Horn of Africa · Explainer
Key Facts
- The host Djibouti, a country of about 1.1 million people at the southern mouth of the Red Sea, hosts military bases for China, France, Italy, Japan and the United States.
- The biggest Camp Lemonnier, run by the US Navy, supports about 4,000 US, joint and allied personnel and is the home of the US military’s Horn of Africa task force.
- The newest China opened a military base in Djibouti in August 2017, and its navy is believed to have a berth in the nearby port.
- The rent Washington pays about US$63 million a year for Camp Lemonnier, and France, China and Italy pay less, on 2019 estimates.
- Beyond Djibouti Russia’s planned naval base at Port Sudan has not been built, and the UAE left its base at Assab in Eritrea in 2019.
- The new risk The Houthis, the movement that controls northern Yemen, seized Perim Island in the middle of the Bab el-Mandeb strait on 11 September 2026.
- Prediction markets Polymarket gives a 4.5% chance that the Bab el-Mandeb strait is effectively closed by 31 October 2026 and 13.5% by 31 December (16 October, 5:43 a.m. ET).
Djibouti military bases belong to five foreign powers: the United States, China, France, Japan and Italy. This small country of about 1.1 million people sits at the southern gate of the Red Sea, the sea route to the Suez Canal.
Their garrisons guard shipping, hunt militants and rescue citizens from wars, and they now sit beside a new front. The Houthis seized an island in the strait next door on 11 September 2026.
Why Djibouti Hosts So Many Armies
Djibouti sits where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden, and the World Bank calls that location the country’s strength. The bank puts the population at about 1.1 million.
The World Bank says Djibouti hosts military bases for China, France, Italy, Japan, the United States and NATO. It adds that other countries supporting global anti-piracy efforts have bases there as well.
Djibouti chooses its tenants and can change them. It broke off relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in April 2015 after a lease dispute, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) wrote.
Djibouti’s military bases also earn rent. SIPRI listed the annual rents in 2019 as US$63 million for the United States, US$36 million for France and US$20 million for China.
SIPRI gave Italy’s rent as US$2.6 million, and these are estimates, not published figures. Our Djibouti explainer shows how these payments fit with the ports and the presidency of Ismail Omar Guelleh.
The Bases One by One
The five Djibouti military bases sit close together around the capital, Djibouti City, its airport and its port. SIPRI, the Swedish peace research institute, surveyed them in 2019, so its figures are dated.
United States: Camp Lemonnier and Chabelley
Opened: The US Navy says Djibouti allowed American military use of the former French camp after negotiations in 2001. SIPRI says the task force moved in on 13 May 2003.
Size: About 4,000 US, joint and allied military and civilian personnel, the US Navy says, plus about 1,000 local and third-country workers.
Mission: The primary base for US Africa Command in the Horn of Africa and headquarters of its Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.
Cost: About US$63 million a year in rent under a lease signed in 2014, SIPRI wrote in 2019.
Chabelley: SIPRI wrote in 2019 that the US had flown drones since 2013 from Chabelley, a French military airfield outside the capital.
China: People’s Liberation Army Support Base
Opened: August 2017. Beijing calls it a logistics support base, SIPRI wrote.
Size: A 36-hectare site with barracks, eight hangars and a 450-metre pier for large warships, which SIPRI estimated could hold several thousand troops.
Mission: Beijing says it supports anti-piracy, peacekeeping and evacuation operations, SIPRI wrote.
Cost: About US$20 million a year on a 10-year lease, SIPRI wrote in 2019.
France: French Forces in Djibouti
Opened: French forces have been present since the protectorate of 1883 to 1887.
Size: About 1,450 troops in 2019, the minimum set by a 2011 defence treaty that took effect on 1 May 2014, SIPRI wrote.
Mission: Defending Djibouti under that treaty, SIPRI wrote, and supporting French and allied navies, including the EU’s anti-piracy mission.
Cost: About US$36 million a year, SIPRI wrote in 2019.
Japan: Self-Defense Force Base Djibouti
Opened: 2011, Japan’s first permanent overseas base since the Second World War, SIPRI wrote.
Size: Room for 180 personnel on 12 hectares at the start, plus a destroyer and two patrol aircraft, SIPRI wrote in 2019.
