Abuja [Nigeria], July 4: A naval fleet of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) led by the warship Nanning arrived on Sunday in Nigeria for a rare visit by the Chinese military to Africa's Atlantic coast, where Beijing has long made efforts to grow its influence.
The Chinese ambassador to Nigeria hailed the five-day visit as a milestone in ties, and the Nigerian navy expressed willingness to work with China to tackle maritime security threats and maintain stability in the Gulf of Guinea, the Chinese embassy said in a statement on Monday.
The destroyer and an accompanying frigate, Sanya, along with a supply ship, Weishanhu, arrived off the port of Lagos, with the Nanning berthing for a port of call through Thursday, the Nigerian navy said in a statement.
Oil-rich West Africa is part of the Gulf of Guinea and is an important global exporter of crude. The Gulf of Guinea, described by the International Maritime Bureau as one of the world's most dangerous and important shipping routes, covers 11,000 sqkm and stretches from Angola to Senegal.
Since 2021, piracy cases have been on the decline due to cooperation among countries in the region and deployments of foreign naval ships, according to the United Nations Security Council.
Source: Qatar Tribune