Arms Transfer and Confl ict in Africa The Role of China in Sudan

Abstract

The central argument of this article is that arms transfers from countries such as China to Sudan help sustain the armed confl ict in the country, as well as in the Horn of Africa region. This is because arms transfer increases the risk of ethnic disharmony, deeper militarisation, increased crime rate, multiplication of armed groups, mutual distrust and suspicion among countries and worsening of natural disasters such as desertifi cation and drought. While acknowledging that Sudan derives benefi ts from its relations with China, the article argues that net benefi t is skewed in favour of China. Similarly, while China sustains its relations with Sudan because it is in line with broader strategy to realise China’s national security objectives, the Khartoum government sustains the relationship  because it is necessary for regime survival. Efforts to prevent arms proliferation in Sudan have not succeeded because countries such as China have not shown suffi cient commitment to UN.