Mission: Counter-piracy first, and later evacuations of Japanese citizens, including from South Sudan in July 2016.
Italy: National Support Military Base
Opened: 2013, next to Djibouti’s airport.
Size: Room for up to 300 troops, with about 80 on average, SIPRI wrote in 2019.
Mission: Supporting Italian ships in the EU anti-piracy mission and flying drones.
Cost: About US$2.6 million a year, SIPRI wrote.
Saudi Arabia: Agreed, Not Built
Status: Riyadh signed a security agreement with Djibouti in 2016 meant to lead to a base. SIPRI found in 2019 that no new facility had opened.
Bases Beyond Djibouti
In Somaliland, the UAE won a lease in 2016 to develop a military airfield at Berbera. SIPRI wrote in 2019 that work on a combined air and naval base was due to finish that June.
Somalia’s government rejected the deal, arguing that Somaliland’s authorities cannot make it. Our Somaliland explainer covers the port, which DP World runs, and the recognition fight.
In Eritrea, the UAE kept a base at Assab from 2015 to 2019 to support its Yemen campaign, Crisis Group wrote in February 2026. After the UAE left, relations with Asmara soured, and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki criticised the UAE in 2025.
Assab is also at the heart of Ethiopia’s sea-access demand. Our Ethiopia sea-access explainer and our guide to Eritrea cover it.
Russia and Sudan agreed in late 2020 on a naval supply point, with up to 300 personnel and four ships, Sudan Tribune wrote in December 2025. The paper added that Sudan has taken no steps to carry out the deal.
A Sudanese military source told Sudan Tribune on 6 December 2025 that the plan is frozen for now. Private sources told the paper that army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan gave Saudi Arabia the same message, and neither claim is confirmed on the record.
Turkey opened a military training camp in Mogadishu on 30 September 2017, which SIPRI called its largest overseas military facility. Our Somalia explainer covers Turkey’s role in the country.
Off Yemen, the UAE began an airstrip on Perim Island in 2016 and reportedly stopped work in 2018, SIPRI wrote. On 11 September 2026 the Houthis captured the island, Security Council Report said, and media reports say Iranian Revolutionary Guard advisers were present.
What the Bases Do
US Africa Command runs its Horn of Africa task force from Camp Lemonnier. It announced airstrikes on the Islamic State’s Somali branch and on al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda affiliate fighting Somalia’s government, on 26 and 27 October 2025.
The EU’s Operation Atalanta, launched in 2008, has a mandate extended in December 2024 to February 2027. Its tasks include deterring piracy off Somalia and protecting World Food Programme ships.
The same mandate tells Atalanta to coordinate with Aspides, the EU operation that protects shipping in the Red Sea. Our report on the EU status of forces agreement covers Aspides in Djibouti, and our Houthi explainer covers the attacks.
Japan’s 2026 defence white paper digest says its forces continue counter-piracy work off Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden. Japan opened its Djibouti base in 2011 for that purpose.
The bases also serve as exits. On 23 April 2023 US embassy staff from Sudan were flown to Camp Lemonnier, according to the US Navy’s photo caption.
China’s navy took about 800 Chinese and foreign nationals from Yemen to Djibouti in 2015 for flights home, SIPRI wrote. Our explainer on the war in Sudan, the Sudan war guide, shows why evacuation routes matter again.
The US and China as Neighbours
China’s base lies immediately south-west of the Doraleh Multipurpose Port, which Chinese firms helped develop. SIPRI wrote in 2019 that the Chinese navy is believed to have its own berth there.
SIPRI wrote that the US accused Chinese personnel of using lasers to blind American pilots, and that China denied it. It also noted US worry that Chinese control of Doraleh port could force the Americans out.
Crisis Group wrote in February 2026 that the US has scaled back its presence in the Horn in recent years. It added that China, with a base in Djibouti and investments in Ethiopia, would have much to lose from an Ethiopia-Eritrea war.
The wider contest is the subject of our Bab el-Mandeb analysis and our guide to Horn of Africa geopolitics. Ethiopia has also reportedly asked Djibouti for a naval base, as our report on the Tadjourah request explains.
What the Markets Say
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
Polymarket’s market on the Bab el-Mandeb strait being effectively closed gives 4.5% by 31 October and 13.5% by 31 December (16 October, 5:43 a.m. ET). The event has drawn about US$17 million in bets.
