evidence: In a recent statement, China offered to mediate in the lingering border dispute in the Horn of Africa region where Eritrea and Djibouti are both claiming ownership of the Dumeira Mountains and Islands. [...] Fast-forward 12 years, the thin ice on which both countries stood hasapparently melted away as war broke outin June 2008. Djibouti accused Eritrea of digging trenches at Ras Doumeira and of stationing troops in its territory before Qatar’s intervention in 2010. The Doumeira region is highly disputed because it is close to a vital shipping route for global trade, the Baba-el-Mandeb strait.