By Elliot Gardner
From the article:
A convoluted legal battle is taking place over the Port of Doraleh in Djibouti. The country has illegally seized control of the port from operator DP World and reneged on its contract. And now a special report on the arms trade in the Horn of Africa has warned that the port could potentially be used as an illegal weapons hub. Elliot Gardner untangles the story behind the fight for control over the disputed port.
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The China factor: Djibouti’s imposing creditor
It’s been hypothesised that the reason behind the port seizure is Djibouti’s significant public debt to China. According to US-based think tank the Center for Global Development, Djibouti’s debt is projected to soon reach 88% of its $1.72bn GDP and by the end of 2016, 82% of this debt was owned by China. It has been floated that the Government of Djibouti’s actions may be a veiled attempt at appeasing its East Asian creditor.
Read the full article here.
