Maj. Gen. William Zana, the most senior U.S. officer in Africa, told NBC News that he believes China plans to build more military outposts in Africa. Image via NBC News.
The United States military is turning up the volume on its longstanding allegation that China is actively considering building new military bases around the world, including in four African countries. The Pentagon restated the assertion earlier this month in a report to Congress, even though it remains unsubstantiated by any publicly available evidence.
Nonetheless, U.S. Generals continue to insist this to be the case and, in what’s become a regular occurrence, invited a major American news network to report from Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti to drive home the point. On Friday, NBC News broadcast a story from the U.S. base that featured an interview with the U.S. military’s most senior officer in Africa, Major General William Zana, who reiterated statements on the issue made earlier this year by his boss, AFRICOM Commander Stephen Townsend:
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United States Secretary of Defense Mark Esper is in Africa this week, his first visit to the continent as defense chief, in a trip that’s aimed in part to push back against increased ...
For the past year or so, General Stephen Townsend, the top U.S. commander for Africa (AFRICOM) has said repeatedly that China is looking to build a new military base on ...
China played a central role in testimony from senior generals on U.S. defense postures in Africa and the Middle East late last week. General Kenneth McKenzie, head of U.S. Central ...
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