Maritime trade, engineering, armed forces... In more ways than one, Djibouti is an eminently instructive country for the IHEDN. That's why, from 10 to 14 January, students in the 'Defence Policy' and 'Maritime Challenges and Strategies' majors will be taking part in a series of courses designed to provide them with a better understanding of Djibouti's maritime policy. went there on a fact-finding mission..
On site, they were able to see for themselves the unique geostrategic importance of this state in the Horn of Africa, located at the entrance to the Gulf of Aden (the gateway between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean). With a surface area of 23,200 km2 Djibouti, with a population of 1.136 million, faces Yemen and controls the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which handles a significant proportion of the world's maritime traffic: 12% of the total volume, 40% of Asia-Europe trade and, for example, 90% of Japanese exports (these figures have fallen since the start of the crisis with the Houthis following the Hamas-Israel conflict). The rapidly expanding Doraleh container terminal, one of the largest on the African continent, reflects this position. The country is also a major submarine data cable hub, with more than 90 % of Europe-Asia capacity routed via the Red Sea.
From the 2000s onwards, France, which has stationed troops there since Djibouti's independence in 1977, was joined by several foreign armies: in 2003, the United States set up its largest base on the African continent (4,000 personnel today); Japan followed suit in 2011 with its first overseas base since the Second World War; the same was true of the Italian base established in 2012. Finally, in 2017, China set up its own base, with several thousand soldiers today and up to 10,000 in the long term. In addition, there are Spanish and German contingents on French bases as part of European Union operations.
Djibouti benefits in several ways from the presence of these different armies. "In economic terms, France, the United States, Italy, Japan and China pay an annual rent, part of which is redistributed within the state apparatus," explains Brendon Novel, a doctoral student in political science at the University of Montreal and a specialist in the Horn of Africa. "This rent and the development aid of which these countries are major providers make up a significant part of the state budget.
"A KEY GEOSTRATEGIC PLAYER" THANKS TO "PROACTIVE DIPLOMACY".
The benefits are also political and diplomatic. Djibouti's President Ismaël Omar Guelleh, in power since 1999, is behind this strategy. "He has developed a proactive diplomacy to make Djibouti a key geostrategic player and attract a wide range of partners to its territory in order to guarantee its security, sovereignty and economic development", adds the researcher:
"The hosting of military bases is one of the levers that will enable Djibouti to assert itself in the long term as a key partner whose stability must be preserved. Today, Djibouti's geographical position and the instability that surrounds it make it an indispensable 'island of stability' for the regional geopolitical and geo-economic strategies of many states. As a result, the large number of foreign bases on its territory is the result of a strategy to diversify its partnerships, with the aim of avoiding political and economic dependence on a single player".
Furthermore, according to Brendon Novel, "these bases are partly perceived as a guarantee of security. Their presence could help deter hostile actors from attacking the country". Of the five military powers present in Djibouti, France is the only one to have signed a security clause with the host country, under which it contributes to the defence of its air, land and sea space.
The Defence Cooperation Treaty (TCMD) between the two countries was renewed for 20 years in July 2024, and is currently in the process of being ratified. Nearly 1,500 French servicemen and women from various armies are based in Djibouti, on short-term (4 months) or long-term (3 years) missions: the French Army, Air Force, Space Force and Navy are all represented, with soldiers from different units. "Our relationship with our Djiboutian comrades is very good," says Air Force Major General Sébastien Vallette, commander of the French Forces stationed in Djibouti (FFDj) since 15 August 2024. "It is based on mutual respect, friendship and trust built up over the years. We share common strategic interests.
NUMEROUS TRAINING INITIATIVES WITH THE DJIBOUTIAN ARMY
The armies of the two countries therefore cooperate frequently. "We operate together whenever the Djibouti armed forces can, because they are already heavily involved in Somalia," explains General Vallette:
"In particular, this involves operational cooperation to complement structural cooperation under the responsibility of the French embassy's defence mission and Djibouti's internal security cooperation services. We carry out a large number of training initiatives with all of Djibouti's defence and security forces, in particular the national gendarmerie and the national police force. We also conduct large-scale annual training programmes together, called WAKRI and AMITIÉ.
During their study mission, the IHEDN auditors were able to witness a hostage rescue simulation carried out jointly by the French army's marine commandos and the Djiboutian GIGN (Groupement d'intervention de la gendarmerie nationale).
The presence of France and other nations in Djibouti also enables them to train together. "The French forces maintain open and cordial relations with all the military detachments present on Djiboutian territory," says General Vallette:
"We need to coordinate our actions so that we can operate in total security and with full respect for the sovereignty of the Djiboutian authorities. For example, we train regularly alongside our American counterparts, and carry out joint activities with other national representations. We also maintain close links with the European Union missions (Aspides and Atalanta).
Underway since 19 February 2024, Operation Aspides, also known as EUNAVFOR Aspides, aims to protect merchant vessels from attacks from Yemen by the Houthis - over 590 vessels have already been protected to date. In addition to the French Navy, naval and military forces from Belgium, Italy, Germany, Greece, Romania, Estonia, Poland, Finland, Latvia and the Netherlands are taking part.
Operation EUNAVFOR Atalanta has been underway since 2008, protecting ships against pirates sailing from the coast of Somalia. Involving 24 EU countries with support from other states (Colombia, South Korea, New Zealand, etc.), it has already protected 2,500 merchant ships and arrested nearly 200 pirates.
PRESIDENT MACRON: DJIBOUTI IS "AT THE HEART OF OUR INDOPACIFIC STRATEGY
In addition to these collaborations with Djibouti and other countries, the RDF and the French military establishments on the ground enable France to intervene in a very wide arc, stretching from the Sahel to the Middle East. "Djibouti remains more than ever a strategic base for France, which has a forward operating base (FOB) equipped with the aircraft and ships needed for a wide range of operations," explains Brendon Novel. "The French Defence and Civil Protection Forces have already been deployed on operations such as those in the Central African Republic and Yemen.
In crisis situations, the French base also serves as a logistics and coordination point for the evacuation of French and foreign nationals. "Operation Sagittaire, which was launched at the start of the civil war in Sudan in April 2023, led to the evacuation of almost 900 people, including 200 French nationals", explains the researcher.
More recently, in December 2024, the French facilities there proved very useful for the humanitarian aid transported by the army to Mayotte after Cyclone Chido: several A-400M jumbo jets were mobilised to land daily from France via Djibouti and Réunion. France is 5,500 km from Djibouti, which is 2,700 km from Mayotte.
Lastly, our presence in Djibouti is vital to France's Indo-Pacific strategy, as French President Emmanuel Macron has reminded us during his visit to the FFDjon 20 December:
"Here [...], we are at the heart of our Indo-Pacific strategy. I formulated it in 2018, but it began with this base long before. And between Djibouti, the United Arab Emirates, our armed forces deployed on our soil, the FAZSOI [Forces armées dans la zone sud de l'océan Indien, editor's note] in Réunion, well, it's this triangle, if I can put it that way, which structures, along with the other bases, the operations that we can carry out in Oceania, and more broadly in the Pacific. This Indo-Pacific strategy would not be possible militarily without Djibouti.
