CI VIEW: Bizerte triggers new Great Game between the US, China and France – Capitol Intelligence Group

BIZERTE, Tunisia (CI MENA) –The ancient port of City of Bizerte, Tunisia – because of its strategic location in the center of the Mediterranean – has triggered a new Great Game struggle between Tunisia’s former colonial ruler, France; its oldest ally, the United States; and an aggressive new arrival, China.

[Bizerte Highest Elected Official and Member of Parliament Ali Belakhoua and Bizerte Mayoral Candidate Dr. Kamal Ben Amara speak to Capitol Intelligence/CI MENA using CI Glass on Baltimore/Bizerte Sister City at Andalucía Beach Hotel and Resort in Bizerte, Tunisia. March 12, 2018]

This new struggle between the United States, France and China is focused on who will develop and control a deep-water port of Bizerte, already the nexus of a critical submarine fiber optic network connecting the US/Europe with Asia and the Middle East.

Former president Barack Obama formalized Tunisia’s strategic importance to the United States when he declared the North African nation to be America’s most strategic non-NATO ally during the state visit by Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi on May 21, 2015.

[President Barack Obama and Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi Oval Office filmed by Capitol Intelligence/Tunisia’s Express FM using CI Glass (Google Glass) at Oval Office. May 21, 2015]

The growing political and economic relations between the United States and Tunisia — backed by US and EU donor pledges in the billions –lasted until US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shut down the US Embassy in Tunisia and issued a blanket travel ban to US citizens in a knee jerk reaction following the murder of US Ambassador Christopher J. Stevens in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012.

Tunisia, which was experiencing an economic boom and seeing its hotels filled with executives and CEOs of US and multinationals, became a ghost town overnight as Hillary Clinton effectively made the country a no-go zone for Western businesses and a market opportunity for mainland Chinese companies.

The Port of Bizerte is now in the middle of an ongoing US/China rivalry, with President Trump reasserting US geopolitical leadership against China President Xi Jinping’s aggressive “One Belt, One Road” initiative that has seen China expand to strategically sensitive areas such as Djibouti on the Horn of Africa and the Port of Piraeus in NATO member Greece.

Ali Belakhoua, a Tunisian member of Parliament and the highest elected official of Bizerte, told Capitol Intelligence that he stumbled on a group of Chinese managers representing Chinese government companies who told him that they are looking at investing in the Port of Bizerte.

Chinese interest to develop a deep-water port in Bizerte was also confirmed by Dr. Kamal Ben Amara, the Ennahda party mayoral candidate for Bizerte in elections to be held in May. He said that Chinese companies have already made a formal offer to develop and modernize the port.

In fact, Capitol Intelligence has seen and reviewed a “letter of intent” from Yuanda Commercial Financial Investment Group to develop a “third generation” port in Bizerte.

To: The Bizerte Port Consortium
It is our pleasure to send you this letter as a confirmation that Yuanda Commercial Investment Group is interesting (sic) in besing (sic) involved in the project < Best Regards
Reginal (sic) President
M.Leo

The Trump administration is only beginning to be concerned that if it does not move on Bizerte, it will be beaten out by Chinese companies linked to the Chinese government as in Djibouti and Greece.

Belakhoua and Ben Amara are founding members and supporters of a Sister City twinning between the US port city of Baltimore, Maryland and Bizerte. The two men said one of the main objectives of the Sister City agreement will be the knowledge transfer regarding the public private partnership that developed the Port of Baltimore into America’s leading deep sea Panamax (Panama Canal accessible) port.

While the US and China compete to develop the port of Bizerte, France is doing its upmost to make sure that no development happens in Bizerte that could threaten the commercial position of its major Mediterranean hub, the Port of Marseilles.

“The French are sort of like a resentful man who does not want his ex-wife dating anyone else” said an official from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek that operates the port of Voltri (Genoa), Italy.

The likely US construction firm that could win the contract to redevelop Bizerte with the financial backing and loan guarantees by the US government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) is Virginia/Caifornia-based Bechtel Corporation.

At a recent forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on China’s “One Belt, One Road”, the 34-year-old Bechtel CEO Brendan Bechtel said that the largest US construction firm has been pushed off the global top ten list of construction by Chinese state-sponsored companies.

[Bechtel Corporation Chairman and CEO Brendan Bechtel filmed by Capitol Intelligence/CI GCA using CI Glass answer question on President Donald Trump naming China as “strategic competitor” and the Chinese government attempts to takeover strategic ports of Pireaus (Greece); Djibouti and Bizerte.]

However, it is what is under the waters of Bizerte that is also triggering a three-way battle between the United States, China and France.

Bizerte is located at a critical hub of the Europe to Asia fiber optic submarine cable network that handles almost the entirety of Europe to Asia and the Middle East voice and data communications. One of the operators of the submarine cables is Sparkle, a subsidiary of Italy’s TIM (aka Telecom Italia) (BIT:TIT) which has been effectively taken over by France’s Vivendi owner, Vincent Bollore.

The Trump administration has already voiced its concern to the Italian government requesting guarantees that Italy, and not France, will control any monitoring of the voice and data transiting through the submarine cables.

The concerns of the Trump administration, especially White House National Security Advisor Lt. General H.R. McMaster, will be further heightened if there is a perceived risk that China will attempt to tap into the communications network if it builds up its presence in Bizerte.

A French/US battle is also occurring over the new board of Telecom Italia, with the activist and founder of US hedge fund Elliott Management, Paul Singer, demanding board seats at an upcoming Telecom Italia (TIM) EGM to be held in May.

By PK Semler in Bizerte, Tunisia, with editing by John Dodds in Bergamo, Italy.
For more information please call +1-202-549-3399 or email pks@capitolintelgroup.com.