Roles Of The United States In Maritime Security Dynamics In The Gulf Of Guinea

This study on the roles of China and the United States in Maritime Security Dynamics in the Gulf of Guinea must clarify some of its key words and expressions before any in-depth analysis for a better understanding.Geographically,a Gulf can be defined as the portion of an Ocean partly enclosed by land or a large inlet of the sea almost surrounded by land.From this definition,the Gulf of Guinea,can be apprehended as the large inlet of the Atlantic ocean forming a long coastline of about twenty-five West and Central African countries extending Angola to Senegal including countries like Cameroon,Equatorial Guinea,Gabon,Ghana,Nigeria,Cote d'Ivoire among others.As far as maritime security dynamics are concerned they refer as to all kinds of security-related activities,threats,challenge or responses and initiatives.From this perspective,this research has been structured into four chapters.Chapter one is the introductory part of the dissertation.First of all,It lays out the significance of the study which reflects on the background,research question and main argument of this study.The background gives major information about the strategic importance of the Gulf of Guinea to China and the US,as two great powers in world politics.The main question to which this work intends to answer is to inquire whether while participating in maritime security dynamics in the Gulf of Guinea,China and the U.S.engage in a competition or rather promote cooperation between them.As a response to this question,we demonstrate that because of the abundant resources and geographic importance of the Gulf of Guinea,the two super powers have privileged cooperation rather that competition to maintain security and preserve their mutual interests in that maritime space.Second,through a literature review we give a wide range of readings about this research topic.To that effect four books and two articles,written by African,US or Chinese scholars,the goal being to get and provide a variety of thoughts and insights about the topic.Each of these readings analyses a specific aspect of the topic,with always a gap that serves this study to expand and give a more or less comprehensive understanding about topic.The third point of this chapter unveils the objectives of this study are which to enriching knowledge about the nature of maritime security threats faced by Gulf of Guinea countries,Provide a theoretically-based explanation of the role of China and the U.S.in maintaining security in maritime space in the Gulf of Guinea,and to demonstrate that both actors cooperate to secure their interests in that strategic area of Africa.The four and last point of this chapter accounts for the methodological approach we use to discuss and analyse the topic.To that effect we opt for a qualitative approach due to the difficulty to access security-related data from any government in the world,and availability of documentary evidences and pre-existing data-based research to facilitate the conduct of the study,given the limited time allowed for.Chapter two examines the relevance of the Gulf of Guinea for the U.S.and China.As a matter of fact,the notion of national interest is at centre of this analysis.The six fold classification of national interests made by Thomas W.Robinson,helps best explain why China and the U.S.not only are involved in the security dynamics of the GoG region,but most importantly why they would avoid any confrontation between them and prefer cooperation.As far as chapter three is concerned,it explores and analyses the strategic importance of the Gulf of Guinea as well as it maritime security dynamics.In effect,the strategic importance of the Gulf of Guinea appears through its economic importance related to its endowment with natural resources such gas and crude oil.The region,most especially,hosts roughly 5 percent of world oil reserves producing about 5 million barrels a day.The economic relevance of the GoG also lies in its geographical position that makes it a maritime trade hub.Moreover,this chapter also seeks to underscore the GoG strategic significance through the an enquiry over the diversity of actors involved in maritime security processes in the region.There are GoG countries Nigeria,Ghana,Cameroon,Gabon etc.As well as extra-regional countries the United States,China,some European Union countries etc..This chapter also studies the nature of maritime security threats in the Gulf of Guinea.It unveils consequently that security menaces in the region can be divided into two groups.There are land-based and off-shore threats.The first category entails to all illegal activities that take place on-shore,or in the hinterland such activities include terrorism,arm trafficking and human trafficking.The second category,which is off-shore threats refers to those illegal activities that are carried out at sea such as piracy,disruption of transportation lines and illegal,unreported or unregulated fishing.A particular emphasis is given to piracy which has tremendously increased in recent years following the effectiveness of the anti-piracy actions and measures put in place in the Gulf of Aden in Est Africa.Chapter three goes further by analysing the factors of maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea.The study shows that amongst the causes of insecurity there are economic weakness of countries forming the Gulf of Guinea as they are all developing countries with poor investment in infrastructures.Also,there are political and governance obstacles,internal political groups constantly challenge their their government,which in many cases in accused of corruption,and unequal distribution of national wealth due to the mismanagement of resources only benefiting an elite in the detriment of local communities even those living nearby exploitation and extraction sites of natural resources.External forces also greatly influence the security situation of the GoG.These security has serious political and economic impacts on countries of the region,which manifest in the instability,presence of secessionist groups as well as loss of state revenues.Chapter four focuses on demonstrating the cooperative role of China and the US in maintaining security in the GoG maritime domain.For that purpose,the chapter discusses not only the actions carried out by the two countries but also limits of those actions.Concerning the actions there are both convergent individual and collective actions.The US actions consists in chiefly in its military presence through AFRICOM and its exercise Obangame as well as technical assistance composed of military equipments,the objective being to fight terrorism,traffic of illegal arms and drugs,human trafficking,illegal migration,piracy,and illegal fishing.China for its part,pursuing the same goal,prioritizes military assistance and capacity building.Those individual initiatives which all aim at securing the GoG maritime space,are supplemented by collective initiatives which refer to those maritime security initiatives taken under the framework of an international organisation such UN,AU,ECOWAS,ECCAS,CGC.However these individual and collective actions contributing to favour cooperation between China and the U.S.have some limits.They include the divergence in China and the U.S.policies toward the Gulf of Guinea region,the reliance on a militarized approach to GoG maritime security threats,and the dispersion of China-US strategic efforts to overcome maritime security threats.The conclusion of this dissertation is focused on making recommendations about how to correct those limits identified.In this perspective two main recommendations to policy-makers or decision-maker of both countries,in order to further avoid any possible confrontation between China and the United.They include the setting of a strategic platform between the two countries to avoid the dispersion of efforts,and the adoption of a comprehensive approach taking which integrate all actors involved in GoG maritime security processes under the coordination of the Interregional Coordination Centre based in Yaounde,Cameroon.