Six countries' troops are within spitting distance of one other in the African port of Djibouti (ja Boot' ee). These countries are the United States, China, Japan, France, Spain, and Germany.

Djibouti is one of the world's busiest shipping ports. It is twelve miles from the Asian country of Yemen. These two countries border the Arabian Sea, Red Sea, and the Gulf of Eden. Djibouti borders these seas at Africa's most eastern point commonly known as "The Horn of Africa".

Either Djibouti or Yemen could act as a choking point for closing the shipping routes from Europe, through Egypt's Suez Canal, down Africa's eastern coast to India, China, and other points east. 

The first video is from RT (Russian Television).

China selected Djibouti as its first military base abroad.

The second video explains why Djibouti is important militarily to so many countries. 

Both videos run about three minutes each.