Foreign military bases seen as threat to East Africa

French president Emmanuel Macron (right) visits the French military base in Djibouti on March 12, 2019. PHOTO | LUDOVIC MARIN | AFP

Western nations, China and emerging military powers such as India and Turkey are projecting their military might throughout East Africa, a new report says.

The growing array of foreign military deployments has so far served mainly as an expression of international co-operation on benign initiatives such as preventing piracy, supporting peace operations and providing humanitarian relief, notes the study carried out by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).