China: A South Atlantic Pivot? Base rights in Southwest Africa?

If the U.S. is doing a "Pacific Pivot," is China countering with expansion into the South Atlantic?

Click to enlarge. Namibia Circled.

The Diplomat asks Is China Secretly Building a Navy Base in Africa?

Writing for Real Clear Defense, Robert C. O’Brien explores reports that China is looking to build an overseas naval base in Namibia. O’Brien notes the historical strategic importance of Walvis Bay, Namibia’s sole deep water port, adding that the South Atlantic is generally “below the radar of most policy makers today.” If the PLA Navy does construct a base at Walvis Bay, he writes, “It would have the ability to patrol the critical Cape of Good Hope around Africa and Cape Horn around South America. The approaches to the key North Atlantic sea lanes linking the Americas, Africa and Europe would be nearby.”

Mr. O'Brien's piece is China's Next Move: A Naval Base in the South Atlantic?:

During my visit to Walvis Bay, China's plan to build a naval base was the talk of the town. Several Namibians pointed out that China already has a major satellite tracking installation in-country. China is developing key uranium mines. Chinese immigrants are opening shops in every corner of the land. A Namibian told me he would not be surprised if Namibia soon elects its first Chinese member of parliament. One local, who works at the harbor, said he has heard the PLA Navy will deploy four to six warships to the prospective base. Once that happens, he said, Namibia becomes, in essence, a Chinese colony.

David Tweed had this story back in November 2014 at Bloomberg reporting on an article from the Namibian, China Mulls Building Naval Base in Namibia, Namibian Times Says. The Namibian report from Nov 19 2014 is "Chinese naval base for Walvis Bay" by Adam Hartman:

According to reports in the Chinese media, Walvis Bay will be one of 18 naval bases that will be established in various regions: Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Mynanmar in the northern Indian Ocean; Djibouti, Yemen, Oman, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique in the western Indian Ocean; and Seychelles and Madagascar in the central South Indian Ocean.

“These three strategic lines will further enhance China's effectiveness in taking responsibility for maintaining the safety of international maritime routes thereby maintaining regional and world stability,” the media reports said.

Other naval bases are: Chongjin Port (North Korea), Moresby Port (Papua New Guinea), Sihanoukville Port (Cambodia), Koh Lanta Port (Thailand) Sittwe Port (Myanmar), Dhaka Port (Bangladesh), Gwadar Port (Pakistan), Hambantota Port (Sri Lanka), Maldives, Seychelles, Djibouti Port (Djibouti),

Lagos Port (Nigeria), Mombasa Port (Kenya), Dar es Salaam Port (Tanzania) and Luanda Port (Angola).

As the Tweed piece notes, however,

The Namibian Times report was based on an unofficial Chinese Internet report and was “inaccurate,” “exaggerated” and therefore “groundless,” Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said at a monthly press conference in Beijing today, according to a transcript of his remarks. Geng didn’t say which parts of the report, if any, were accurate.

The game's afoot. And it's a big one.

As seen on the above map, the Chinese, if the reported "naval base" list is correct, would build an interesting string of ports available to them. The listed countries that would host bases are under the red ovals. I added China and I added in the Nicaragua canal that it appears the Chinese may fund/engineer/build.

IN 2013 there was this report, China’s moves in Western Hemisphere have U.S. stepping up its game:

China’s courting of Latin America and the Caribbean – signaled anew this week by a visit by its president – is prodding the United States to step up its outreach to the rapidly emerging economies, which are showing greater global clout.

President Xi Jinping’s weeklong trip to Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica and Mexico starting Friday comes in the wake of President Barack Obama’s recent trip to Mexico and Costa Rica, and follows by just a day Vice President Joe Biden’s three-nation tour of the region. Xi will meet with Obama at the close of his trip, June 7-8 in California.

China has eclipsed the United States as Brazil and Chile’s largest trading partner, purchasing soybeans, iron ore and oil to fuel its rapidly expanding economy. Latin American exports to China accounted for just $5 billion in 2000; by 2012, they topped $104 billion.

May we live in interesting times.

African Trade: China, India and others

Nice report by BBC News "China and India: The scramble for business in Africa":

Throughout Africa - at building sites, on the street, and at ports and airports - the Chinese presence is growing.

Competing for a slice of the wealth along with traditional stakeholders are new ones such as Brazil and South Korea - and India, China's neighbour.
***
India's $65bn (£44bn) of trade with Africa is dwarfed by China's $200bn.

