Despite the commander’s warning, it is unclear where – if anywhere – the base will be built
US Africa Command chief General Michael Langley has said that the US “can’t let” China open a naval base in western Africa. The general did not publicly state where such a base might be located, but said that it would place China “at an advantage” over the US.
Speaking at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Langley said that he would not discuss the details of China’s alleged plans in public. However, he stated that a Chinese naval base on the Atlantic coast of Africa would “change the whole calculus … of protecting the [US] homeland.”
China is a major naval power in the Pacific, and is the largest naval power in the world in terms of fleet size, according to a 2022 Pentagon report. A base in west Africa would place Chinese vessels within roughly equal distance of both US coasts.
“Geostrategically, it would…
