China backs Somalia after Ethiopia-Somaliland Red Sea port deal
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (right) meets Chinese Ambassador to Somalia Fei Shengchao at Villa Somalia in Mogadishu on January 11, 2024. PHOTO | VILLA SOMALIA via X
China on Thursday called for the respect of Somalia's "territorial integrity" after a maritime accord between Ethiopia and the separatist region of Somaliland raised regional tensions.
Under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed January 1, Somaliland agreed to lease 20 kilometres (12 miles) of its coast for 50 years to land-locked Ethiopia, which indicated it wants to set up a naval base and a commercial port.
