Chinese Influence on U.S. Operational Access to African Seaports

摘要

The ability to project American power, except for a forced-entry scenario, across and through existing African commercial seaports in a time of regional crisis may be hampered by the growing economic and political clout of the People's Republic of China (PRC). American military planners must consider the use of austere seaport sites at alternative coastal locations as well as the use of intermediate staging bases as a means of countering this influence. This article illustrates the extent of China's influence along coastal Africa and the potential difficulty that this influence might present to U.S. military access to seaports in a time of crisis.