Djibouti, Africa’s Military Strategic Zone!

Djibouti, a sun-bathed and tiny agriculturally-barren Central African nation lying next to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Gulf of Aden is the continent’s lucrative destination for global military superpowers, both for protecting trade and military interests.

China, Asia’s military top-dog has its first overseas naval base on a 90-acre piece of land in the country. The camp is a weapons storage facility, ship and helicopter maintenance facilities and hosts Special Forces, at an annual rent of $20 million in a ten-year deal.

The Chinese base is just miles away from Camp Lemonnier, the biggest US foreign military base and operations centre for the US Africa Command, which has about 4,000 personnel joint and allied forces personnel.

The camp served as launching base for major attacks in the Obama-counterterrorism wars in the horn of   Africa and the restive Middle East, where Al-Qaeda has blossomed with several affiliates, notably Islamic State of Libya (ISIL) and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Arabian Peninsula.

Al-Qaeda cells in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen and Pakistan have largely borne the brunt of the drones and military nous from Camp Lemonnier.

France, one of Europe’s military powers has three bases in Africa, with the largest in Djibouti. The strong force of about 1,500 Special Forces personnel continues to take part in operations in sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel region.

Japan, the second-powerful Asian military has a Special Forces camp in the nation, while Saudi Arabia is setting up a camp for terrestrial, marine and aerial operations. 

But why are the powers rushing to have the share in a desert nation, that has no mineral resources and agriculture cannot blossom?

Djibouti is strategically located and offers vantage point for both trade and military interests.

China’s move points to Beijing’s growing military and trade influence globally, slowly seeking to curtail America’s military influence in the region.

The Asian giant downplayed the concerns but analysts consider the base to be part of the American-Chinese military-supremacy battle.

Camp Lemonnier is arguably one of America’s most important foreign military installations and China’s decision to set up its base just miles away, goes a long way in showing the silent yet viciously competitive military supremacy battle between the two powers.

Djibouti is located at the gate of one of the world’s busiest trading sea-routes; Bab el-Mandeb, a transit point for millions of oil barrels and shipping containers en-route to the American and European markets.

The need to protect the route was best exemplified when the US sent three war-ships to the Yemen coast after Houthi rebels attacked a United Arab Emirates-trade ship in October 2016.

Djibouti sits next to the Gulf of Aden, where about 20,000 ships pass yearly carrying about 30 percent of Europe’s oil and other commodities between Asia, Europe and America.

This makes it a must for global powers to join hands and combat the insecurity challenge posed by pirates in the high seas.

The US Navy has in the past used the Camp Lemonnier base to launch attacks and aerial surveillance on the militants.

China also used Djibouti as a rescue point for hundreds of its nationals trapped in Yemen, in April 2015.

Saudi Arabia is leading a military offensive against the Houthi militants in neighboring Yemen. The nation considers the Iran-backed Shiite and Houthi militants as a major threat to the region’s stability and economic growth.

It is leading the coalition of nations, which has been fighting to restore the Yemen government back to power for the past three years.

Djibouti’s proximity to Yemen offers Saudi Arabia a strategic launching-base for attacks against militants in Arab world’s poorest nation.

By destroying the militants and restoring the Yemen government back to power, Saudi Arabia stands to deal a decisive blow on its rival, Iran.

The two military rivals are locked in a battle to control the region, and Saudi Arabia’s onslaught against the rebels is key in ensuring that Islamic militants do not wreak havoc in the region.