Why Djibouti is Home to China's First Foreign Military by South China Morning Post

China formally announced the opening of its first overseas military base on August 1, 2017, the 90th birthday of the People’s Liberation Army, a day charged with symbolic meaning for Beijing. This story uses data to explore the importance of Djibouti as China’s first overseas military base as well as drilling into China’s growing confidence as it begins to flex some military muscle.
Since the turn of this century China, the US, and various European and Asian countries, set up military camps in Djibouti. In fact, the resource-poor, tiny nation in the Horn of Africa plays host to more foreign military facilities than anywhere else in the world. Beijing claims it is a key strategic location to supply regional peacekeeping and humanitarian missions and combat piracy. Analysts argue the country’s geostrategic location and relative stability in a volatile region has turned it into a military playground for world powers.