China sets up base in Djibouti

The People's Liberation Army officially established its Djibouti

Logistics Support Base on Tuesday, according to a news release from the

PLA Navy.

Troops designated for the base in the Horn of Africa left for the

facility, the first of its kind for the Chinese military, after a

departure ceremony at a naval port in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, the

Navy said.

The PLA Djibouti Logistics Support Base, located in Djibouti City,

the African nation's capital, is a result of friendly negotiations by

the governments of China and Djibouti and is in the interests of the two

peoples, the PLA Navy said.

The base will support the Chinese military's naval escort,

peacekeeping and humanitarian missions in Africa and western Asia, the

news release said. It will also help China to improve its capabilities

in terms of international military cooperation, joint exercises,

emergency evacuation and overseas rescue.

Moreover, the base will enable the nation to better safeguard the

safety of international strategic maritime passages with other

countries, it said.

Vice-Admiral Shen Jinlong, commander of the PLA Navy, announced an

order on the base's establishment and conferred a flag to the base

garrison at the ceremony.

The troops are carried by two ships－the CNS Jinggangshan, an

amphibian landing craft, and CNS Donghaidao, a semi-submersible support

ship, the news release said.

In November 2015, the Chinese military confirmed for the first time

its interest in having a "support facility" in Djibouti. At the time, Wu

Qian, a Defense Ministry spokesman, told a news conference that China

was in talks with the African nation on this matter.

In February 2016, Wu said the two sides had reached an agreement on the base and the construction had begun.

In November, Yang Yujun, another spokesman for the ministry, said

China plans to use the base to better implement its international

obligations and to protect the nation's overseas interests but not to

seek "military expansion".

Djibouti is a very small but stable nation in a vital area. It lies

on a gateway to the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest shipping

routes. It provides a vital port for Ethiopia, its landlocked neighbor,

and it is a key refueling center.

The United States, France and Japan now have military bases in Djibouti.

General Fan Changlong, vice-chairman of China's Central Military

Commission, made a two-day visit to Djibouti in November 2016. It was

the first time that the top officer in the PLA had visited the African

country.