Authored by Gordon Chang via The Gatestone Institute,

In recent testimony before the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, General Stephen Townsend, commander of U.S. Africa Command, has been sounding the alarm.

At the moment, China's only offshore military base is in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa. The facility is near some of the world's busiest shipping routes, including those going through the Suez Canal.

Townsend believes the People's Liberation Army Navy is surveying locations on Africa's west coast, from Mauritania in the north to Namibia in the south.