China revealed that is has given the African Union (AU) financial support of up to $180 million to fund peace and security efforts. A statement read by during the heads of state meeting in Addis Ababa.
The funding comes in two packages; for the African Standby Force (ASF) and the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crisis (ACIRC). Part of the monies will support ongoing AU peace support operations including the MNJTF (Multi-National Joint Task Force against Boko Haram), the G5-Sahel as well as supporting the police deployment component of AMISOM.
Chinese support to the AU’s peace and security agenda has, to date, been focused almost exclusively on military support in the development of the African Standby Force. The emphasis on the ASF is to ensure that Africa has a stale force that can be used to address internal conflicts of member states. China has become a formidable partner to Africa economically, infrastructure and security.