A separate Polymarket market gives 12.2% that Perim Island is no longer under Houthi control by 31 October and 29.5% by 31 December, with about US$415,000 wagered. A third gives 6.0% for an Eritrean invasion of Ethiopia by 31 October and 12.0% by 31 December.
What It Means for US Readers
The US State Department calls Camp Lemonnier the only enduring US military presence in Africa. The US Navy says it supports about 4,000 people, so any threat to Djibouti is a direct US security question.
For shippers and importers, the bases matter because they protect the Red Sea route between Asia and the Suez Canal. A closure of the strait would push cargo around Africa, which is the risk the markets above are pricing.
The Houthis attacked three commercial vessels between 9 August and 9 September 2026, the UN Secretary-General reported, according to Security Council Report. An attack on 11 August on the Tihamah cargo ship killed four seafarers.
Investors in shipping, energy and defence can follow the contest through our Horn of Africa hub. Congress has moved to deepen ties with Somaliland, including use of Berbera port, as our report on Berbera and US minerals explains.
What Is Not Known
Rents are not officially published, so the figures above are SIPRI’s 2019 estimates. Troop numbers also come from SIPRI’s 2019 survey, apart from the US Navy’s figure for Camp Lemonnier.
Whether the UAE’s Berbera base ever came into use is not publicly confirmed. The same is true of Saudi Arabia’s planned base in Djibouti, which SIPRI said had not opened by 2019.
Whether Russia will build at Port Sudan is open, because Sudan’s army has frozen the plan only according to unnamed sources. Turkey’s current troop numbers in Mogadishu are not confirmed either.
Ethiopian Business Review wrote, citing The Eastleigh Voice, that Djibouti’s president rejected an Ethiopian naval base at Tadjourah. That is a second-hand account, and whether Addis Ababa accepts it is open, as our report notes.
Security Council Report said the leaders of Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia declared on 4 October 2026 that Red Sea governance is the exclusive responsibility of littoral states. How that applies to Djibouti’s foreign bases is unclear.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which countries have military bases in Djibouti?
Djibouti military bases belong to China, France, Italy, Japan, the United States and NATO, the World Bank says. SIPRI found German and Spanish personnel inside French facilities there in 2019.
Why does Djibouti host so many foreign bases?
It sits at the southern mouth of the Red Sea, on the route between Asia and the Suez Canal. Its military bases also earn rent, which SIPRI put at about US$63 million a year from the United States alone in 2019.
How big is Camp Lemonnier?
The US Navy says it supports about 4,000 US, joint and allied military and civilian personnel. It is the primary base of operations for US Africa Command in the Horn of Africa.
Does China have a military base in Djibouti?
Yes, China opened a People’s Liberation Army support base there in August 2017. SIPRI wrote that it has a 450-metre pier and estimated room for several thousand troops.
Sources: World Bank, Djibouti Overview, accessed October 2026; US Navy, Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, accessed October 2026; US Navy, Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, About, accessed October 2026; US State Department, US Relations With Djibouti, accessed October 2026; US Africa Command, About the Command, accessed October 2026; US Africa Command, Newsroom (Somalia airstrikes), 26 to 28 October 2025; SIPRI, The Foreign Military Presence in the Horn of Africa Region (Background Paper), April 2019; Crisis Group, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Tigray: A Powder Keg in the Horn of Africa, 18 February 2026; Security Council Report, Yemen: October 2026 Monthly Forecast, October 2026; Security Council Report, Horn of Africa: Closed Consultations, 12 October 2026; Sudan Tribune, Sudan freezes plans for Russian naval base on Red Sea, 6 December 2025; Sudan Tribune, Sudan’s Burhan tells Saudi Arabia Russian naval base plans are frozen, 30 December 2025; Sudan Tribune, Sudan, Russia reach agreement on Russian naval base: Sudanese FM, 12 February 2025; EU Naval Force Operation ATALANTA, Mission, accessed October 2026; Japan Ministry of Defense, Defense of Japan 2026 Digest, 2026; Ethiopian Business Review, Djibouti confirms Ethiopia’s Tadjourah port request is off the table, 2026; Institute for National Security Studies, Strategic Assessment, Vol. 27 No. 4, November 2024; Presidency of Djibouti, accessed October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief