In Eastern Africa, just northeast of Ethiopia and on the coast of the Red Sea, lies the
tiny nation known as the Republic of Djibouti.
Only the size of New Jersey or North Macedonia, and with not even a million people, this little
nation has an outsized role in world geopolitics.
Djibouti might be small, but it is hardly the butt of any jokes, as nations attempt
to further spread out their… yeah okay I’m not gonna keep making butt jokes, I can make
my own jokes here.
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Djibouti’s outsized importance in global geopolitics, like many in its circumstance,
can be drawn pretty much entirely to its location.
Djibouti is located not far from one of the busiest and most important waterways in the
world, sought after by different nations ever since people started using it for world trade…
that waterway is the Suez Canal, around 1,600km to the north, but Djibouti also sits right
beside another important waterway, one perhaps equally important to this part of the world,
the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
As basically every ship passing through the Suez Canal will also pass through the Bab
el-Mandeb Strait (unless they’re stopping in Sudan or Saudi Arabia), securing the security
of this strait securely is imperative for countries all around the world, especially
considering the two other countries along the strait include Yemen and Eritrea, with
Somalia not far away, none of whom are exactly famous for their stability.
Thus to the international community, the strait might as well only be 20km wide, the area
within Djibouti’s territorial waters.
Largely because of Djibouti’s relative stability in the region, the country has become a magnet
for different countries aiming to build military bases in the area.
Oh by the way I couldn’t actually find any stock footage of Djibouti that I could actually
afford, so I’m just gonna Atlas Pro it and go on camera every now and then.
Currently, as of October, 2021, China, France, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the United
States all hold some form of military presence within the country’s borders, with the French
bases also housing Italian and German troops and the US’ Camp Lemmonier also holding
British troops.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait however isn’t the only reason so many foreign powers have built
and leased military bases in the country.
The country also lies within 1,500km of hotspots like Yemen, Somalia, and South and Sudan.
It is largely for this reason the US has rented out Camp Lemmonier, just beside the Djibouti
International Airport, since not long after the 9/11 attacks.
Somali piracy of course is also one of the main concerns within the region, with Somalia’s
lack of a stable central government-- and thus a navy-- leading to local fishermen needing
to band together to protect themselves, eventually with some groups realizing the profitability
of charging ransoms, leading to where we are today with vulnerable sea lanes.
Okay I guess that was a brief explanation as to how the problem started.
Probably way oversimplified, but still.
China however has also built a base here, within just 6km of the US base.
This creates the somewhat awkward situation where the United States and many of its closest
allies may find themselves with military bases in the same city as a Chinese base.
US1: What?
The PLA just moved in nextdoor!
Now they can spy on us from less than 9,000 washing machines away!
US2: Maybe we can also spy on them?
[pause] US2: We can also see them from here, you know?
US1: I think you might be onto something!
China’s stated aim with its base though is to combat the aforementioned threat of
piracy in the Gulf of Aden to the south.
The PLA (People’s Liberation Army) base is China’s first permanent military base
outside China, which alongside its investment in different infrastructure projects in the
region, all help to solidify its economic and political influence in Africa.
This can be seen not only through China’s military base in Djibouti, but also the rising
number of Chinese-built and funded infrastructure projects in the region, one such example being
the railway connecting Djibouti to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Djibouti’s presence also cannot be overstated for neighboring Ethiopia.
As I discussed in another award-winning* video of mine, Djibouti is effectively landlocked
Ethiopia’s easiest access point to the sea.
There are so many more anatomical jokes I can make with this, but I can behave myself!
With the completion of the largely Chinese-built Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway in 2018, the
railway has thus far not lived up to its promised potential.
However as Ethiopia’s population continues to skyrocket over the next several decades,
many say this railway could be a boon to Djibouti, as effectively the gateway to Ethiopia.
The question is though, given its strategic location and obvious importance in world trade,
not to mention how many countries are willing to work with them, why is Djibouti not one
of the richest countries in this part of the world?
41% of the country’s population lives in poverty, and 23% in extreme poverty.
So in other words, why isn’t it basically a copy of Singapore?
Djibouti’s location is, in a sense, its only real economic asset.
The country’s dry, arid climate leaves a scant 0.04% of its land area being arable.
In addition, the country’s two largest groups, the Afars and the Issas, fought a bloody civil
war from 1991 to 1994, which destroyed much of the agricultural infrastructure within
the nation.
In a sense, if the country were located basically anywhere but this specific point, no one would
probably want anything to do with it.
Despite this, Djibouti ultimately wants to become the “Dubai of Africa”, and with
their economy forcast to grow by 9% in 2021, the country does seem poised to make good
use of its strategic position.
However its position hasn’t not posed certain risks and downsides for the country.
President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh is currently in power in his fifth term in office, having
first assumed power in 1999, and has been accused of being a dictator, known to jail
opposition leaders and expel foreign observers.
With this, many criticize much of what we’ve talked about-- particularly Guelleh’s seeking
closer ties to China-- as going more towards stabilizing the current regime rather than
the country itself.
In addition, with so many of the world’s most powerful countries being allowed by Guelleh’s
government to host military bases in this oh-so important region (which would be nearly
impossible otherwise), many say these countries have a vested interest in maintaining the
status quo.
Either way, in the coming decades people are definitely going to be looking a lot at Djibouti…
oh come on!