By Clint Richards
Despite troubled relations at home, the two countries have a shared interest in Africa.
On February 25 China joined the U.S., France, and Japan in signing a security and defense agreement with Djibouti, as it seeks to further integrate with regional naval operations. Combined Chinese and Japanese inroads into the strategic port of Djibouti could be another exercise in antagonism, or a rare showcase of cooperation. They are both seeking to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden and protect their burgeoning assets in East Africa. This is a rare instance in which both countries have a shared security interest, and could provide instructive for other points of tension.
Both countries rely on the trade and energy exports that transit this narrow passage between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, yet neither has the naval capacity or mandate to project power in the area. The threat of Somali piracy has led to some astonishing international naval cooperation in the region. But as both Chinese and Japanese interests in East Africa grow, the close management and strengthening of this cooperation will be necessary to help prevent further conflict between the two.
The Chinese security agreement was at the behest of Djibouti’s Defense Minister Hassan Houffaneh, who said it was due to significant Chinese funding of local infrastructure projects. The minister said Djibouti was ready to allow Chinese naval ships access to its ports in order to enhance military cooperation. He added that the Djiboutian Air Force would soon acquire Chinese aircraft, and called for “assistance with surveillance, including radar, and additional places at China’s military training centers.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat