By John Ikani
China is looking to create its first permanent military presence on the Atlantic Ocean, on the coast of the small African nation Equatorial Guinea, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal based on classified U.S. intelligence.
Such a facility would be significant as it would give China its first base on the Atlantic Ocean.
Though officials did not describe China’s plans in detail, they said China’s presence on Africa’s Atlantic coast would enhance the possible threat to the U.S., as it would give Chinese warships a place to rearm and refit opposite the East Coast, the Journal reported.
The publication noted that Principal Deputy US National Security Adviser, Jon Finer visited Equatorial Guinea in October on a mission to persuade President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo to reject China’s overtures for such a project.
Obiang is the longest-serving president in the world, having ruled for more than 40 years. Human Rights Watch and other groups have complained of “relentless repression” of civil society during his reign, along with “staggering corruption that has siphoned off the country’s oil wealth.”
“As part of our diplomacy to address maritime-security issues, we have made clear to Equatorial Guinea that certain potential steps involving [Chinese] activity there would raise national-security concerns,” a senior Biden administration official said, per the Journal.
The report speculated that China would consider building a military facility in the port city of Bata. Beijing had built a deep-water commercial port in Bata.
Gen. Stephen Townsend, who serves as Commander of U.S. Africa Command, told the Senate in April that China’s “most significant threat” would be “a militarily useful naval facility on the Atlantic coast of Africa.”
“By militarily useful I mean something more than a place that they can make port calls and get gas and groceries. I’m talking about a port where they can rearm with munitions and repair naval vessels,” Townsend added.
In recent months, tensions between China and the U.S. have risen amidst human rights issues, the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about Taiwan.
China currently has a military base in the East African nation of Djibouti. Built in 2016, China says the “support base” will be used for peacekeeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and West Asia.
It will also be used for military co-operation, naval exercises and rescue missions.
