I saw this image come through my X feed the other day and highlighted this to take a closer look. When you look at this map it does not highlight exactly what is happening and is rather vague to what extent China's influence is.
The second map in my opinion is far more alarming as it shows you how far the Chinese Belt And Road Initiative has moved within the last few years. The ports in Africa which have had Chinese investments with regard to upgrades is or has happened in every single coastal country besides Somalia and Tunisia. The Belt Road Initiative is a program run by the Chinese in the form of financial aid which at the heart of the deal entraps the country into debt. In many previous cases when the country cannot afford the debt the Chinese take ownership of the port like they did in Sri Lanka. The Hambantota International Port was seized by the Chinese in a 99 year lease deal which covered the outstanding debt.
The Chinese controlling /managing every African port if they fall into this debt trap would be a huge blow to the West and why the Chinese are happy to finance this way. Ports are the trade route in and out of every country and if you control these you control or influence the country. I knew Africa was in bad shape, but this is ridiculous how they have got themselves into this position.
The above figures are globally.
The scary part is once the Chinese take ownership of these ports what is stopping them from putting in a Naval fleet. This I don't think is their ultimate aim and is more about influence on trade.
When you look at the rest of the world this is no different and the above figures do not include 14 cancelled port projects due to a number of reasons being political. financial or environmental.
China does not have to rule the seas by the strength of their navy and owning the infrastructure that a country uses to trade is far more controlling and powerful. China is the largest trading country in the world and has the second largest economy behind the United States. The Chinese use shipping and sea routes to fulfil 95% of their trade so controlling the infrastructure making sure that continues is important for them. The targeting of the global ports was initiated in 2013 and this is the result 13 years later which is rather impressive and worrying at the same time.
The Belt and Road Initiative has landed many countries in the Chinese pockets due to the outstanding debt as nothing is ever a free ride and counties have lost their infrastructure to the Chinese. The above image shows you how much the Chinese have been "investing" into countries around the world and at the top of the list is Tanzania with $10.4 billion. If they fail to pat back the loan then China will not hesitate and take them for their own. This is the first page of 4 so the number of countries who partnered up with the Chinese is wide spread. One can blame the World Bank for this sort of outcome as the Chinese offer was deemed better than what they had been offered or refused elsewhere.
Posted Using INLEO