Foreign military officials joke that Djibouti’s airspace is so crowded with drones and surveillance aircraft that you need a reservation to fly. Red Sea: Pivotal zone for trade, transportation, and power play. Spanning from Suez Canal to Bab el Mandeb Strait, Red Sea connects Mediterranean Sea to Indian Ocean. Its proximity to key markets and natural resources enhances its importance. Red Sea’s Cocktail of Geopolitics • Saudi Arabia, long coastline along the Red Sea – a pivotal role in shaping regional dynamics. • Egypt, controls the Suez Canal, has strategic leverage over Red Sea’s northern access. • Israel and its military capabilities keep geopolitics of the region well spiced up. • Yemen is facing a humanitarian crisis as its civil war enters the 11th year. The Houthis keep the Red Sea on the boil and world shipping in a tailspin; asymmetric warfare at its best. • Somalia is in internal conflict and pirates prowling the Indian Ocean its byproduct. • Eretria, a closed and repressive country in the world is in a simmering conflict with Ethiopia. A ‘cherry’ to this ‘Horn of Africa’ cocktail is Djibouti – a tiny country sitting astride the strategic Bab el Mandeb. Interestingly, it has many military bases of the different friendly and conflicting/competing nations (USA, China, Japan, Italy and France). Its strategic importance? Well, just location ….. location …. location ….. location. Djibouti is gifted with this strategic geographic location at the intersection of Red Sea and Gulf of Aden ….. with a land area of 23,200 km² roughly equivalent to the size of Delhi NCR. ….. by shrewd polity it has given itself an outsized influence. Djibouti ports handle 95% of landlocked Ethiopia’s trade. Djibouti’s ports also service transshipments between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The government has longstanding ties to France, which maintains a military presence in the country, as do the US, Japan, Italy, Germany, Spain, and China; playing all sides masterfully. Military Bases in Djibouti: France: 1,500 soldiers performing counter-terrorism missions and guarding nearby sea lanes.

In Djibouti since before its independence in 1977 and have never left. Annual Rent – $30 Million. United States: Camp Lemonnier the primary base for the US Africa Command. Includes 1,000 soldiers from the Special Forces. Drones launched from the base strike the sites of Al-Shabaab group in Somalia and East Africa, and, other extremist organisations. Annual Rent – $63 Million. China: China has a military base 5 km west of Djibouti City. It is affiliated with the Navy and is essential for developing Chinese capabilities on the high seas. China also building ports and railways. Annual Rent – $100 Million. Opening ceremony of China’s military base in Djibouti 2017. Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force base located here. Japanese Parliament in 2009 approved Anti Terrorism Law, which allowed such deployments. Annual Rent – $14 Million. Germany/Spain/Italy: Forces from these countries active from within other bases, primarily French and American. The military infrastructure provided is used in a joint framework to prevent piracy and smuggling and ensure safe passage of commercial ships through Bab al-Mandab. Djibouti is also a critical landing point for undersea cables including the cable linking India to Europe and Africa. Lessons from Djibouti • Positional leverage — especially at maritime chokepoints. • Deft diplomatic balancing – hosting so many nations but not becoming their proxy. • Influence is not always about size or firepower – it is also about positioning, perception, and partnerships.