China has set up its first overseas military base. Ships carrying troops are heading to Djibouti, which is a small but strategically important country in the Horn of Africa at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal and near some of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Djibouti is also host to bases for the US and Japan. The base will be used by both American forces as well as those from other countries. China has already agreed to increase its contribution to global peacekeeping operations to 8,000 troops.
China has set up its first overseas military base. Ships carrying troops are heading to Djibouti, which is a small but strategically important country in the Horn of Africa at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal and near some of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Djibouti is also host to bases for the US and Japan. The move raises fears that China, whose military power has historically been inward-looking, is becoming more assertive as a global military power. China has already agreed to increase its contribution to global peacekeeping operations to 8,000 troops.