Beijing maintains a commercial and military presence in Djibouti, located south of the Bab-el-Mandeb strait that connects the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean; the tiny country is also home to the sole enduring US military outpost on the continent.
China's increasing military presence in Africa is seen as disturbing in Washington, with Pentagon officials airing concerns that Asia's biggest economy is gaining the upper hand in winning regional allies.
“They (China) have upped their game, in plain language, and ultimately they are offering things that our partners want, that our partners need,” an official with US Africa Command (AFRICOM) told CNN. “In places, we have concerns we are being out-competed.”
The comments referred to China's expansion in Djibouti, a tiny country located at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, close to one of the world's busiest trading routes.
Djibouti hosts the United States' only permanent military base in Africa, called Camp Lemonnier, a hub for the US spying network and counter-terrorism operations in Africa.
Although Djibouti, a haven of political stability in a turbulent region, has plenty of foreign bases, it is Beijing's growing presence in the country that has Pentagon hawks on edge.
In 2017, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (China's armed forces) opened its first overseas support base in Djibouti, nearly 10 kilometres away from Lemonnier.
