China to Get New Military Base in Djibouti at the Expense of U.S.: Report

The East African nation of Djibouti has ordered U.S. troops to vacate one of the two military bases in the country, Camp Obock, so they can turn it over to China, the Want China Times reported on Tuesday, citing the U.S. left-wing CounterPunch magazine.

China has made significant investments in Djibouti in recent years, with Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh publicly expressing the importance of the country's "new friends from Asia," the report said.

If the handover follows through, the military base, China's first in African soil, will house 10,000 People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops, it added.

Camp Obock is a secondary base to Camp Lemmonnier, the only permanent U.S. military base in Africa. It houses 4,000 soldiers and serves as a base for U.S. drone operations in the region, as well as an intelligence gathering hub targeting the ISIS and Al-Qaeda.

With a strategic location on the western bank of the Gulf of Aden in the Horn of Africa, Djibouti is also a key access route from landlocked Ethiopia to the sea, the report said, adding that China is currently building a $3-billion railroad from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa and has invested $400 million to modernize port facilities in the region. In comparison, the U.S. pays $63 million a year to use Camp Lemonnier.

The announcement to vacate Camp Obock was made the day after U.S. State Secretary John Kerry visited the country in May, raising concerns from analysts given the potentially close proximity of Chinese troops to the main U.S. base in Africa.

The move may prompt the U.S. to "relocate sensitive intelligence-gathering operations to more secure locations outside Djibouti where they are better protected from interception by the Chinese" and oppose Guelleh's run for re-election next year, according to U.K.'s Daily Telegraph.

Damage to its interests may also put a spotlight on the human rights abuses in Djibouti which the U.S. has overlooked until now, said CounterPunch.

Built in 1896, the Port of Djibouti is one of the most modern ports in Africa, serving as a major resupply and refueling point for all boats traveling north through the Suez Canal and south through the Indian Ocean.

The country has also been a prominent subject in Chinese media earlier this year when it was used as an evacuation route by the PLA Navy during its evacuation of foreign nationals from war-torn Yemen.

The Gulf of Aden is important for China, as much of its energy resources and trade comes from the Middle East and Europe, and a base in Djibouti would help secure the country's shipping routes in the region, according to the Want China Times.

Djibouti is also along the western route of China's 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative, which aims to create a trade community comprising Eurasia and Africa.