Petty officers 1st Class Luke Reed, right, and Christopher Bettler, of the Naval Forces Europe and Africa Band, march down the street at an outdoor concert May 9, 2025, in Praia, Cabo Verde, during this year's Obangame Express exercise. (Tyranny Chartrand/U.S. Navy)
ABOARD USS MOUNT WHITNEY — China’s efforts to buy influence in Africa through infrastructure and investment may not yield the returns Beijing hopes for, the Navy’s second-highest commander in Europe and Africa said amid a 28-nation security exercise led by the United States.
African leaders increasingly view such overtures as tools used by China for economic leverage, Vice Adm. Jeffrey Anderson, commander of U.S. 6th Fleet and Striking and Support Forces NATO, said recently in an interview with Stars and Stripes.
When other countries come in “with a bag of cash or economic investments … it comes with some strings attached,” Anderson said. “They realize that these countries don’t have their best interests in mind.”
The U.S. is viewed as the “preferred partner,” said Anderson, citing increasing participation by African countries in military exercises and initiatives and an eagerness to work with the U.S. on solving security and other challenges.
“We’re not necessarily asking (African countries) to choose between the United States and China, but we are asking (them) to be clear-eyed about what they take on” when accepting Chinese money, he said.
The military has long been part of a multipronged strategy in gaining U.S. influence in Africa.
Vice Adm. Jeffrey Anderson, center, U.S. 6th Fleet commander, cuts a ribbon during the opening of a new Cabo Verde female barracks May 6, 2025, in Praia, Cabo Verde. China has been spending big in the 10-island nation, with its mid-Atlantic location and deepwater ports making it attractive to a number of countries. (Caleb Foote/U.S. Navy)
But with the shuttering of most U.S. Agency for International Development functions, looming State Department cuts and freezes on foreign aid, a larger share of the partnership building that underpins African security is likely to come under the purview of U.S. forces.
And while U.S. military training and assistance is in demand, China has vied for African resources and looked into an enduring military presence along the Atlantic coast.
China’s soft power is visible in newly constructed roads, ports, schools and other infrastructure. For example, the Chinese government funded the construction of a $60 million university in Praia, Cabo Verde, which opened in 2021, University World News reported at the time.
It also financed the 10-island nation’s first dam along with its presidential and government palaces and national stadium, according to the report.
And an estimated $290 million Chinese resort hotel is under construction along the shoreline in Praia, not far from the small port where Anderson hosted African military officials and dignitaries aboard the 6th Fleet flagship USS Mount Whitney on May 6 as part of the Obangame Express exercise.
Chinese warships also have made port calls in Praia, the Washington D.C.-based think tank the Africa Center for Strategic Studies reported in March.
Cabo Verde, also known as Cape Verde, occupies a strategic mid-Atlantic Ocean location along a transshipment route between South America and both Europe and West Africa.
That position, along with natural deepwater ports, makes Cabo Verde a target for drug-traffickers, transnational organized crime and others who threaten security in the mid-Atlantic, West Africa, Europe and the Americas, according to a 2021 State Department report.
U.S. officials also are concerned that China, which has an active stake in 35 West African ports through state-owned companies, could repurpose a commercial port for military use as it did in Djibouti in 2017.
Such moves weigh on Anderson as he balances limited resources and national security needs across an area of responsibility that covers about half of the Atlantic, stretching from the Arctic to Antarctica, and several seas off Europe’s coastlines.
In Africa, it’s also complicated by the departure of the expeditionary sea base USS Hershel “Woody” Williams, the Navy’s only ship that regularly patrols African waters.
The Williams — one of 17 vessels going into an extended maintenance period as part of the service’s plan to address a critical civilian mariner shortage — isn’t expected to return until fall 2026.
Anderson acknowledges the ship’s absence creates a gap in presence that could be exploited by China, Russia or someone else.
The 6th Fleet flagship USS Mount Whitney passes the historic Dona Maria Pia Lighthouse as it departs Praia, Cabo Verde during the Obangame Express exercise, May 7, 2025. The ship has also made recent port calls in Libya, Mauritania and Tunisia. (Joseph Buliavac/U.S. Navy)
That could mean USS Mount Whitney spends more time in Africa. Besides Cabo Verde, the ship has had recent port calls in Libya, Mauritania and Tunisia, among other nations.
Mount Whitney’s primary mission is to serve as a floating command center for U.S. and NATO forces in the Euro-Atlantic region.
“I won’t be able to keep it down here,” he said. “I do think that we’ll be able to episodically be able to bring it into … northwest Africa as well as North Africa.”
Shortly after taking command in September, Anderson primarily was focused on the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
But a subsequent ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, Iran’s waning influence in Syria and two U.S. aircraft carriers positioned in the Middle East have enabled him to broaden his view.
Continuing to build relationships and help African countries improve their security capabilities is a priority, Anderson said.
In Europe, he’s focused on the Arctic region, the Baltic Sea and working with NATO allies to establish a broad presence throughout the Continent.
Anderson, who formerly directed operations for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said he was surprised to learn that the mission and approach in the Pacific doesn’t differ significantly from that in Europe.
But while cooperation in the Indo-Pacific largely is bilateral, in Europe it comes with and through the member countries of NATO, he noted.
“It’s a little bit more challenging to get the consensus of 32 countries, but, man, once you get that consensus it’s really, really powerful,” Anderson said.
