Somaliland Offers US Military Access to Berbera Port, Airfield

On February 1, 2022, Horn Diplomat reported that Somaliland was offering the U.S. military use of a seaport and airfield in Berbera in exchange for steps toward recognizing the region as a sovereign country. The report, citing The Wall Street Journal, said the facilities overlook strategic maritime routes. The article does not state whether Washington accepted the offer or took any subsequent action.

Somaliland is a former British protectorate in northwest Somalia that has campaigned for decades for international recognition as an independent state, according to Horn Diplomat. The report said President Muse Bihi Abdi was planning a March visit to Washington, where he was expected to explore American interest in using the Berbera facilities. It did not confirm that the visit occurred.

Somaliland Foreign Minister Essa Kayd said in an interview that the president would welcome a U.S. presence and protection of the waterways, and that America should react urgently, Horn Diplomat reported. Idaho Sen. Jim Risch, the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, was quoted as saying that instability in the Horn and global competition made it more important to work with partners like Somaliland.

The report highlighted strategic context: China opened its first overseas military base in Djibouti in 2017, adjacent to Somaliland on the Bab el-Mandeb strait. U.S. officials say that base is big enough to dock an aircraft carrier and nuclear submarines, and it sits just 6 miles from Camp Lemonnier, the largest U.S. military base in Africa, which houses 4,500 troops. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded Beijing intends to establish a naval base in Equatorial Guinea, Horn Diplomat said.

The article said the Biden administration has not announced whether it will return American troops to bases in Somalia. It also noted Djibouti could legally ask the U.S. to close Camp Lemonnier at any time, though it has shown no signs of doing so, and said the administration is sticking with the long-held U.S. position that Somalia should remain intact.

Horn Diplomat's report did not name specific U.S. officials for the Chinese base capacity claim and did not confirm from primary U.S. sources the administration's position on Somalia's unity. It gave no updates after February 1, 2022 on the status of the offer, negotiations, or any U.S. decision.