US commander says China likely has aircraft carrier pier in Djibouti
US Africa Commander Army Gen. Stephen Townsend told the US House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday last week that there is now a pier large enough to accommodate Chinese aircraft carriers, assault carriers and nuclear-powered submarines in Djibouti.
Gen. Stephen Townsend says that China now has the facilities in Africa to base and supply their aircraft carriers and other large naval vessels. He made the comments to the US House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday last week.
“Their first overseas military base, their only one, is in Africa, and they have just expanded that by adding a significant pier that can even support their aircraft carriers in the future.
“Around the continent they are looking for other basing opportunities,” said Townsend, as quoted by United States Naval Institute (USNI) News.
The base was opened in 2017 as part of China’s contribution to anti-piracy efforts in the region, but according to analysts, has expanded to include a logistical re-supply hub for the Chinese navy.
Djibouti now finds itself in a situation of such economic dependence on Chinese money that it “risks threatening its autonomy”, Sonia Le Gouriellec, a Horn of Africa specialist at the Catholic University of Lille, wrote in the Revue de Defense Nationale (National Defence Review).
