China seeks military base in Africa as West loses ground- Think Tank

China is reportedly seeking a new military base in Africa, building on growing anti-western sentiment as it seeks to strengthen its foothold in a continent that is increasingly coveted, the London-based Chatham House Think tank wrote.

“For over three decades, every Chinese foreign minister’s first overseas trip of the year has been to Africa. This year continued the tradition with China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, visiting Egypt, Tunisia, Togo, and Côte d’Ivoire,” Chatham House wrote in an expert comment.

It cited the relevance of the Chinese base in Djibouti which opened in 2017 to counter piracy.

This base has over the years matured from a ‘resupply facility’ to a logistics facility, supported by up to two brigades of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), it said.

This base was of importance to China as Houthi militias disrupt maritime traffic.

The analysts also argues that China is mulling a new base in Africa, citing the example of the Libyan revolution in 2011 that left China unable to protect some 35,000 of its nationals stranded in the war-torn country.

As great powers such as the USA, Russia, India and the UK seeks new military bases in the continent, China is in a race against the clock to build on its commercial ties to boost its military presence.