Angola, current chair of the Gulf of Guinea Commission, has called for a regional security mechanism to tackle shared threats. Nigerian and Cameroonian officials now often talk about joint strategies.
But in a region with simmering oil and border demarcation disputes, coordination is tricky.
“We do as much as we can inside Equatorial Guinea. But our battle is very big ... If we can’t do it with the neighbors, it doesn’t help,” Lima said, blaming Benin and Cameroon for not being more vocal about attacks on their territory.
The weakness of states in the region has allowed shadowy groups, at times operating off mother ships similar to those used by Somali pirates, to move easily in vast stretches of waters.
“Even if regional neighbors are committed to cooperating — as they have claimed — it will be very difficult to do it with the current navy capabilities,” Koep said.
In a region of former British, French and Spanish colonies, the most prominent nation in efforts to boost local capabilities is the US, which has a near permanent presence with ships training local security forces.
Peter Pham, a professor at James Madison University in the US, says this should not be a surprise as the region is already supplying more oil to the US than the Persian Gulf.
“In the longer term, the region is going to be essential,” he said, citing an eventual global economic recovery, a lack of new oil and instability in the Middle East, and the continuing threat of conflict in Sudan.
The USS Nashville, a 17,000 tonne warship with 400 crew, is touring the region, hosting training courses on topics ranging from oil platform protection and fire-fighting to maritime law, intelligence gathering and hand-to-hand combat.
But in the Gulf of Guinea, the US faces prickly issues such as sovereignty — especially after plans to set up a military base in Africa received such a frigid welcome.
“The US is being cautious in terms of its military footprint, even in the waters off Africa ... Once bitten, twice shy,” de Pontet said.
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