The United States (US) believes that the Peoples Republic of China(PRC) has plans to set up a military base in Kenya.
A Pentagon report published on Tuesday says China is eyeing military logistics bases in more than 12 countries including Kenya and neighbouring Tanzania in a bid to build and sustain its military power around the world.
“The PRC has likely considered Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Angola, and Tajikistan as locations for PLA (People’s Liberation Army) military logistics facilities,” reads the Pentagons annual “China Military Power” report to Congress.
China has, however, dismissed the report terming it totally false.
“The information mentioned…is totally false,” said Xueqing Huang, the Chief of Information and Public Affairs Section for the Embassy of China in Kenya.
“Their (Pentagon) latest report is just the same as the previous fact-neglecting and bias-brimming… The Chinese MFA [Ministry of Foreign Affairs] spokesperson has urged them to stop issuing irresponsible reports year after year, and ‘abandon the outdated cold-war mentality and zero-sum game mindset.’”
The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) is yet to respond.
The US has been increasingly vocal in urging Kenya to stop heavy borrowing from China for development projects, warning that it can be saddled with unpayable debts to Beijing for the projects built largely with Chinese labour.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s has, however, maintained that borrowing to build the mega projects will spur economic growth and development.
