China expands military might to africa

DEFENSE AND TECHNOLOGY -- China has begun construction of a logistics base in Djibouti, the Ministry of Defence said on Thursday, what the Horn of African country's government calls a military facility that will be China's first overseas.

Last year, China said it was in talks to build what it describes as naval "support facilities" in the Horn of Africa nation, which has fewer than a million people but is striving to become an international shipping hub.

Djibouti, strategically located at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal, is already home to U.S. and French bases, while other navies often use its port.