Chinese envoy to visit Djibouti, site of nation’s first overseas base
NPC deputy chief Yan Junqi to visit Horn of Africa in sign of region’s political, military and economic importance to Beijing
Chinese President Xi Jinping is sending a special envoy to visit the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti, where China is establishing a naval logistics centre that is widely seen as the first overseas base for its increasingly powerful military.
Yan Junqi, the deputy head of the National People’s Congress, would this week attend the inauguration of Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh followed by that of President Yoweri Museveni in nearby Uganda, Xinhua reported on Saturday.
The report didn’t say whether Yan would visit the base construction site. However, her presence at the inauguration underscores the region’s political, military and economic importance to Beijing.
China says the logistics centre is intended to service a variety of missions, primarily anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden off the Somali coast that China has been taking part in since 2008.
It will also facilitate humanitarian outreach and support for Chinese troops on United Nations peacekeeping missions in African nations, allowing easier refuelling and replenishing for ships, along with medical and planning support and rest and recreation for sailors and soldiers, the defence ministry says.
Another ‘Great Game’: Why China’s PLA is jostling for position with the world’s armed forces in tiny Djibouti
The base is seen as a milestone in the global advance of the PLA and expands on its traditional mission of safeguarding Chinese territory and monitoring self-governing Taiwan.
