Concerns in Washington are growing amid reports that China is poised to gain control of a major commercial port on the Horn of Africa, further consolidating the country's influence in the critically strategic region.
In late February, the Djibouti government terminated a contract with Dubai-based port operator DP World to run the Doraleh Container Terminal (DCT), on the grounds it was "contrary to the fundamental interests of the nation."
The port is partly owned by China's state-owned China Merchants Port Holdings, which maintains a 23.5% stake. It is also located immediately adjacent to China's only overseas military base, on the west bank of the Gulf of Aden and the southern entrance to the Red Sea, close to the Suez Canal.
