Western Journalism quotes Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham on the significance of China increasing their global stature with its first military base on the African continent located in Djibouti:
The U.S. has for decades been the primary naval presence in the Middle East/North Africa region. “U.S. global leadership is predicated heavily on the U.S. role in protecting and to an extent controlling sea lanes of communication,” J. Peter Pham, direction of the Africa Center of the Atlantic Council, told The Hill. “If China establishes itself as a fellow protector of the global commons, then it certainly increases its stature.”