Guban View: US losing influence to China in key Africa port
Lewis Center, Ohio—Since taking office, President Trump has taken tough actions on China’s trade abuses, but has kept blind eye on China’s predatory practices in Africa. While using “Debt trap diplomacy”, China is keen to control the Doraleh container Terminal (DTC), a vital sea port located in the tiny but strategically located Africa nation of Djibouti, unless U.S. devises a more robust diplomatic and security strategy to counter China’s growing influence in the Horn of Africa.
Djibouti is an impoverished country, with fewer than one million inhabitants, but it is located on one the most strategic places in the world: The western shore of the Bal el-Mandeb, a strategic strait 18 miles wide that separates Red Sea from the Indian ocean. Bab el-Mandeb is a vital link of the maritime trade between Europe, the Middle East and South East. And Djibouti is also a hub for all of the imports and exports of the landlocked Ethiopia, with 90 million people.
Ismail Omar Geulleh, a despot, also known as IOG, has been misruling Djibouti since 1999 through various techniques including, government run propaganda, domestic pervasive intelligence apparatuses, and restricting or shutting media.Djibouti, a former French Somaliland, has only had two presidents since its independence in 1977 from France.
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This piece was orginally published on Columbus Dispatch
