Officials declined to describe the details of the secret intelligence findings. But he said the report raises the possibility that Chinese warships will be able to reenter and repair the opposite of the US east coast – a threat that has been raising alarm bells at the White House and the Pentagon.
Principal Deputy US National Security Adviser John Finer visited Equatorial Guinea in October to persuade President Teodoro Obiang Nguma Mbasogo and his son and successor, Vice President Teodoro “Teodorin” Nguma Obiang Mangu, to reject China’s proposals to go on a mission.
“As part of our diplomacy to address maritime-security issues, we have made clear to Equatorial Guinea that some possible steps include [Chinese] Activity there would raise national-security concerns, a senior Biden administration official said.
The superpower clash over a country that rarely receives outside attention reflects rising tensions between Washington and Beijing. The two countries are fighting over the situation in Taiwan, China’s test of a hypersonic missile, the origin of the Kovid-19 pandemic and other issues.
Around the world, the US finds itself maneuvering from new overseas bases from Cambodia to the United Arab Emirates to try to prevent China from projecting its military might.
According to a US official, China is eyeing Bata in Equatorial Guinea. Bata already has a Chinese-built deepwater commercial port on the Gulf of Guinea, and excellent highways connect the city to Gabon and the interior of Central Africa.
The “most significant threat” from China would be “a militarily useful naval facility on Africa’s Atlantic coast”, the commander of the US Africa Command, General Stephen Townsend, testified in the Senate in April. “By militarily useful, I mean much more than a place that they can make port calls and get gas and groceries. I’m talking about a port where they regroup with warships.” and repair naval ships.”
Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony with a population of 1.4 million, gained independence in 1968. The capital, Malabo, is on the island of Bioko, while Bata is the largest city on the mainland section of the country, located in the middle of Gabon. and Cameron.
Mr. Obiang has ruled the country since 1979. The discovery of vast offshore gas and oil reserves in 1996 allegedly allowed his family members to spend on exotic cars, mansions and other luxuries, according to US Senate and Justice Department investigations.
Contacted by The Wall Street Journal, Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Equatorial Guinea’s oil minister and one of the president’s sons, requested in writing questions about his country’s relations with China and allegations of corruption in his family. be presented. He did not answer those questions. Equatorial Guinea’s ambassador to Washington did not respond to multiple interview requests.
US intelligence agencies began receiving indications of China’s military intentions in Equatorial Guinea in 2019. During the closing days of the Trump administration, a senior Pentagon official visited the country, but the approach apparently left Obiang unsure how seriously the US took China’s military. Desires
The Biden White House has sought to send a sharp message: Equatorial Guinea will be short-sighted to insert itself among the front lines of US-China global competition.
At the same time, America has taken steps for cordial relations. In March, the US offered aid after a seemingly accidental ammunition explosion at a military base near Bata that killed at least 100 people.
In the same month, troops from Equatorial Guinea participated in a US-led naval exercise in the Gulf of Guinea. In August, a US Navy ship anchored at Bata Port, and the captain invited local officials and Navy personnel to observe firefighting training.
The White House does not know whether its diplomatic access will have the desired effect and believes it will require a persistent, long-term effort to stop the Chinese naval presence.
At the same time, the US wants to send a subtle message: Washington is not asking Equatorial Guinea to give up its extensive ties with China, but only to keep ties within limits the US considers unsafe.
US concern “is that the Chinese will develop a naval base in Equatorial Guinea, which will then give them a naval presence on the Atlantic,” said Major General Andrew Rohling, commander of the US Army Southern European Task Force-Africa. A June interview.
Following Mr Feiner’s visit, Mr Obiang Mangu, the president’s son and de facto head of Equatorial Guinea’s security forces, announced that the White House had named him “the No. 1 negotiator in the relationship between our two countries”.
He tweeted a thank you video showing the protocol gift he received from Mr Finer’s delegation, a silver plate engraved with the US President’s seal. A few days later, Mr. Obiang Mangu and d’affaires in charge of the US embassy in Malabo discussed proposals raised during Mr. Finer’s visit.
