China and India cooperation with Africa in matters of peace and security

Abstract

This article is devoted to the cooperation of China and India with African countries in defense and security issues. In an effort to consolidate their positions on the continent, Beijing and New Delhi are ready to assist African States in strengthening their armed and police forces, as well as in the fight against extremism and terrorism. They instruct African military specialists on Chinese and Indian bases and also in Africa. For several decades, peacekeeping has been at the center of Chinese and Indian efforts in Africa, which is increasingly shifting over time in favor of the assistance of these countries to the “African solution of African problems”. Both countries are among the leading participants in UN peacekeeping operations in Africa. At the same time, the growing competition of the “Asian giants” in the Indian Ocean zone is reflected in the priority development of the maritime strategy of China and India, seeking to strengthen their influence primarily in the coastal and island African States of this region. A number of factors dictate the interest of African countries in cooperation with China and India in the military sphere. Among them are the lack of political conditionality of military assistance and non-interference in the internal affairs of the countries of the continent.