Bab el Mandeb and the Military Bases in Djibouti

There are more foreign military bases in Djibouti than in almost any other country of its size, and the reason is a narrow strip of water called the Bab el Mandeb. Djibouti sits on the African side of this strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea, through which ships pass between the Indian Ocean and the Suez Canal. The United States, China, France, Japan and Italy all keep military facilities in the country, several of them within a short distance of one another.

For Djibouti, a country of roughly a million people, this is a source of income, security guarantees and diplomatic weight. It also raises real questions about sovereignty and dependence. This article explains the geography, who is there and why, and how the country's own history and people fit into a story that is too often told only from outside.

What is the Bab el Mandeb?

The Bab el Mandeb is the strait between the south-western tip of the Arabian Peninsula, in Yemen, and the Horn of Africa, in Djibouti and Eritrea. At its narrowest it is roughly 30 km wide, and the island of Perim divides it into two channels, with most large ships using the wider western channel.

The name is Arabic and is usually translated as the Gate of Grief or the Gate of Lamentation, sometimes the Gate of Tears. Explanations vary: the most common link it to the dangers sailors faced in these waters, while others connect it to older legends. Either way, the name captures something true about the place. It is a choke point, and choke points attract both trade and trouble.

It is important to be precise about what Djibouti controls. It does not control the Suez Canal, which lies far to the north in Egypt. The connection is that the Bab el Mandeb and Suez are the two ends of the same shipping route, and disruption at either end can interrupt traffic between Asia and Europe.

Why the Red Sea route matters

A large share of the world's seaborne trade, often estimated at around a tenth of global trade, has historically passed through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Oil, gas, grain, cars and container cargo all use it, because the alternative is the much longer voyage around the Cape of Good Hope.

The region has seen repeated threats to shipping. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, Somali piracy in the Gulf of Aden prompted international naval patrols, many of them supported from Djibouti. From late 2023, attacks on merchant vessels linked to the war in Yemen led many shipping companies to avoid the Red Sea altogether and send ships around southern Africa instead. For a walk that begins at Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of that diverted route, the connection is striking.

Military bases in Djibouti: who is there and why

Several countries maintain a presence, each for its own reasons.

• France has kept forces in Djibouti since independence in 1977, continuing a presence from the colonial era. Its base has long been one of the largest French military deployments abroad.
• The United States operates Camp Lemonnier, a former French Foreign Legion post that the US took over in the early 2000s. It is the main permanent US military base in Africa and has been central to American operations across the Horn and Yemen.
• Japan opened a facility in 2011, initially to support anti-piracy patrols. It was the first overseas base of Japan's Self-Defense Forces, and Japan's first foreign military base since the Second World War.
• Italy established a support base around 2013, also linked to counter-piracy and regional missions.
• China opened its first overseas military base in Djibouti in 2017, near the port at Doraleh. China describes it as a support facility for naval escorts, peacekeeping and humanitarian missions, while others see it as a sign of China's growing global reach.

Other countries' forces have also used these facilities from time to time. Having rival powers, including the United States and China, based so close together in one small country is almost without parallel.

Rent, sovereignty and the Djiboutian view

The bases pay rent. Publicly reported figures suggest the US lease alone is worth tens of millions of dollars a year, and the combined income is a significant part of Djibouti's public revenue. The presence of powerful partners also offers a kind of security in a turbulent region, and Djibouti's leaders have deliberately balanced relationships with many states rather than relying on one.

Critics, inside and outside the country, ask whether so much foreign military presence limits real independence, how much of the income reaches ordinary households, and what would happen if relations between the great powers based there broke down. Djiboutians themselves hold a range of views, and the expedition hopes to hear them directly, from academics, journalists and ordinary residents, rather than treating the country as a backdrop for other nations' strategy.

Afar and Issa: the people behind the strategy

Djibouti is not an empty platform. Most of its people are Somali, especially from the Issa clan, or Afar, and both communities have family, pastoral and cultural ties across the borders into Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia or Somaliland. French and Arabic are the official languages, while Somali and Afar are spoken every day. Islam shapes public and private life.

The territory was known as French Somaliland, then from 1967 as the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas, a name that reflected its two main communities. It became independent as the Republic of Djibouti on 27 June 1977. Balancing Afar and Issa interests has been a central theme of politics since then, including during an armed conflict in the early 1990s. Today a young, largely urban population is shaping what it means to be Djiboutian, with Djibouti City home to a large share of the country's people.

On the road through Djibouti

The walk's current plan is to cross from Ethiopia and walk through the dry interior to Djibouti City, on the Gulf of Tadjoura close to the southern entrance to the Red Sea, where the walking line is planned to meet the sea for the first time since Cape Agulhas. Djibouti's port and railway story is told in our article on the Ethiopia Djibouti railway, and the geology of the interior in our piece on Lake Assal. You can see the whole line on the route page.

One thing needs saying clearly. Military installations, ports, airports and other security sites in Djibouti are prohibited subjects for photography, and the expedition will not photograph or film any base. Leon works in photography and film (read more about him), but this part of the story will be told through public maps, archive material and conversations with people who live here. The expedition will not walk through Sudan, and how it crosses from the Horn of Africa to Egypt will be decided nearer the time and declared openly.

Updates will appear in the journal once the walk is under way, and the kindness ledger records an act of kindness in each place Leon passes. If you would like to help, you can sponsor the walk.

Frequently asked questions

How many military bases are in Djibouti?

The countries most often listed are France, the United States, Japan, Italy and China, each with its own facility, and other nations have used them. Exact numbers vary depending on how facilities are counted.

Why does China have a base in Djibouti?

China opened its first overseas military base there in 2017, describing it as support for naval escort, peacekeeping and humanitarian work near one of its most important trade routes.

What does Bab el Mandeb mean?

It is Arabic, usually translated as the Gate of Grief or Gate of Lamentation, a name often linked to the dangers of navigating the strait.

Can you photograph military bases in Djibouti?

No. Photographing military sites, personnel and other security infrastructure is prohibited and can lead to serious trouble. Visitors should keep cameras away from them entirely.