How Equatorial Guinea became a backdrop for China-US rivalry
- Reports suggest that the African nation of Equatorial Guinea could become home to a Chinese military base
- ‘If China were to establish a naval supply station … it would be different from what the US has imagined,’ says state-backed Global Times
Equatorial Guinea sits on the west coast of Central Africa and is home to just 1.4 million people.
But the tiny oil-rich nation is right at the centre of a geopolitical rivalry between two of the world’s biggest powers – China and the United States.
Equatorial Guinea has been propelled into the spotlight with suggestions that it could become home to a Chinese military base, a move that the US says might jeopardise its military ambitions on the Atlantic Ocean.
The concerns surfaced with a report by The Wall Street Journal on December 5 that China was likely to build a military naval base to “rearm and repair naval vessels” in Bata, the country’s biggest city, where China has rebuilt and extended a deep water commercial port.
The US military has considerable command in the area and would not welcome its biggest competitor to its waters.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the US was concerned about security implications.