Communist Party wants a place “where they can do more than just visit and refuel and load.
File photo: Chinese Communist Party troops hold a ceremony to move into the Djibouti base camp. (Aug. 1, 2017)
“I’m talking about a port where they can replenish ammunition and repair Navy ships,” he testified before the Senate. “They’re doing that in a big way.”
Other defense officials have previously issued similar warnings about the Communist Party’s military ambitions.
Adm. Craig Faller, commander of U.S. Southern Command, warned in March that the Chinese Communist Party was trying to penetrate further into Central and South America.
Faller said, “I see this hemisphere as the front line of competition.”
Other U.S. military and intelligence officials have warned that the Chinese Communist Party is working to displace the United States on the world stage.
U.S. officials say Beijing has stepped up its investment in Africa over the past decade, pledging $60 billion in infrastructure and development funding while increasing its embassies on the continent to 52, three more than the United States.
There are also growing concerns about Chinese Communist Party arms sales.
Townsend, commander of Africa Command, said the U.S. can still maintain its influence and partnerships.
“We don’t have to engage in head-to-head, smash-and-grab competition with the Chinese (Communist Party),” he said. “We’re able to target where we can optimally invest.”
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