Japan to expand SDF base in Djibouti

November 19, 2017

Tokyo- Japan has agreed to lease 3 hectares of empty land in Djibouti for use by its Self-Defense Forces operating in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia on an antipiracy mission, government sources said Saturday.

The lease is designed to expand the SDF's operational base there that at present houses such facilities as hangars and barracks on 12 hectares of land.

The base was set up in the northwestern area of Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport in June 2011.

The Japanese and Djibouti governments agreed on the new lease on Wednesday that covers the land on the eastern side of the SDF base, the sources said.

The expansion is for security reasons, the sources said.

The Japanese government is seen considering using the new area to build facilities such as for sheltering Japanese nationals in the event of emergencies.

In July last year, the Japanese government flew the SDF's C-130 transport aircraft from Djibouti to evacuate four staff members at the Japanese embassy in Juba, the capital of nearby South Sudan, amid a worsening security situation. Jiji Press