Djibouti risks losing autonomy to China's Debt Trap Diplomacy

   Infrastructure projects financed by Chinese capital are gathering steam in Djibouti, causing concern in Washington that the tiny East African nation is falling into a debt trap that will allow Beijing to reinforce its influence on the continent. With the coronavirus spreading in the Horn of Africa, its fiscal burden may further increase. According to Johns Hopkins University, Djibouti has 1008 cases of coronavirus so far, increasing from a mere 30 a month ago. Due to the rising number of cases in the country, the US military based in Djibouti declared a public health emergency on Apr. 23. Djibouti stands on the western end of the Gulf of Aden and at the southern gateway to the Red Sea, at the other end of which is the Suez Canal. The nation looks out at a busy international shipping lane through which 20,000 vessels pass every year, and its geography has won Djibouti much global attention, with troops from multiple countries including the U.S., China and Japan stationed the...