However, shortly after, President Mr. Obiang spoke on the phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping, after which Beijing issued a statement saying that “Equatorial Guinea has always regarded China as its most important strategic partner.”
China helps train and arm the Equatorial Guinea police.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not respond to a written request for comment on any base plans in Equatorial Guinea or elsewhere on the Atlantic coast of Africa.
Beijing established its first foreign military base in 2017 in Djibouti, on the opposite side of the continent. The former French colony overlooks the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic chokepoint for shipping traffic crossing the Suez Canal. According to the US Africa Command, the Chinese facility has an aircraft carrier and a pier capable of docking nuclear submarines.
The base is 6 miles from Camp Lemonier, the largest American base in Africa, where 4,500 American soldiers live.
Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Pentagon-funded Africa Center for Strategic Studies, said, “China doesn’t just build a military base like the US. The Chinese model is very, very different. It adds civilian as well as security elements. ” ,
According to Chinese government statistics, Chinese state-owned companies have built 100 commercial ports around Africa over the past two decades.
This spring, US intelligence officials revealed what they said was construction on a secret military base at a Chinese-run commercial port in the United Arab Emirates. The Biden administration persuaded Emirati officials to halt construction, at least temporarily.
US diplomats in Mauritania along Africa’s northwest coast have advised local officials to thwart any attempt by Beijing to use the Chinese-made port for military purposes, according to a US official.
In a report to Congress this year, the Pentagon said China has “considered” African bases in Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania and Angola.
There are no clear signs of major construction at Bata port, which was upgraded between 2009 and 2014 by the China Road and Bridge Company, a state-owned enterprise.
The US knows it faces challenges in its bid to favor Equatorial Guinea, seeking help from a country it has criticized.
The State Department has accused the Obiang regime of extra-judicial killings, forced disappearances, torture and other abuses.
A US Senate committee issued a report in 2004 criticizing Washington-based Riggs Bank for accepting hundreds of millions of dollars in deposits controlled by Mr. Obiang, “eyeing for evidence suggesting the bank was handling foreign corruption proceeds.” been closed”. wife and other relatives.
The bank said it regretted that it “did not perform the work required to more quickly and more thoroughly meet the expectations of our regulators.” PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired Riggs the following year.
Separately, the US Justice Department pursued an alleged wrongful accrual of the president’s son Mr. Obiang Mangu.
In 2011, Mr. Obiang Mangu phoned the US ambassador in Malabo to ask for help clearing his name, which he said was making unwarranted allegations in the press. According to a State Department cable recorded in court records, he told the ambassador, “I have never stolen money from our nation’s treasury. Earned his money by winning the contract.
In a series of civil cases, however, US government lawyers accused Mr. Obiang Mangu of amassing more than $300 million in assets “through corruption and money laundering” while serving a year as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. earned less than $100,000. Compromising in 2014, Mr. Obiang Mangu surrendered the federal government’s proceeds from a Malibu mansion, a Ferrari and other properties.
This fall, the Justice Department announced that it would return $26.6 million of assets surrendered in the form of COVID-19 vaccines and other medical aid to Equatorial Guinea, bypassing the government.
The Foreign Ministry of Equatorial Guinea responded with a statement condemning the US declaration as a “misrepresentation” of facts. In a series of tweets, Mr. Obiang Mangu said it was his desire to use the money for the drug and that the US government had not forced him to do so.
Although often at odds with the Obiang regime, the US is not without benefits.
Equatorial Guinea relies on US oil companies to extract offshore resources, which have made the country the richest on the sub-Saharan mainland, as measured by annual GDP per capita.
And the State Department recently raised Equatorial Guinea’s ranking in its annual assessment of how countries combat human trafficking. The upgrade could allow the Biden administration to provide maritime-security support to help win Equatorial Guinea’s cooperation.
The country faces a growing threat of pirates and illegal fishing in its waters in the Gulf of Guinea.
“We think we can do a fair amount of work together on the maritime-security side which will be in our interest and in their interest,” the senior administration official said.
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