Chinese companies are active across the continent with big infrastructure projects, including ports, railways and sports stadiums.

Hmm. No mention of U.S. companies vying for work?

But, to follow on, the BBC is helpful with, a report of $5 billion deal between China and Kenya.

Kenya is on the outs with the U.S. and the EU due to issues with Kenya's president, whose spokespeople suggest nothing but good things from their relations with China:

In a statement, his office said the deals with China were a "massive boost" to his government.

"The rail link, particularly, is important in the context of East Africa's shared goal of ensuring quicker movement of peoples, goods and services," it quoted Mr Kenyatta as saying.

It will link the Kenyan border town of Malaba with the port of Mombasa, one of the busiest in Africa.

Funny, I remember the days when China was attacking the "exploitation" of Africa by western countries. Now, in Wikileaks released message, a U.S. government official brightly notes:

"China is not in Africa for altruistic reasons," he says. "China is in Africa primarily for China."

I would think any person who ever attended a "Great Powers" course might understand that.

I suspect the Africans and the Chinese do.

So, if you find yourselves asking why China might need a blue water navy to protect its sea lanes - you might consider the routes from Africa to China and the chokepoints that they might see as problematic.

You might also speculate about the experience that Chinese fleet is getting operating in the Indian Ocean as part of the anti-Somali pirate forces.

The Mess in Mali

Oh, when the death of Osama Bin Laden was announced did you drop your guard just a little?


Did you forget all those Bush-era warnings that Bin Laden's death wouldn't slow al Qaeda all that much?

Well, then, if you did the above, it must be a shock to learn that Mali, that country out in the middle of nowhere North Africa is a hotbed of AQ activity and that matters are really dire for the counter-AQ forces. See, for example, this NY Times report:

Mali Government Is Left Reeling After Islamists Take Village Long Held by Army:

Islamists advanced into territory held by the Mali government on Thursday, overrunning a long-held defensive position in the center of the country and dealing a significant blow to the Malian Army in its effort to contain the militants who have seized the nation’s north, according to a Malian Army officer.

How grim? The French are intervening, as reported by Al Jazeera in France begins Mali military intervention :

President Francois Hollande has said France is intervening to stop al-Qaeda-linked fighters in Mali who have been moving toward the capital, Bamako.

The announcement by the leader of France, the former colonial overseer in West Africa, came on Friday after Mali's interim president Dioncounda Traore had appealed for French help in stopping the rebels' advance.

"I have agreed to Mali's demand, which means French forces have provided support to Mali this afternoon," Hollande said on Friday. "The operation will last as long as is necessary."

Earlier on Friday, a Mali government official told the AFP news agency that the Malian army was being backed by Western military personnel in a fresh counter-offensive against the fighters.

The UN has now called for "swift deployment of troops" to Mali, whioh, of course, always begs the question of who can deploy troops in a hurry . . .

Why should you care? Take a good look at the neighborhood and think of a nest of al Qaeda vipers in the middle of it.

UPDATE: A handy BBC guide to Who is who in the Mali mess.

China's Motives for Being Off Somalia -"Localized Strategic Combat"

One view of why China decided to play in the anti-piracy effort off Somalis found here:

In the same vein, China's posture in the Horn of Africa since the 1970s demonstrates a longstanding appreciation of the aforementioned fusion of Horn of Africa-Gulf area geopolitical dynamics. Middle Eastern and Arab Gulf countries have consistently armed and supported the Islamist cause in the Horn by supplying Eritrean separatists, helping Somalia back Ogaden nationalists in Ethiopia and providing diplomatic leverage to Sudanese hardliners whenever the latter have had to confront growing Western and local "bourgeois" pressure, not even to mention the Mombasa/Zanzibar sort of Arab engagement with Africa's evolving inter-religious mosaic. Not once did China waver in its commitment to be relevant.

Declassified files of the US diplomatic/espionage outpost in Asmara, Eritrea, depict a fascinating level of Chinese activity during the 1970s, especially around the period when political and inter-ethnic strife succeeded in ripping Eritrea from Ethiopia. In the decade that followed, China eventually displaced both the Soviet Union and the US in another high-activity zone in the region, Somalia.

