‘The Singapore of Africa’: tiny nation of Djibouti finds itself at strategic crossroads as superpowers vie for influence
Djibouti, with less than 1 million inhabitants, has become a military outpost for China, France, Italy and Japan
Two fighter jets took off and roared over the Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport, a sprawling complex in this tiny African nation that is quickly becoming a strategic military and shipping outpost for the world.
Not far away, a massive US flag waved over transport planes parked in front of America’s only permanent military base in Africa, Camp Lemonnier, home to about 4,000 personnel.
Djibouti, an arid Horn of Africa nation with less than 1 million inhabitants, also has become a military outpost for China, France, Italy and Japan, with that nation’s first overseas base since the second world war.
Other powers including Saudi Arabia have expressed interest in the key location across the Bab el-Mandeb strait from the Arabian Peninsula and on one of the world’s busiest shipping corridors.
On the chaotic streets of what has been called the “Singapore of Africa”, the jostling between the United States and China for influence is plainly seen.
We sit on two of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. We are servicing the wider region, including some of the world’s fastest-growing economies
Before his firing by US President Donald Trump, then-secretary of state Rex Tillerson made a point of stopping in Djibouti on his Africa visit last month and noting its importance in the fight against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group in neighbouring Somalia and Islamic State in the region at large. The US carries out drone missions in Somalia and Yemen from Djibouti, but the military paused air operations last week after a jet crashed and a helicopter was damaged during a landing.
