Over the course of a few decades, China has transformed itself from an impoverished backwater, and into a thriving economic powerhouse. And with that, the West has long feared that someday, China’s military reach will grow beyond its borders. That day appears to have finally arrived.
China has started the construction of a Naval Base in the African nation of Djibouti. It will reside on a 90 acre plot of land, and is expected to be completed next year. Once finished, it will be China’s very first overseas military base. Experts believe that it will contain weapon storage sites and maintenance facilities for ships and helicopters, in addition to being manned by Chinese marines or special forces units. Djibouti’s Minister of Foreign Affairs said that it could eventually house as many as 2,000 soldiers, but 300 would be more likely.
The base makes strategic sense, given how much money that China has invested in Africa in recent years. China’s Defense Ministry stated that the base would be built “in order to better uphold international responsibilities and duties, and to protect China’s legal interests.”
Perhaps the most worrying aspect of this base, at least as far as the US government is concerned, is that it is just a stone’s throw away from Camp Lemonnier, a US military base that houses 4,000 military personnel and private contractors. It’s America’s main base of operations for the African continent. Clearly, the new base is situated to challenge America’s fading global military reach.