During the last years of the regime of former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, Beijing was virtually the strongman's only trusted geopolitical handler. Even then China had perfected the formula of arms for natural resources. In exchange for the right to trawl in Somalia's seas, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) set about the task of crafting an air force for the increasingly beleaguered Barre, who was ousted in 1991.
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Norinco for instance has grown adept at using its more innocuous operations to mask its core interest in arms commerce by initiating civil joint ventures in Ethiopia, Kenya and even, as the above incident illustrates, in the highest-risk environments where Chinese interests require the direct reshaping of local realities.

Indeed, only in this latter sense does China's persistence in considering investments in Puntland, Somaliland and elsewhere in Greater Somalia make sense - that is it involves a willingness, if need be, to engage in "localized strategic combat".

The phrase, "localized strategic combat" is inherently related to "global concentricity of risk". By "strategic combat", the reference is to a concept of great power competition in which persistent escalation of the stakes of conflict occurs in tandem with an indefinite postponement of actual armed conflict.

The battle defines the war in a long drawn-out process in which the great powers, in this case China and the US, contend for the spoils of war without concluding the battle. Rather than a series of skirmishes with alternating victors, strategic combat consists in continuous, increasingly harmonized contention with every resource, interest and position at play: any hint of "victory" for one side at any point has implications too severe to be contemplated.

Any localized variant of this kind of battle formation has integrity only in relation to the structure of the strategic theater. Readers skeptical about the connection of this worldview with the Horn of Africa situation may be well advised to pay close attention to the testimony of David Shinn, former US ambassador to Ethiopia, to the US Congress in the summer of 2005.

Ambassador Shinn's remarks can be found here:

What does China want for all of its effort in Africa? It wants access to natural resources, especially oil but also gas, copper, iron, fish, timber, etc. It wants to sell goods and services in a market that totals more than 870 million people and is growing rapidly. It wants legitimacy, support for its one China policy, understanding for its approach to human rights, and votes in organizations like the UN and its specialized agencies, IMF and WTO. It wants to be a major player on the world stage on its own, not Western, terms. One way to achieve this is to develop geopolitical clout among Africa's fifty-three nations.

Sierra Leone: Pirates attack fishing vessel but get taken down by Sierra Leone navy

Reported as Sierra Leone pirates attack Chinese vessel:

Police spokesman Mohamed Samura says four of the eight pirates were killed early Wednesday in a clash with the Sierra Leone navy. Two were shot and two drowned. The other pirates were arrested.

J. Peter Pham: Responding to Piracy and Other African Maritime Security Challenges

Nice summary of the African maritime challenge (and the odd position of "not enough ships of the right type" the U.S. Navy finds itself in) here:

Rather, the likeliest engagements for what will become the naval component of the newly-launched U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) will probably take place in the "brown waters" of delta and other riverine environments – if not at anchor in port – or just off of them. This means that littoral waters will be, at least in this theatre, more than the bridge between the Navy's area of responsibility and those of land forces. The Navy, together with the Coast Guard and other support elements, will need to be able to operate across an entire continuum.
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As a first step, the African Partnership Station (APS) in form of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry arrived in Dakar, Senegal, last week at the beginning of a seven-month deployment during which it will be joined by the HSV Swift. Led by U.S. Naval Forces Europe, APS is an international interagency effort – European and African sailors join their American counterparts as well as civilian personnel onboard – aimed at enhancing regional and maritime safety and security in West and Central Africa through assistance in developing maritime domain awareness (MDA, that is, a clear picture of maritime traffic), maritime professionals and infrastructure, maritime enforcement capabilities, legal and regulatory regimes, subregional cooperation, and public awareness of maritime security issues.
***
While the most recent attacks from the Somali coast were repulsed through the fortuitous presence of no less than three U.S. Navy destroyers, neither such a robust presence on station nor the relatively less worrisome criminal motivations of the "pirates" will always be the case. The attackers, after all, could have been some of Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked radical Islamists or the naval elements might well have been deployed elsewhere. Thus the incidents should be taken as a salutary reminder of the need to cultivate the capabilities of and relationships with both enduring and new partner states in the geopolitically critical waters off Africa as well as redoubling our own vigilance against the threat of lawlessness on the waters, both deep and shallow.

The tension, as noted by Dr. Pham between the "sea robberies" and vessel hijackings within the territorial waters of a nation (no right to intervene) and those that occur on the high seas ("go get 'em") is one of things that makes this piracy issue so interesting.

