Thread by @DefenseNigeria

Update on the Scramble for Africa:

China is building a multi-purpose naval base in Equatorial Guinea, a move that could jeopardise U.S military ambitions on the Atlantic Ocean. This base will be to to rearm and repair Chinese warships.

China had already built a deep water commercial port in Bata, the biggest city in Equitorial Guinea. China is making a strategic mistake. Its too far away from China and doesn’t even sit along China’s major maritime routes and even its oil.

Beijing is attempting to gain a permanent strategic military base on the Atlantic that threatens the US military posture in West Africa. It could allow the Chinese military to eventually project into both the Atlantic and potentially even get close to America’s shores..

..a capability that China currently lacks. To truly operate globally, China’s military must establish a network of military bases at key waypoints throughout the Indo Pacific and Africa, much in the way the United States did after World War II. And people say China has no

..desire for world domination? Just economic? In the absence of such a basing network, China’s global military footprint will largely remain confined to its near abroad. This isa well calculated strategy. Rememeber China was eyeing Tanzania, Kenya, Sao Tome and Namibia

AFRICA is the new battleground for big power competition for power and influence. It's resources rich, perfectly located yet dirt poor and weak.

China set up its first overseas military base not in Asia or Europe or South America but far away Africa in Djibouti just 4 years ago near the entrance of the red sea.

The naval base is about 12km from Camp Lemonnier, the US military base in Djibouti. 12km apart. Only in Africa. The U.S was right when it assessed that China’s navy was laying the groundwork for various types of military facilities.

Less than two months after officially inaugurating their first foreign naval military base abroad in Djibouti, the PLA held livefire drills.

But then, on the flip side can you really blame the CCP?. If you were China and your billions of dollars worth of sprawling commercial activities across Africa is being matched by billions of dollars worth of sprawling military activities by your western arch rivals

..on the continent with lots and lots of military bases across Africa, you probably will become paranoid and advance efforts to set up facilities for military purposes, if only to defend those economic interests.

Rememeber when China placed strategic ground to air missiles in Zimbabawe in direct preparations to defend her vast economic interest in the wake of Western powers scrambling to move into Zimbabwe for business. This wasnt just some ordinary SAM. We talking about the

latest HQ-9 surface to air missiles that have the same technology as the one China deployed to the South China Sea on Woody Island. The Chinese installaled the HQ-9 missiles at strategic locations all over Zimbabwe. A huge military step Zimbabwe seems to have signed up for.

They say give a mouse cheese it will demand for milk. A year later in 2019 a Zimbabwean journalist reported that China is preparing to station elite special forces in Zimbabwe and is constructing a secret underground military base in the country.

China claimed its new military base is to protect its large diamond claims and gold mines across Zimbabwe, where some of its SAM launchers are already located.

It is only a matter of time before a large chunk of Africa loses the ability to assert her sovereignty.

Large countries like South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria, Kenya etc have the economic and defence wherewithal to maintain complete sovereignty. It is the small countries that are vulnerable. Africa is only as strong as it's weakest AU member states.

Notice they always target small states :Djibouti, Equitorial Guinea etc. They use economic investment as smoke screen. In Zimbabwe’s case, Chinese investments have been followed first by a permanent military presence, then a secret underground military base for special forces.