US Raises Alarm Over China’s Expanding Military Ties With Africa

The United States has voiced growing concern over China’s increasing military presence in Africa, citing a surge in training programmes for African military officers by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

According to a top U.S. military official, the PLA is replicating its training models across the continent in a bid to strengthen its strategic influence.

This development forms part of Beijing’s broader effort to expand its footprint in Africa through a mix of arms sales, military aid, and officer training.

Analysts warn that China’s growing defence ties with African nations could gradually undermine the long-standing influence of the United States in the region.

From West to East Africa, Chinese defence firms have sealed arms deals with several countries, while military academies in China continue to host a rising number of African trainees. Washington is now recalibrating its strategy to counter what it sees as an assertive and calculated expansion of Beijing’s military diplomacy on the continent.