AFRICOM: The left doesn't like it, apparently

A U.S. Navy ship arrives in Senegal, as set out here:

The Africa Partnership Station (APS) arrived Nov. 5 in Dakar, the first port of its seven-month deployment, aboard the Amphibious Dock Landing Ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43).

APS is an international effort aiming to enhance regional and maritime safety and security in West and Central Africa. APS includes African, European and American Sailors all on the same staff, working towards a common goal, partnership in maritime safety and security, and is bringing an international team of expert trainers in a variety of military capacities, and a handful of civilian fields such as fisheries management.

While the Navy has conducted training during routine deployments in West Africa for years, the size and focus of the APS mission is new and different.

"This [APS] is much more than you have ever brought here before," said Jean Baptiste Faye, Chief of Operations for the Senegalese Navy, during meetings with Capt. John Nowell, commodore for APS. "Before, it was always a few members of one visiting ship, offering a little training. This time, you're coming with ship riders, with more training, and it is much more elaborate."

With APS, training is conducted as requested by the partner countries. In Senegal, that means traditional military training, such as engineering and small boat handling, plus a handful of specialty areas.

"APS is deployed in Dakar to carry out military training, and civilian events in the field of the environment, [including] National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). We also have organized a meeting with Africa Center of Strategy Securities. This is not only military, but this mission has a larger view about the continent," said Lt. Cmdr. Bertrand Daniel, a French Navy officer and member of the APS planning team.
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But APS is more than training. APS will conduct large Community Relation projects in each of the countries visited.

"We have a couple of community relation projects set up, one with an elementary school in town where we are taking 25 Sailors to finish painting the interior.
Second, is an orphanage that needs some concrete construction about two hours away, where a crew of 20 Sailors, Seabees and Beach Master personnel will be working," said Lt. Paul Wigginton, chaplain for Fort McHenry and the APS community relations coordinator.

APS 2007 is a U.S. Naval Forces Europe-led initiative, executed by a multi-national staff aboard Fort McHenry and High Speed Vessel 2 Swift.

Commander Task Group 60.4 and training teams from various U.S. and European military commands, as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations are embarked on board Fort McHenry to enhance cooperative partnerships with regional maritime services in West and Central Africa and the Gulf of Guinea on a seven-month deployment.

AFRICOM advertises itself as being something different:

Designers of U.S. Africa Command clearly understand the relationships between security, development, diplomacy and prosperity in Africa. As a result, U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, reflects a much more integrated staff structure, one that includes significant management and staff representation by Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other U.S. government agencies involved in Africa. The command will also seek to incorporate partner nations and humanitarian organizations, from Africa and elsewhere, to work alongside the U.S. staff on common approaches to shared interests.
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AFRICOM is a headquarters staff whose mission entails coordinating the kind of support that will enable African governments and existing regional organizations, such as the African Standby Force, to have greater capacity to provide security and respond in times of need.
***
The creation of AFRICOM does not mean the U.S. military will take a leading role in African security matters, nor will it establish large U.S. troop bases. Rather, AFRICOM is a headquarters staff whose mission entails coordinating the kind of support that will enable African governments and existing regional organizations, such as the African Standby Force, to have greater capacity to provide security and respond in times of need. AFRICOM will build on the many African-U.S. security cooperation activities already underway, yet be able to better coordinate DOD support with other U.S. government departments and agencies to make those activities even more effective.

The African Partnership Station is a low footprint tool:

Naval Forces Europe is focused on taking action to address maritime insecurity in Africa. To learn about these complex issues and build consensus for action, the U.S. Navy led a series of workshops and seminars on the topic of maritime safety and security, bringing together representatives from governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGO), public and private sectors. Based on trends in trade, shipping, criminal activity, and level of interest among African partners, the initial area of focus was the Gulf of Guinea. The U.S. Navy was invited to deliver a presentation at the Seapower for Africa Symposium in Abuja, Nigeria in May 2006 on the theme of “Cooperation and Development for the Enhancement of Africa’s Maritime Capabilities.” This event concluded with a series of resolutions, to include: “There is a need to set up a permanent structure at the continental level to manage maritime related issues”; “Each country should set up a new maritime structure to work with the continental body”; “Each country should urgently adopt a network based approach to maritime security information in order to improve Maritime Domain Awareness”; “African Navies should embark on regular sub-regionally coordinated operational training for maritime operators.” These discussions culminated in a November 2006 conference in Cotonou, Benin where ministers representing all eleven Gulf of Guinea nations agreed to a communiqué and action plan to, in their words, “commit to address maritime governance at the national, sub-regional and regional levels.”

