How China is turning Africa’s ports into a global naval launchpad

Benedict Hamlyn, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI ) think tank, said: “This has all been part of a gradual military, strategic encirclement of Africa ... trade, foreign policy influence and military presence suddenly slipped away from the West when it comes to Africa...They [China] build these ports so they can get access to the raw materials within Africa, but in lots of cases, they very cleverly built them to dual use specificity... useful in peace time to land destroyers, refuelling tankers and have a maritime logistical presence.” Mr Hamlyn said: “China wants to rival the United States, not necessarily be an enemy, but it wants to rival the US. In order to do that it has to be present, and having [People’s Liberation Army] navy ships around these places helps them fly the flag, look like a major player and set the agenda...The ultimate goal is to ensure that if the US and other countries cease or begin to strongly limit cooperation, China’s supply chain resilience is already in place.”