For the US, improving military, law-enforcement and diplomatic ties in Africa will be increasingly vital
A member of the US Navy stands at the US navy's ship"Hershel Woody Williams" during the"African Lion" military exercise, on June 11 2021 in Morocco's city of Agadir. Picture: GETTY IMAGES/AFP/FADEL SENNA
The Gulf of Guinea, which contains important shipping lanes for Europe and vast oil reserves, urgently needs multinational counterpiracy operations. In 2020, there were 46 successful and attempted piracy incidents in the waters off Nigeria and Benin alone — roughly a quarter of the world’s attacks, according to the International Maritime Bureau’s global piracy reporting centre.
The current exercise, Operation Guinex, will run until the end of September. It is led by the US Africa Command and brings together navies from both sides of the Atlantic, including 10 African nations. Brazil has deployed a powerful frigate, the Independencia, and the Nigerian navy, the dominant maritime force in the region, has a half-dozen ships involved. In addition to naval manoeuvres, there is an emphasis on training local special forces, along the lines of the US Navy Seals.
The Navy should build on the deployment of the Williams by increasing its routine port visits to the Gulf of Guinea. These need not be hi-tech Arleigh Burke destroyers or Ticonderoga cruisers; humbler US. Coast Guard vessels are a better match to the capabilities of the local navies. The Navy’s Spearhead class of expeditionary fast transports, essentially smaller versions of the Williams, would also be good choice, as would amphibious vessels with their shallower drafts.
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