A
New Global Re-ordering trains its
Strategic Trajectories on the Horn of Africa
China,
US, EU, the Gulf, Non-State actors
Public Lecture –
Respublica Litereria - RL Vol XIII No 405 MMXIX
Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD
Professor of Public
Policy & Sustainable Institutional Reforms
Abstract
The current scramble for the Horn
of Africa reminiscent of the of 19th-century colonial Europe. Today,
while Chinese foray into the continent is major news for the West, the Horn of
Africa has become the target of martial show off by many nations. What is the
relevance of the Gulf incursion into the Horn? Why are major powers suddenly
interested in the Red Sea arena? Piracy in Somalia has been a
threat to international shipping since the second phase of the civil war in
Somalia in the early 21st century. Since 2005, many international organisations
have expressed concern over the rise in acts of piracy. Piracy impeded the
delivery of shipments and increased shipping expenses, costing an estimated
$6.6 to $6.9 billion a year in global trade in 2011. The military response to
pirate attacks has brought about a rare show of unity by countries that are
either openly hostile to each other, or at least wary of cooperation, military
or otherwise. On the other hand, Yemen, which was for centuries the centre of
civilisation and wealth on the Arabian Peninsula, is in a major conflict. Some speculate
that the conflict is a proxy geopolitical war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Nonetheless,
the Houthis fighting the government and that have tried a number of non-violent
approaches to former governments for years, in an attempt to end discrimination
against their community, have now been compelled to resort to violence where
the Yemeni government, already under al Qaeda siege, was an easy target”. A
military intervention was launched by Saudi Arabia in 2015, leading a coalition
of nine African and Middle East countries, to influence the outcome of the
Yemeni Civil War in favour of the government of President Hadi. China had used the port in Djibouti since
February 2015 but negotiated permission for construction of a permanent
military base with President Ismail Omar Guelleh in early 2015. The Chinese
began construction on the base in early 2016 and completed construction in July
2017. Djibouti is attractive for numerous reasons, including its
proximity to key shipping lanes through the Bab al Mandab Strait and the Suez
Canal. Additionally, China’s new presence in Djibouti alongside major
Western powers such as the United States, France, Spain, and Italy indicates
its intent of maintaining military capabilities with global reach. Now the Horn has become a strategic arena that may determine who will
win the war in Yemen. It will also determine who controls the strategic choke
points of Bab al Mandab Strait and the Red Sea at large.
Key words: Horn,
Africa, Yemen, piracy, GCC, Iran, China, US, EU…
Nowhere
is this trial for humanity more acute and the need for engagement more urgent
than in the Greater Horn of Africa. The ruinous enormities of conflict, El Niño
droughts and floods, climate change impacts are happening every day in front of
our eyes. Pictures of mothers with vanishing babies at their desiccated breasts
should have been galvanising the world, but it suggests itself, and seems within reach, only to
elude and appears readily practicable only to resist realisation.
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