China Builds Secret Spy Hub Near US Base in Djibouti

Clear Facts

• China has expanded its military facility in Djibouti with advanced surveillance equipment located six miles from the main U.S. base at Camp Lemonnier.
• The upgrades include large satellite dishes, high-frequency antennas, and communications infrastructure designed to monitor regional military activity.
• Former Pentagon officials warn the site enables Beijing to intercept signals and track U.S. naval movements in a critical global shipping chokepoint.

A former Trump administration defense official says China is building eavesdropping capabilities right next to America’s only African military base.

The new facilities sit just six miles from Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, where the United States spends $66 million annually to project power across the continent.

“What China is clearly doing is building eavesdropping capabilities,” said Morgan Murphy, who served as press secretary for Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

“Beijing has clearly wiretapped the Red Sea. When you build a 30-meter (100-foot-wide) satellite dish and cover it with a dome, so nobody can see where it’s pointing, it’s pretty clear you’re up to no good.”

The Center for Strategic and International Studies documented the expansion, noting three 30-meter dipole antennas, mobile satellite dishes, and a radome covering an unidentified asset.

Two new communications facilities have appeared since 2024 that appear designed to intercept signals and track naval movements throughout the region.

“This isn’t a supply depot — it’s a 50-yard line seat over America’s power projection and the U.S. Navy,” Murphy warned.

The location overlooks the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, through which roughly one-sixth of global sea trade passes each year.

“Britain held Gibraltar to see who entered the Med while Japan’s island radios came before the runways. The Soviets’ overseas sites were never just about fuel and Beijing is running that playbook on the Red Sea,” Murphy said.

China’s Foreign Ministry claimed it was unaware of the specific situation and described the country as a builder of international peace.

“The new report is helpful in framing the conversation, and it comes at an awkward time for China because Xi Jinping is visiting the White House on the 24th of this month,” Murphy noted.

“I’d bet a box of donuts this issue comes up. There is going to be public exposure of this, which Chinese leadership isn’t used to.”

President Trump addressed Chinese intelligence efforts directly, noting that nations spy on each other.

“They basically do what we do,” Trump said. “Xi has behaved reasonably well, and we behave reasonably well. … You know what they say? That China spies on us. I say you’re right, and we spy on them, too.”

The proximity of China’s facility to U.S. operations raises serious concerns about potential interference.

“We are just right around the corner from China, and yet it’s not a cooperative relationship,” Murphy explained. “Back in 2018, they lasered two of our C-130 pilots’ eyes who suffered lasting damage from that incident.”

The United States maintains 128 bases across more than 51 countries, while China operates only one overseas facility.

“It’s our only base on the continent of Africa,” Murphy said, noting it shares space with Japanese and Italian installations. “At $66 million a year, it’s the best money Americans spend on our defense budget, full stop.”

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