As dialogue expanded at these forums, so did U.S. Navy presence in West and Central Africa, increasing from just a few weeks in 2004 to continuous presence this year, and the addition of several small deployments to East Africa. Initial deployments of ships, aircraft, and liaison teams on the ground in each region served to inform us and our African partners of the scope of the unique challenges we face together. Whether in a conference room or at sea, transparency, rigorous analysis, a view to the long term, and a spirit of partnership defined the CNE approach. The net result of these efforts was a clear message from our African partners that they wanted our help to develop the capacity to provide for their own maritime safety and security. Specifically, our African partners have asked for assistance in developing:

• Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA, or a clear picture of maritime traffic)
• maritime professionals
• maritime infrastructure
• maritime enforcement capability
• legal and regulatory regimes
• mechanisms for improved sub-regional cooperation
• public awareness of the impact of maritime insecurity
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The next major effort that will employ the full range of these partnerships is the deployment of USS FORT MCHENRY (a large amphibious ship) and HSV SWIFT (a smaller “High Speed Vessel”) to the Gulf of Guinea for seven months beginning in November 2007. This is part of the U.S. Navy “Global Fleet Station” initiative designed to provide a platform with the capacity and persistent presence to support sustained, focused training and collaboration on a regional scale. USS FORT MCHENRY and HSV SWIFT will remain on station in the Gulf of Guinea region and make repeated visits to multiple nations in concert with other U.S. Navy and partner assets. Current plans include visits to Senegal, Liberia, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, and Sao Tome & Principe, while engagement opportunities with several other African nations are also being explored. We are calling this new concept of engagement the Africa Partnership Station.

APS is the beneficiary of experience gained during previous U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and European Navy deployments and will include several new innovations. Its unique attributes include:

• Self-sufficient. APS requires no bases and minimal footprint ashore. The ships will provide the necessary support services and cargo capacity, serving as a floating continuing education and training facility.
• Multinational. A multinational staff is responsible for APS planning and execution. Five European partners are contributing staff members or training teams, and invitations have been sent to multiple African nations. The U.S. intends to participate in future deployments of this type by European partner nations.
• Tailored and flexible training schedule. APS education and training will encompass a full spectrum of topics germane to the creation of effective maritime forces and a maritime safety and security regime. The APS agenda is not limited to Navy-related training alone. From leadership to seamanship, and from personnel to port security, APS events will be tailored to the unique needs of each African nation that have been developed from an analysis and prioritization of needs in consultation with African partners. At the same time, the training regimen will be flexible enough to accommodate changes during the deployment. APS will sail a training circuit, making repeated visits to each nation and taking aboard ship riders for at sea training. Sailors and experts will train side-by-side, sharing best practices, exchanging ideas, and forming relationships to improve maritime safety and security over the long term.
• U.S. Joint/Interagency Participation. The U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Department of State, and U.S. Agency for International Development have been integral contributors to APS planning and will participate throughout its execution. A U.S. Coast Guard Officer is part of the command staff. Additionally, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration will sail with APS to advance several key projects.
• Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). In addition to core maritime activities, APS will support several humanitarian and environmental assistance projects in the region, as it offers an ideal transport and logistics base. An effort was made to encourage broad NGO participation. Several NGOs have signed on to sail with APS, and coordination continues with others.
• Transparent, collaborative working environment. While exact ship schedule information is classified for force protection reasons, all other information about APS is unclassified and will be shared via an unclassified website. Journalists will be invited to embark the ship and observe training activities. This entire effort is aimed at building trust and sustaining partnerships among African, European, and U.S. partners at the national, sub-regional, and regional levels. Indeed, APS and maritime partnerships in general float on trust.

The key words seem to be "invited," "partnership," "multinational," "collaboration."

At least one Associated Press reporter seems to have missed the boat on this story of international cooperation and tossed in more than a little anti-American bias. Judging by his article of mistaken fact and selective understanding, it appears the leftist knives are out for the idea of the new command. The author of the piece finds "skepticism" in Africa, citing Libya, Nigeria and South Africa as holding "deep reservations."

Libya? Gee, who'd have thunk it?

