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Over the years, relations between China and the US have been rocky, especially over certain issues. However, fears of possible world war have been stoked as experts have warned that Africa may be the continent that gets caught in the crossfire of the military conflict between the two countries.
Speaking to The Sun Online, University of Houston Professor Gerald Horne said that chances of military conflict between Beijing and Washington are evident in Africa, especially after it was hinted at by former NATO leader James Stavridis. The most likely place where war could start is in Djibouti, which contains both US and Chinese military bases. The Chinese military base that was established in 2017 was revealed to be eight miles away from the US base.
“Certainly the signs of impending conflict between China and the US are worrisome, especially as suggested in the recent novel by NATO’s former leader James Stavridis,” said Horne. “Since Djibouti contains bases of both China and the US (and others) it is likely the flashpoint.”
However, according to US General Stephen Townsend, it appears that China is also looking to expand its military reach on the continent’s Atlantic coast. Speaking to the Associated Press, Gen. Townsend said that China plans to establish a navy port that can host submarines on aircraft carriers on Africa’s western coast. Gen. Townsend went on to claim that Beijing has already attempted to approach African states from Mauritania to the southern region of Namibia for a new naval base.
Gen. Townsend added that China is looking for a place that can “ream and repair warships” as it would prove to be useful in case of military conflict.
Countries are also closely watching the nuclear arms developments by Russia if a possible military conflict is engaged with other countries. Russia is recently believed to be in the process of testing out its hypersonic “Satan 2” intercontinental ballistic missile this year. The missile is set to be in service in 2022 and would be the biggest weapon in Moscow’s nuclear arsenal.
According to someone familiar with the matter, speaking to Russian state news outlet TASS, there would be three launches of the missile that would be carried out as part of this year’s flight development tests. The weapons are reportedly going to launch from an underground facility at Plesetsk space center in northwestern Russia.
