Chinese aid to African security forces helps to cement ties, study says
- Zimbabwe and Angola have been the top recipients of military arms and training
- Assistance mainly motivated by China’s economic interests, researcher says
“They have assisted us in our struggle to free ourselves from colonialism,” he said. “China is a great friend of ours in many ways.”
“Zimbabwe is perhaps the most long-standing African recipient of security force assistance (SFA) from China”, two senior researchers at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, Ilaria Carrozza and Nicholas Marsh, said in the study, which was published in the Journal of Global Security Studies.
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China provided military training to members of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, which was led by Mugabe, during its fight for liberation. Those trained included President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who came to power five years ago following the coup that ousted Mugabe.
“This provision of support helped seal a security relationship between China and the leadership of Zimbabwe which continues to this day,” the study said.