And Nigeria? Their deep reservations apparently end with:

...even critics like Nigeria welcome the continuation of the U.S. training programs.

Of course, my own skepticism meter pegged when he identified USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43) as a "cruiser." Minimal research on the web by the reporter (or his editors) would have found McHenry's Wikipedia entry identifying it as an amphibious "Dock Landing Ship":

USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43) is a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy.

An LSD class ship is not the same as a cruiser. Though both are warships, their roles vary significantly. See here and here.

If you get simple facts wrong, it's hard to trust what follows.

Especially gems like:

Kurt Shillinger, an analyst at the South African Institute of International Affairs, said the Pentagon has failed to allay concerns of Africans who see ``this as a Trojan horse through which the U.S. will pursue and defend its key interests in Africa.''

I guess all those countries that have invited the APS to visit (identified as "Senegal, Liberia, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, and Sao Tome & Principe") have set their "unallayed" concerns aside...

Couple that with a misleading use of statistics:

The U.S. naval presence in the Gulf of Guinea - measured by ``ship days'' - has increased more than 50 percent since last year, said Lt. Brian Badura, a spokesman for the 6th Fleet in Naples, Italy, which commands American warships in these waters. From just a handful of days in 2004, the Navy expects to have a daily presence over the next year.

If two "ship days" were the 2006 norm, 3 "ship days" would be a 50% increase. And, the announced mission of the APS is to be a "daily" presence. Is there some hidden surprise there?

In a not unexpected bit of reporting, we hear (third hand, of course) from some anonymous State Department types, crouching over their rice bowls, worried about being tainted:

Analysts said there has been criticism of the command within the U.S. government itself, notably from State Department officials.

Shillinger said some officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development worry their humanitarian programs could be ``stigmatized'' by direct links with the military...

I guess that either that unnamed AID jackasses missed the memo inviting the DOS to play-

The U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Department of State, and U.S. Agency for International Development have been integral contributors to APS planning and will participate throughout its execution.

Or said jackasses got overruled and are now sulking in the corner, speaking on "background" to a buddy at the South African IIA, which, incidentally, has received grant money from U.S. contributors, such as the Ford Foundation.

I guess some forms of aid are "purer" than others...

Other than that, nice objective piece.

Showing the flag

Reported as Navy destroyer makes historic African visits:

A U.S. Navy ship pulled into Tanzania this month for the first time in 40 years as the 6th Fleet continues its push for maritime security in and around African nations.

The guided missile destroyer USS Forrest Sherman called on Dar es Salaam on Sept. 5 before sailing south to make another notable port visit to Moroni, Comoros, a week later, according to recent Navy press releases.

“Peaceful, secure and prosperous seas are in everyone’s best interest,” said Capt. Nicholas Holman, addressing a group of diplomats and Tanzanian government and military officials, a release stated. “We look forward to building a strong partnership with Tanzania and working together to achieve this very important goal.”

A few years ago, Naval Forces Europe/6th Fleet began a maritime security push to enhance a naval presence in African waters to the south of Europe and the Black and Caspian seas to the east.

The aim is that those nations’ militaries establish stability on their own for their respective nations, which in turn would breed stability throughout the world. If vulnerable nations can protect themselves, Navy leaders have said, the United States won’t have to.

The visit to Comoros, a nation of three islands in the Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and the east coast of Africa, marked the first time a U.S. Navy ship visited in more than 30 years.

“We look forward to partnering with Comoros and other countries in Southeast Africa to combat maritime security threats like piracy, unlawful fishing and smuggling,” Holman said in a release.

UPDATE: And more on a ship visit to the Philippines here:

While the United States continued to support the Philippines in its anti-terrorism efforts, a US Navy official denied on Sunday that the presence of a US Navy spy ship in Cebu had something to do with the conflict in the southern Philippines.


Captain Steven Lott, commanding officer of the USS Chosin, a guided missile cruiser said their presence in Cebu was for a "social visit" before leaving on Monday for their homeport in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Lott said the visit was part of the continued cooperation between the US and Philippine governments, especially to foster good relations with their local counterparts.

He said two other US navy ships have been anchored in Manila but USS Chosin, a 9,600-ton ship, chose to come to Cebu after visiting Hong Kong to meet with their counterparts in the Naval Forces Central (Navforcen), the Philippine Navy command that covered Visayas.
***
"Our visit here is purely a social visit. Our government is extending assistance to the Philippines especially in the war in Mindanao but our presence here has nothing to do with what's happening in Mindanao right now," he said.

