A gathering of African Heads of State and Government at a High Level meeting during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) 2018 Summit in Beijing, China.  File | PSCU

 

ByAdhere Cavince

International relations expert

  China’s Initiative of Peaceful Development in the Horn of Africa can significantly reduce the intensity of conflict and provide respite for millions of people whose fate hangs in the balance in the backdrop of war and underdevelopment.

  Despite its natural resource endowments, strategic geo-location and impressive cultural diversity, the horn of Africa remains one of the most conflict prone regions of the continent.

  Power struggle and political contestation has thrown countries in the region into perpetual turmoil, leading to irreversible breakdown in societal and governance structures.

  The region has also witnessed other forms of conflict such as terrorism, piracy and proliferation of small and light weapons.

  As if these are not enough, the horn has also been a theatre of cross border skirmishes with regional ramifications. Due to the breakdown in statehood in some horn countries, human security is increasingly becoming perilous.

 

  Economic activity

  China’s call for a modern day Concert of the Horn can ease the interstate conflicts and strengthen respective government capacities to restore the organs of the state, protect lives and reignite economic activity and development.

  Drawing from its own experience of conflict-ridden past, China has risen to weave together a cohesive society that is capable of protecting itself from external aggression while providing sustainable means of livelihoods to the citizens.

  Appointment of a Chinese special envoy to help realise the vision is an important step. It is in line with Beijing’s foreign policy of non-belligerence, a key asset in China’s international outreach in which peace and development is placed centre stage in international relations. The suggestion is only the latest expression of China’s solidarity with countries in the region.

  Under the purview of the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing has in the past extended development assistance to buoy peace and stability in the region through infrastructure finance and construction.

  A network of railways, roads, ports and digital connectivity projects aimed at rebooting economic activities in the region have been actualised with the help of China.

  By committing its resources to long term foreign direct investments in the horn countries, China demonstrates its confidence in the potential of the region.

 

  Rescue missions

  For nearly a decade and a half now, China has been conducting escort and rescue missions in the Gulf of Aden and the Somali Basin to ward of pirates who were turning that region into a no go zone.

  The missions have succeeded in eliminating the threat of piracy to the benefit of the regional countries but also the whole world.

  As the largest contributor of UN peacekeeping forces and the second largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget, China has made tangible contributions in the search for lasting peace and security in Africa’s conflict hotspots, including seven mediation efforts.

  During the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation in Senegal, China and Africa amplified their cooperative endeavour in the peace and security sector including through tackling proliferation of small arms fueling many conflicts in the continent.

  China’s partnership with Africa including on the peace and security front is welcomed by majority of Africans. The 2019-2021 Afrobarometer survey covering 34 African countries revealed that 63 percent of Africans view China’s assistance and influence in the continent positively. The countries in the region should therefore leverage such goodwill from the citizens and boldly confront the prevailing challenges through multilateralism.

  Sustainable peace and security in the continent, however, is no exclusive preserve of external actors. Africa must shoulder the leadership responsibility, including creative use of external support to generate enabling conditions towards breaking the double challenge of conflict and underdevelopment for the region.

  The writer is a scholar of international relations with a focus on China-Africa cooperation. Twitter: @Cavinceworld