A Chinese state news outlet reveled this week at the U.S. military‘s complete withdrawal from West Africa as Niger became the latest country “to show Western troops the door.”
A Global Times editorial with no byline on Tuesday said that the United States had lost an important counterterrorism foothold in the volatile Sahel region, concluding that the “reluctant step” was illustrative of Washington’s increased focus on countering China.
The previous day, the U.S. African Command transferred control of Air Base 201, a $100 million drone base near Agadez, to Niger’s armed forces, marking the official end of a decade of operations in the country.
Earlier, U.S. officials and leaders of Niger‘s ruling junta had settled on a mid-September withdrawal deadline after failing to come to terms on America’s continued presence there. U.S. forces left another installation, Air Base 101 near the capital Niamey, in July.
A NATO C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft taxis after landing at Air Base 201 near Agadez in Niger on January 25, 2024. The U.S. military handed over control of the $100 million drone base to the Niger’s armed forces on August 5.
U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Rose Gudex
China has presented itself as one of the leaders of the Global South. It has long been opposed to the U.S.’s global defense posture and was highly critical of the way American troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan.
For state media in Beijing, however, the setbacks are a propaganda boon, with the Communist Party-run Global Times describing Niger as “continuing on the path of getting rid of Western military intervention,” and toward “complete independence from Western countries.”
“The withdrawal of Western troops from Niger could inspire more African countries to take similar measures to reduce their dependence on foreign military forces and strengthen their autonomous defense capabilities,” the state-owned tabloid said.
Niger’s government, which came to power in a coup just over a year ago, also ordered the withdrawal of French forces. This spring, however, it invited Russian military trainers to its bases.
The U.S. said last year that it had paused hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid to Niger as a result of the coup. Officials said the U.S. military pullout would not stop the two sides from building bilateral relations.
The withdrawal from Niger further reduces America’s presence in Africa, but it still operates out of Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti—the only permanent U.S. military base on the continent.
Last year, the U.S. Navy opened a mission in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa for defense diplomacy.
It was one of hundreds of military sites worldwide used to advance American foreign policy goals, according to the Pentagon‘s annual Base Structure Report, the only official compendium of U.S. military facilities at home and abroad.
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