Gabon's close relations with France (Gabon being France's preferred partner in central Africa since independence) are attested to by the hosting of France's regional military base and Mr Bongo's frequent visits to Paris. A French judicial probe into the Bongo family's French assets, as well as recent claims by former French officials that his election victory was stolen, have barely affected relations. Conversely, commercial relations with China continue to warm, despite stalled progress on the giant Bélinga iron ore project. Gabon is assiduously courting investment from Asia. Links with the US-the primary market for Gabonese oil-will remain favourable, especially given Gabon's relatively good human rights record, bolstering the country's regional standing, which had previously largely depended on the late Omar Bongo Ondimba's close relations with African leaders. An ongoing border dispute with Equatorial Guinea over the potentially oil-rich zone around Mbañe, Conga and Cocotiers is edging closer to resolution, despite the historic support of the EquatoGuinean president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, for Mr Mba Obame.