ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the Mediterranean Sea that has become one of the most significant great-power competition sites as the US keeps a distance from global affairs. The power vacuum left by a disengaged US and a weakened Europe opened for powers like the PRC to expand its influence across the Maghreb region. Washington’s disengagement has allowed great-power competition to flourish in regions and sub-regions vital to its interests, and this includes long-standing allies. Chinese presence and expanded influence in the Maghreb countries through the BRI grand strategy can potentially jeopardize Western power-projection capabilities across the Maghreb region and extensively across Africa. While the US-China great-power competition focuses mainly on the Indo-Pacific area, it could also catch the Maghreb region in the crossfire as this rivalry expands its scope.
