Though officials did not describe China's plans in detail, they said China's presence on Africa's Atlantic coast would enhance the possible threat to the U.S., as it would give Chinese warships a place to rearm and refit opposite the East Coast, the Journal reported.
U.S. officials, mentioning classified American intelligence reports, told the Wall Street Journal that Beijing could be aiming at Equatorial Guinea’s port city of Bata for the base. The report said Bata already comes with a deep-water port that had been upgraded by China Road & Bridge Co. from 2009 to 2014. The report said U.S. intelligence first learned of the possibility of the base in 2019.
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Tensions between the U.S. and China have been increasing. Beijing has criticized U.S. warships that frequent the South China Sea, and the U.S. has accused China of destabilizing the region due to aggression directed at Taiwan.
President Biden has said it is a top priority of his Administration not to let China exceed the U.S. during his presidency. The report comes just days after the Pentagon published plans for major infrastructure enhancements at military airfields in Guam and Australia to counter China.
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Jon Finer, the Principal Deputy U.S. National Security Adviser, arrived at the Central African country in October to dissuade President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and his son from conceding to the deal, according to the Journal. The White House said in a statement at the time that the two discussed "ways to enhance maritime security and end the COVID-19 pandemic."
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“As part of our diplomacy to address maritime-security issues, we have made clear to Equatorial Guinea that certain potential steps involving [Chinese] activity there would raise national-security concerns,” a senior Biden Administration official said, per the Journal.
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One Administration official told the paper that the U.S. has "made clear to Equatorial Guinea that certain potential steps involving [Chinese] activity there would raise national-security concerns."
Gen. Stephen Townsend, who serves as Commander of U.S. Africa Command, told the Senate in April that China's “most significant threat” would be “a militarily useful naval facility on the Atlantic coast of Africa.”
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“By militarily useful I mean something more than a place where they can make port calls and get gas and groceries. I’m talking about a port where they can rearm with munitions and repair naval vessels,” Townsend added.
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