China Expands Surveillance Capabilities Near Key US Base in Africa

By Andrew Powell (/journals/andrew-powell)

China has expanded communications and surveillance capabilities at its military base in Djibouti, placing new infrastructure within roughly six miles of a major U.S. installation, according to a new analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Satellite imagery reviewed by CSIS shows two communications facilities added since mid-2024 at China’s only officially acknowledged overseas military base, according to Fox News. The organization said the equipment strengthens China’s ability to communicate with forces operating across the Middle East and Africa and could support signals intelligence collection. The larger southeastern facility includes three 30-meter dipole antennas for high-frequency communications, additional antennas covering very high frequencies, three mobile satellite dishes, four probable 5G towers, and a radome covering an unidentified asset. CSIS said the two new facilities likely function as parts of a broader command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system. The setup could allow Chinese forces to maintain communications with ships and aircraft while monitoring military activity in the surrounding region. The report stopped short of saying Chinese forces are actively intercepting communications. CSIS said open-source analysis cannot confirm whether passive signals intelligence collection is currently taking place, though the equipment would support such missions and could provide information about the direction, frequency and pace of military signals. The base's location adds to the concern surrounding the upgrades. China’s base sits near Camp Lemonnier, the primary U.S. military installation in Djibouti, as well as facilities operated by France, Italy and Japan. Djibouti is also positioned near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a major maritime chokepoint through which CSIS estimates about 16% of global maritime trade passes. Morgan Murphy, a former Trump administration official who previously served as press secretary to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, described the developments as an indication that Beijing is building intelligence-gathering capabilities near foreign military operations. The upgrades come as U.S.-China tensions over military and intelligence activities remain a subject of scrutiny. President Donald Trump recently acknowledged that China conducts espionage against the United States while saying the U.S. also conducts intelligence operations against China. China’s Foreign Ministry has maintained that Beijing is a contributor to international peace. The new CSIS analysis, however, says the expanded infrastructure gives the People’s Liberation Army a stronger forward communications and intelligence position covering parts of the Middle East and Africa. The Djibouti base opened in 2017 and has supported Chinese naval operations in the Gulf of Aden.