Wednesday November 14, 2018
Two prominent U.S. senators expressed alarm on Tuesday about the
military and political consequences if China gains control of a port
terminal in Djibouti, and said they were concerned it could further
boost Beijing’s influence in East Africa.
In a
letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Jim
Mattis, Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Chris
Coons said they were concerned about Djibouti’s termination of a
contract for the Doraleh Container Terminal with United Arab
Emirates-based DP World in February and the nationalization of the port
in September.
Reports that Djibouti, heavily indebted to Beijing,
would likely cede the port’s operations to a Chinese state-owned
enterprise were “even more alarming,” they said.
The letter was the
latest in a series of efforts by members of Congress who want to counter
China’s growing international influence, which they see as a threat to
U.S. economic and security interests.
Trump has been focusing on
the economic threat from China and has brought the two countries to the
brink of a trade war, but many lawmakers want to ensure the
administration also treats the country as a security threat.
A
tiny nation strategically located at the entrance to the Red Sea on the
route to the Suez Canal, Djibouti became home to China’s first overseas
military base last year. A U.S. base located just miles away stages
operations against Islamic State, al Qaeda and other militant groups.
Rubio
and Coons sent Tuesday’s letter as lawmakers returned to the Capitol
for the first time in several weeks after congressional elections on
Nov. 6.
Asked for comment, a Pentagon spokesman said the Defense
Department welcomed infrastructure and other investment that could
benefit the region, but added “countries should be wary of piling on
monumental debt.”
A State Department spokesman had no immediate response.
The
Senate last month passed legislation overhauling the way the federal
government lends money for foreign development, in a shift meant largely
as a response to Chinese influence.
U.S. officials say they worry
about what they call China’s “debt trap” diplomacy, in which countries
end up giving up control of major assets such as ports or roadways when
they fund infrastructure projects with Chinese loans that they cannot
pay back.
Marine General Thomas Waldhauser, the top U.S. military
officer for Africa, told a Congressional hearing earlier this year the
U.S. military could face “significant” consequences if China took the
port in Djibouti.