The U.S secretary of State Antony Blinken started his Africa tour on Sunday. Blinken has begun his three-day tour from South Africa.
After landing in Johannesburg, Blinken will visit the Hector Pieterson memorial. Blinken’s visit can be possibly seen as the U.S vying for Africa’s support in the Russia-Ukraine War.
Blinken’s Africa tour
Antony Blinken will, afterwards visit Congo and Rwanda as a part of this tour. Before moving further, Blinken is set to visit the University of Pretoria in Johannesburg to discuss the U.S strategy for sub-Saharan nations, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from Blinken US Agency for International Development head Samantha Power and US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield are also on their own Africa tours.
Blinken will be representing the U.S concerning the Russia-Ukraine War. The trip “reinforces the US view that African countries are geostrategic players and critical partners on the most pressing issues of our day, from promoting an open and stable international system to tackling the effects of climate change, food insecurity and global pandemics, to shaping our technological and economic futures”. This is especially significant as Blinken’s Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov also visited Africa to gain support for the country. His official tour included countries like Egypt, Uganda, Ethiopia and Congo. Moreover, French president Emmanuel Marcon also visited the continent. Macron’s campaign included Cameroon Benin and Guinea-Bissau.
The recent developments are a response to the Russian developments. It also has a lot to do with the White House’s aim to ‘malign’ Moscow’s image. On 27 April 2022 H.R. 7311, the “Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act” was passed in the U.S house of representatives, to ‘malign’ Russian activities including the use of hard and soft power to expand Moscow’s influence on the continent. Blinken is acting under the act. This trip is important to counter Russia’s growing influence on the continent and to tap into the strategic potential of the countries. Countries like Rwanda and Congo have fragile democracies but great military power which could come in handy while countering Russia’s political power.
Seeing that both Rwanda and Congo were among the few countries which voted for the invasion of Ukraine, it will be difficult for the U.S to sway them. South Africa, on the other hand, had abstained from voting and could remain in the same position. It is very significant as South Africa is one of the fastest emerging economies in the world. It is also a member of BRICS along with Russia.
The Indo-Pacific trip
Before going on his Africa tour, Blinken landed in Manila on Saturday for the Asia part of his tour. In the Philippines, he met President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jnr. China was the major topic for these meetings. Blinken was present to reiterate America’s position in the event where China attacks the South China Sea. “An armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels and aircraft will invoke US mutual defence commitments under that treaty”, said Blinken. “The Philippines is an irreplaceable friend, partner, and ally to the United States”, he further added.
Given these recent developments, many critics are speculating that the tour is an attempt to shift the balance of power. Accordingly, many experts also opine that the current situations are not so different from the Cold War era.
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