Why Djibouti is home to China's first foreign military base

Why Djibouti?

China formally opened its first overseas military base on August 1, 2017 — the same day that the People’s Liberation Army celebrated its 90th birthday. Beijing says Djibouti is ideally placed for China to resupply peacekeeping and humanitarian missions and combat piracy off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia.

A former French colony, the multi-ethnic Republic of Djibouti is about the size of Wales. It occupies 23,200km sq of mostly volcanic desert, is devoid of natural resources, and has a population below a million. However, the country’s location is of key strategic value. Situated on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean, at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, Djibouti controls access to the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean, home to some of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Djibouti offers China the ability to operate military missions far from home.

Not everyone views China’s base as entirely benevolent. New Delhi has voiced concerns that the naval and logistics facility is part of a broader plan to establish another “string of pearls”, with Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, encircling India. There have also been persistent rumours that China intends to build more bases in countries such as Pakistan. Beijing strenuously denies these claims. US lawmakers warned there would be 'significant' consequences should there be a Chinese takeover of Djibouti's port operations.

Djibouti’s Finance Minister Ilyas Dawaleh has said, “Djibouti’s development needs all its friends and strategic partners. At the same time, no one can dictate to us who we should deal with.”

Show of force

Djibouti is home to more foreign bases than any other country. Since the turn of the century the US, and various European and Asian countries, have set up military camps there. Analysts say the country’s geostrategic location and its recent stability in a volatile region has turned it into a military playground for world powers.

After the events of September 11, 2001, the US established Camp Lemonnier to combat terrorist threats from Yemen and the Horn of Africa. Japan’s first foreign military base since the second world war is also situated in Djibouti and is set to expand as a counterweight to China’s increasing influence in the region. Italy has its own base, while German and Spanish troops are hosted by the French.

China, the US, and various European countries initially saw Djibouti as a window to band together with the United Nations to protect the world’s busiest trade routes.

The European Union’s anti-piracy mission in the Arabian Sea reports that at the peak of Somali piracy in January 2011, pirates held 736 hostages and 32 vessels. Following the concerted efforts of the international community, those figures were cut to zero by 2016 with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) playing a significant role.

Despite the recent successes in the fight against piracy the risk of being attacked at sea remains a constant threat.

Signs of a rising power

The US established Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as its first overseas military base in 1903, at a time when its economic and military might was beginning to surpass that of its competitors. China’s recent economic rise mirrors that of the US at the turn of the 20th century and Beijing appears to be making similar moves in international diplomacy. Djibouti might have more in common with Guantanamo Bay than first meets the eye.

It is interesting to note that the US and China established their first overseas military bases at similar stages of their economic and political development.

In 1903 the US had a roughly 20 per cent share of major powers' GDP — similar to what China has now, and began to tentatively assert itself on the world stage. Both considered themselves influential enough to justify establishing overseas bases to provide military support for their growing trade interests.

They also have in common a shared language describing themselves as anti-colonial peace brokers using trade to promote stability. As well as military facilities, the bases served as refuelling stations for their international fleets. Coal, in the case of Guantanamo, and oil in that of Djibouti.

Economic history
Share of GDP by major powers (%) Sources: Angus Maddison, IMF

History repeats itself

China’s current economic clout, and that of the US 100 years ago, is also mirrored by the similarity of the two nation’s growing self-confidence at the same point in their development. The two fledgling powers acquired their bases by convincing their partners that it would be in the mutual interests of all concerned – albeit through somewhat different means.

Guantanamo was seized by the US when it ‘liberated’ Cuba from Spain, a European colonial power in decline. Doraleh Container Terminal was secured from Djibouti, a former French colony, through active diplomacy that challenges a US-centric world order.

Guardians of trade

On June 9, 1898, in the early days of the Spanish-American War, American forces landed in Guantanamo Bay and quickly realised the need for a safe harbour to reinforce their Cuban allies. With the hurricane season that year unleashing 11 storms, Guantanamo Bay provided the perfect natural storm shelter.

The victorious American forces signed the Treaty of Paris with Spain in December of that same year. The treaty granted Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines US territory status, while Cuba remained nominally independent. The new Cuban government signed a lease granting the US permission to use Guantanamo Bay as a coaling and naval station, which the US has held ever since.

The US took over construction of the Panama Canal in 1904. This key piece of regional infrastructure slashed travel times between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans greatly enhancing international trade. Over the next few decades the US embarked on numerous overseas infrastructure projects and continued an extended period of domestic infrastructure engineering projects, not ulike China’s current “Belt and Road” ambitions. The similarities between the two bases tends to end here for the time being.