Western Journalism quotes Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham on China’s plans to establish its first military base in Africa:
The U.S. has for decades been the primary naval presence in the Middle East/North Africa region. “U.S. global leadership is predicated heavily on the U.S. role in protecting and to an extent controlling sea lanes of communication,” J. Peter Pham, direction of the Africa Center of the Atlantic Council, told The Hill. “If China establishes itself as a fellow protector of the global commons, then it certainly increases its stature.”