Djibouti

China has deployed troops to the country's first overseas military base in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa, as China's rapidly modernizing military extends its global reach. Beijing says the "support base" will be used for logistical purposes, such as resupplying ships taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia however concerns are growing about China's rising geopolitical influence especially at such a key strategic location.

When last we checked in on Djibouti, the tiny east African nation of 900,000 people that shares a border with lawless Somalia to the south, and is separated from war-torn Yemen by just 13 miles of water across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, China had just announced that the country would play host to Beijing’s first overseas military outpost.

Nearly 5,000 miles from the Chinese capital, Djibouti is situated in a highly strategic, if exceedingly dangerous part of the world.

A suspected suicide bomber who blew a hole in the fuselage of a Somali passenger jet flying from Mogadishu to Djibouti and was subsequently sucked out and killed, was on board the wrong plane, according to the airline. Chief executive of Daallo Airlines said on Monday that the bomber was meant to fly on a Turkish Airlines flight which got cancelled due to high winds. Aljazeera reports: The explosion ripped a one-metre hole in the side of the Daallo Airlines jet on Tuesday, after which the suspect was reportedly sucked out of the decompressed cabin.

As China expands its military and economic influence in Africa, the United States should feel “very nervous,” according to journalist James Poulos. China is planning to build a military base on the horn of Africa in Djibouti. It could be the first step toward Beijing’s deeper involvement with the continent. Sputnik reports: Last year, China began talks with Djibouti to install a “logistics hub” and airfield in the east African nation.