Spy ship? Hardly.

But maybe this quote suggested that idea:

"What we are mostly doing is to conduct anti-terrorism activities. We do surveys on the area, tracking down other ships, submarines and see what's down there. So far in the Philippines, it has nothing to worry (about terrorist attacks)," he said.

NATO Naval Forces Off Africa: Intel Mission?

Reported here:

NATO warships are scouting the coast of Africa on a mission that could lay the groundwork for action by the alliance against pirates off Somalia.

The six ships are taking part in manoeuvres with the South African Navy as part of a circumnavigation of the continent, the first by a Nato force.

Admiral James Burnell-Nugent, commander of the Nato flotilla, said yesterday that the Africa mission was intended to get the alliance’s maritime forces more involved outside their traditional arena but should not be seen as “expansion”.

He said: “It’s got nothing to do with oil or the war on terror.”

The intention was to improve Nato’s ability to protect trade routes and to increase its knowledge of “the good guys and the bad guys” in the region.

Burnell-Nugent said the “bad guys” included human traffickers and pirates operating off the Horn of Africa.

Asked if the mission were a prelude to direct Nato action against the pirates, who have raided ships carrying food aid to the region, he said: “That depends on Nato’s resolve ... but if you don’t understand what’s going on, you haven’t got the knowledge from which these issues can be addressed.”

Warning shot across the bow - fired! More on Standing NATO Maritime Group One here. Ship images are from that site, and show SNMG1 in training, not on its current mission.

Speaking of "human trafficking," see here for news on the annual build up of people waiting to sail away from Africa to seek a better life elsewhere:

Some 3,000 Ethiopians have gathered in the dusty northern Somalia port of Bossaso, joining Somalis preparing to make the risky trip to Yemen across the Gulf of Aden during the annual sailing season.

The bad weather that kept smugglers' boats ashore between June and August is coming to an end and a fresh wave of people smuggling has already started. Those making the journey risk everything; at least 385 people died during the crossing through the first five months of this year.
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A Somali humanitarian worker in Bossaso explained that many of those considering making the trip were persuaded by middlemen to head to Bossaso, where the smugglers take over. "Smugglers are businessmen who compete with one another," he explained. "They are so eager to attract new customers that some have even disseminated videotapes in Bossaso to advertise life in Saudi Arabia in the teashops where Ethiopians gather."

The aid worker said he tried in vain to tell people that the promises were hollow and to warn them about the deadly risks they faced. "Once the migrant is stranded with 300 others on a small boat and beaten by a crew of four or five men high on drugs and holding guns, he discovers the true face of the smugglers, but it is too late," he said. "For smugglers, migrants are just merchandise."

The local authorities in Bossaso, which is surrounded by shantytowns built by displaced Somalis, cannot cope alone with the arrival of so many destitute people. Many of the would-be voyagers, having been robbed of their money, resort to begging in the streets.

An earlier post on some of the victims of the smugglers, including what seems to be a useless "UN Protocol" (what, another one?)here. Photo is of 27 African migrants, whose boat sank during their attempt to leave Africa, as reported here:

For three days and three nights, these African migrants clung desperately to life. Their means of survival is a tuna net, being towed across the Mediterranean by a Maltese tug that refused to take them on board after their frail boat sank.

Malta and Libya, where they had embarked on their perilous journey, washed their hands of them. Eventually, they were rescued by the Italian navy.

The astonishing picture shows them hanging on to the buoys that support the narrow runway that runs around the top of the net. They had had practically nothing to eat or drink.

The Revolution is Coming - Oil and Gas in Africa

Oil and gas discoveries in Africa should get every one -um- excited. See Oil & Gas Discoveries - the Implications:

What then are the implications of the oil discoveries in Africa?

- World focus on Africa will become more intensified. The scramble for economic spheres of influence will be more directed to those countries with oil.
- The African nations with newly discovered oil/gas may become a member of OPEC.
- The economic and political developments of those oil nations will be more closely monitored by the centre to ensure that they do not develop what may be classified as Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) or harbour any labelled 'terrorist' elements.
- The international image of African countries with new oil discoveries is likely going to be boosted, just like Africa's oil giant (Nigeria) and Africa's mineral giant (South Africa) which are regular invitees to the G8 meetings.