China is scouting for a naval base on the west coast of Africa. In the near future, therefore, Chinese ships could be regularly patrolling off America s East Coast.
In recent testimony before the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, General Stephen Townsend, commander of U.S. Africa Command, has been sounding the alarm.
At the moment, China s only offshore military base is in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa. The facility is near some of the world s busiest shipping routes, including those going through the Suez Canal.
Townsend believes the People s Liberation Army Navy is surveying locations on Africa s west coast, from Mauritania in the north to Namibia in the south.
Chinese planners are not only thinking of the continent [Africa], they are also eyeing islands in the Atlantic, specifically Terceira, one of the Azores. On that island, part of Portugal, there is a port and, of even greater interest, Air Base No. 4.
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<p>Dr. Lindsay P. Cohn is an associate professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College. Her research and publications focus on military organizations, civil-military relations, international law of war, and foreign policy/public opinion. Follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/lindsaypcohn">@lindsaypcohn</a>.</p>
Show Caption Stock photo. Walter Berbrick, associate professor at the U.S. Naval War College (NWC) and co-lead scholar of the Newport Arctic Scholars Initiative, gives the keynote address at the Newport Arctic Seminar at NWC, Jan. 22. The three-day seminar focused on discussing the limitations, opportunities and future of regional forums and organizations for Arctic security. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tyler D. John/released)
Newport, R.I - The U.S. Naval War College hosted a virtual Newport Arctic Scholars Initiative (NASI) conference April 28-29 to discuss new frameworks on Arctic cooperation and to further strengthen global maritime partnerships in the Arctic.