Posted on 06/16/2019 2:00:51 PM PDT by jazusamo
The Chinese military is guilty of “irresponsible actions” toward American forces stationed at Djibouti’s Camp Lemonnier on the Horn of Africa, a senior U.S. military intelligence officer said.
The home of U.S. military operations in the region and the biggest U.S. base on the continent, Camp Lemonnier is near the People’s Liberation Army’s first overseas military base, and the proximity has been a continuing source of tension.
Rear Adm. Heidi Berg, director of intelligence at the U.S. Africa Command, told a small group of African-based journalists in a telephone media roundtable that China tried to “constrain international airspace” by barring aircraft from flying over the Chinese military base, flashed ground-based lasers into the eyes of American pilots and deployed drones designed to interfere with U.S. flight operations.
The U.S. admiral said Chinese personnel even attempted “intrusion activity,” a military term for covert entry, with “attempts to gain access to Camp Lemonnier.”
Adm. Berg has been with the U.S. Navy almost 30 years. She was previously attached to the “military issues” command at the CIA and has served abroad in a number of conflicts.
The Pentagon formally complained to Beijing a year ago when two U.S. airmen suffered “minor” injuries suspected to be caused by Chinese-deployed lasers in Djibouti, but the other instances of harassment apparently have not been revealed.
Asked to expand on the admiral’s remarks, an AFRICOM spokeswoman in Stuttgart, Germany, said in a statement that “the United States takes appropriate measures to ensure the force protection of its personnel and assets” and that “lasing incidents had occurred in the past” but are “no longer an issue.”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Two can play at that game
Bump!
Don’t complain about the drones. Shoot them down and say nothing at all.
This is a description of hostile activities. A century ago they would have been described as acts of war.
My question is why is this female running her pie hole to journalists?
If the issues are occurring as described, the remedy is way above her pay grade.
Admiral Heidi? That’s the problem right there. You need an Admiral named Butcher.
Formerly attached to the Clowns In America too.
Agree. And it would be good to have more military with Curtis LeMay’s taciturn nature.
Theory: China and Iran, others want to provoke Trump and get rid of him that way.
OK so Our Aircrew need to have a Targeting Laser and a few GBU-12 on board and return that Laser to the source of the chicom laser. Then let the good times roll...
China holds 88% of the debt that Djibouti owes. They build infrastructure projects. We pretty much only build bases.
America was better off when there was no such thing as africom, and no American military was in Africa at all.
My thoughts exactly. Why the hell do we need to be in Djibouti? Ridiculous. Shut it down and bring the boys home.
That or something like it may be why lasing incidents are “no longer an issue.”
Welcome to Obama’s Navy that continues unchanged 2 years later.
This could split Djibouti in two.
L
Djibouti is strategically located near some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, controlling access to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. It serves as a key refuelling and transshipment center, and is the principal maritime port for imports from and exports to neighboring Ethiopia. A burgeoning commercial hub, the nation is the site of various foreign military bases, including Camp Lemonnier.
Due to its strategic location, Camp Lemonnier also serves as a hub for aerial operations in the Persian Gulf region....
Djibouti is strategically located by the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which separates the Gulf of Aden from the Red Sea and controls the approaches to the Suez Canal. As a result, the country hosts many other foreign military bases, including a Chinese naval base, a French airbase, and a Japanese base.
Its importance is obvious to anyone who can read a map.
Yes I’m aware of it’s geographic location. I just do not see the desirability or acting as the world’s policeman - especially not as domestic energy production has been soaring. Let the Yurps pay the price to secure all that Middle Eastern oil they use. We don’t need it any longer.
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