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The meeting did not take place in a large African city, but thousands of kilometers away, in Beijing, China
on the occasion of the first China-Africa Forum on Defense and Security. security, a showcase The forum, which ended on July 11, consolidates China's position as a key security partner for Africa and coincides with a series of economic and political measures that have deepened its engagement across the continent.
Ideology, Economics, Politics
Paul Nantulya, a researcher at the African Center for Strategic Studies on Sino-African Relations and Security, told VOA that the involvement China's military in Africa mixed ideology
China's presence on the continent dates back to the liberation struggles of the 1960s, when it supported anticolonial and anti-apartheid movements in the South. Africa, Algeria, Sudan and other countries were inspired by what Nantulya called "ideological concerns".
When former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping came to power in the late 1970s, unprecedented reforms paved the way. China's new global stance has influenced its engagement in Africa, Nantulya said, bringing economic and political layers to previously unidimensional relations.
"China's military engagement on the mainland has become much more complex" Increasingly, we are also beginning to see military exchanges between African countries and China, and these exchanges cover a whole series from questions, from peacekeeping to disaster, response, to the military building, to the army building, to professional military education, "he added. is a much larger portfolio. "
Clear Objectives
African military officials at the defense forum told CGTV, a Chinese state broadcaster, that they had well-defined expectations: partnerships with China
"What we demand from China, which is very clear, is that they provide us with the partnership, the support, expertise, technical capacity, capacity building, infrastructure, so that we we are able to do the work ourselves, "said Lieutenant General Masanneh Nyuku Kinteh of the Armed Forces of The Gambia.
But if African nations see China as a strategic partner, China sees, at least in part, potential customers. Nantulya said China is a major player in the global arms supply chain and is looking for markets.
Chinese manufacturers have used their growing presence in Africa, with generous government subsidies, to produce less expensive and less expensive military equipment.
While Western countries are focusing on heavy equipment – jets, tanks, rockets – China's niche has long been composed of small arms, including AK-guns and assault rifles. 47, says Nantulya
. , as well as ammunition, bulletproof armor and unmanned aerial vehicles, not only for the African military but also for the police and intelligence forces
. Algeria, Mozambique and Zimbabwe also import many Chinese weapons. And this portfolio is becoming more diverse, including tank agreements and technical coaching training with South Sudan and Uganda, Nantulya said. partners such as Angola, Libya and Tanzania, to more recent relations with Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
In each case, China seeks to strengthen its military-military ties with party-to-party relations, Nantulya said. "China invites the leaders of these parties to power in these different countries in Beijing.It is a program that is run by the party school [Central]," he added, referring to the institution that trains the Communist Party officials of the country
.Initiatives combining political propaganda with strategy and defense tactics
. Chinese political and security interests were mingled is the sudden fall of power last November of Robert Mugabe, who led Zimbabwe for 37 years.Many analysts suspected that China was playing a role in what some saw as a military coup
A visit by Constantino Chiwenga, then army chief, to Beijing a few days before Mugabe was put under house arrest fueled these rumors, but shortly after the Zimbabwean army took the e control, Geng Shuang, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Reuters that the visit "was a normal military exchange"
Chiwenga becomes vice president of Zimbabwe. Defense
China presents itself as a different partner for African countries wishing to have their sovereignty respected. Rather than subordinate development aid to political reforms or a manifest military project, China is indirectly pursuing its security objectives.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a trillion of China, serves as a stepping stone to a growing military presence. The global dollar development program, which has served as a backdrop for many emerging relationships in Africa.
BRI projects, including railways, dams, ports and a large free trade area in Djibouti, could accelerate the industrialization of Africa. . In many cases, they also involve a permanent Chinese presence and an investment that needs to be protected.
"It's a huge – a massive footprint," Nantulya said. "China is therefore coordinating its military approach to be able to protect some of its interests."
China is also more involved in peacekeeping missions to expand its military footprint.
Deploy peacekeepers to places like Sudan, Darfur, [and in] South Sudan. They were much more willing to take that kind of risk. But these kinds of risks also come with demands, "said Nantulya
. The commitment without preconditions without prior political conditions has so far been an effective strategy for China. But it has also limited the movements that China can do and how it presents itself to its potential partners. "China has been captive of what one might call a" defense cult, "said Nantulya
. pre-emptive strikes or other obvious manifestations of power. China considers its base in Djibouti, for example, as a "logistics facility".
But China is part of an elite group of countries that have such bases abroad. And at least one stipulation accompanies all its affairs: Countries must sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan, a country that China considers as its own territory.
Equal partner?
To build solidarity, China presents itself as a developing country on par with partners in South Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Shift. Mali's Ibrahima Dahirou Dembele underscored the shared interests at the Defense Forum, saying, "We are close to China culturally and historically, and face challenges."
But the size of the economy Chinese surpasses all of Africa. A recent New York Times report on a port transfer to Sri Lanka shows that China can be an aggressive strategic partner.
Over the last decade, China has taken a stronger stance in the world, Nantulya said. This is evident in its intelligence, defense and security strategies, and is part of its foreign policy.
But the story of "equal partners" of China has resisted.
During a Defense and Security Speech on CGTV, Wei Fenghe Minister of National Defense said, "China and African countries are developing countries. It is fair to say that we are for a shared future community. "
It is a sentiment reminiscent of China's ideological involvement on the continent in the 1960s and continues to resonate despite much larger and more complex ambitions."
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