It has been 18 months since the United States reopened its embassy in Victoria, Seychelles, 27 years after Washington left the island nation.
Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands strategically located in the Indian Ocean at the confluence of Africa, South Asia and the Gulf states. The small African country is not only attractive to the U.S. for its trade and investment potential but is also a place of importance to U.S. foreign policy, given its “open sea-lanes, fisheries and the marine environment,” according to the U.S. Embassy.
With the U.S. reestablishing a diplomatic presence in the country, it has also become a geopolitical playing field for Washington and Beijing as they compete for influence in Africa and the world.
During the Cold War, the U.S. had a tracking station in Seychelles to monitor Russian satellites. Several years after the Iron Curtain fell, the U.S. closed the station and its embassy. In Washington’s absence, China filled the void and gained influence in the island nation through construction projects, education initiatives and other soft power ventures. Washington, aware that Beijing had gained a foothold, began reengaging with the country in 2023.
Seychelles is one of several island nations the U.S. has deemed strategically important in its attempt to counter China on the global stage. In the Pacific, the U.S. reopened its embassy in the Solomon Islands in 2023 and established an embassy in Tonga. The following year, the U.S. opened an embassy in Vanuatu.
While it is yet to be seen what direction the second Trump administration will take globally in its China policy, VOA traveled to the main island of Mahe in Seychelles to look at how China and the U.S. have impacted the country, and how each is fairing in that competition for influence there.
Reporter: Kate Bartlett
Lead videographer: Herbert Labrosse
Videographer: Zaheer Cassim
Contributor: Rassin Vannier
Editors: Elizabeth Lee, Bill Ide, Sharon Shahid, Amy Reifenrath
Video editor: Elizabeth Lee
Illustrator: Brian Williamson
Graphics: Oleksandr Danylenko, Mark Sandeen
