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Worry over ‘hidden agenda’ lingers
The three Chinese warships that visited Lagos at the weekend will depart today after spending five days in the country’s maritime domain.
The vessels, it was gathered, paid a diplomatic visit to Nigeria while on their way home after participating in a sea exercise in the Gulf of Eden.
Although diplomatic visits like this were routine and considered normal between friendly navies and countries, security experts have raised eyebrows on why two of the warships remained around the Lagos anchorage area amid rising allegations of lllegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU) by Chinese fishing trawlers in Nigeria.
Sources told The Nation yesterday that the ships’ visit left much to be desired, given that it seemed the Chinese were making incursions into Nigeria’s territorial waters to give cover to their business interests.
A former diplomat, who spoke in confidence, noted that the Chinese had made advanced moves to establish a base in Bata Equatorial Guinea in 2022, a testament to reports that the Asian giant was looking towards Africa to expand its influence.
It was also gathered that the crew of the visiting warships were to play a novelty match with operatives of the Nigerian Navy at Ojo last Tuesday but the event was later cancelled.
Our correspondent learnt that the Chinese later visited the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command, followed by cross-embarkation of vessels by officers of both navies.
“Our officers boarded the Chinese warship that berthed in Apapa and some of their officers were also taken on tour of our ships.
“The visit is to enhance bilateral relationships. China and Nigeria have been good partners and friends for several years. We have acquired vessels from the People’s Republic of China and they have also donated some to us. It is expected that the visit would strengthen maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea region,” a naval officer told The Nation yesterday.
But sources expressed concerns that China was gradually asserting itself in Nigeria’s maritime environment with enormous mineral and natural resources to undermine some western powers, especially United States’ dominance.
Speaking with the Voice of Nigeria (VOA), a security expert, Kabiru Adamu, agreed that the visit might have undisclosed objectives.
“In diplomatic practice, there’s usually the stated objective and then the latent objective. Security will be discussed during the five-day visit. China has the intention of establishing a diplomatic base in West Africa and this may be a move by China to convince Nigeria to support that desire.
“Beijing is definitely interested in expanding its influence in Africa to protect its assets. It has invested massively in African countries’ pre-COVID, during COVID and post-COVID.
“It will definitely want to protect those investments. One of the ways it can do that is to strengthen security ties with African countries,” Adamu said.
Peoplesmind
