China is planning to build a military base in Equatorial Guinea, which once completed, would be China's second base in Africa.
China already has a base in Djibouti. The proposed base will not only complement the utility of the Chinese deepwater commercial port in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, that accommodates its warships but will also project Beijing's power directly towards North America and Europe, reported local media.
Equatorial Guinea's total debt from China in 2021 accounted for 49.7 per cent of its GDP reflecting that China has integrated military and security components into its economic relations with the African States.
Last year was a phenomenal one for China's navy - the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) - with approximately 170,000 tonnes' worth of new ships commissioned in 2021.
There are approximately over 10,000 Chinese enterprises across Africa which on annual basis generate more than USD 180 billion and this figure has been projected to reach USD 250 billion by 2025, reported local media.
The sheer quantity and diversity of modern ships in the PLAN are imbuing it with growing confidence, bolstered by nationalism fanned by an increasingly martial communist party. China is not only looking to dominate waters close to its coast but to break out beyond the so-called First Island Chain and to influence the narrative and fly a flag in distant oceans.
Indeed, 2022 will mark the 14th year of a continuous Chinese naval presence in the Gulf of Aden, supported by a PLA base in Djibouti.
( With inputs from ANI )
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