China officially opened its first military base in Africa in Djibouti on Tuesday in an event attended by more than 300 people, including deputy Chinese naval commander Tian Zhong and Djibouti’s defence minister.
The overseas base will enable China’s military to better fulfil its international responsibilities. These include conducting escort operations in the Gulf of Aden and waters off the Somali coast.
Chinese military personnel will also provide support to peacekeeping and humanitarian missions in the region.
Djibouti, with a population of less than one million, also hosts troops from US, France and Japan.
The launch of the base comes as the People’s Liberation Army celebrates its 90th anniversary.
To mark the anniversary, Chinese embassies all over the world held various ceremonies.
In his speech on the anniversary celebrations, President Xi Jinping said China treasures peace and will not engage in invasions and expansions.
He said that Chinese people “treasure peace and we absolutely do not engage in invasion and expansion”.
“However, we have the confidence to conquer all forms of invasion,” he said in a speech to mark the founding of the PLA.
