NDTV Exclusive report. Satellite images sourced by us indicate that China's naval base in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa is now fully operational and supports Chinese warships deployed in the Indian Ocean. You see the base on your screen right now. Why is this important for us? China's presence in Djibouti is part of a detailed plan to establish its presence in the Indian Ocean, directed not just, for example, at the U. S. Navy, which is major basis in the Persian Gulf but also at the Indian Navy, the next largest in the region. Images of the fully operational base in Djibouti come at a time when China's DR 25,000 tonne satellite and ballistic missile tracking ship in the Sri Lankan port of Hambantota will talk about that as well in a moment. But first, this is the area that we are talking about Djibouti in Africa to the West, Gwadar in Pakistan, where China is building a base, and Hambantota to the eastern Sri Lanka, where China has a 99 year lease to the port. It's effectively, there's but first, let's turn our attention to the Chinese base in Djibouti on your screen built at a cost of $590 million and under construction since 2016. It's located by the strategic Bab al Mandeb Strait, which guards the approach to the Suez Canal, one of the most critical channels of international commerce. Significantly, the images from Maxie, which we procured, show a Chinese ship a usual class line ending ship Doctor Long, a 320 metre long berthing area located near an apron that supports helicopter operations. This is a large 25,000 tonne vessel designed to embark up to 800 soldiers and a combination of vehicles, air cushion, landing craft and helicopters. In other words, a potential flagship of any Chinese fleet operating in the Indian Ocean. Elsewhere, there is an April that you see over here for helicopter operations in the centre of your screen looks like a small runway where in this image taken less than a week back, there appear to be training activities underway on this apron or runway a short distance away. A new building is under construction, as you can see, and the containers set up in the same facility are likely to support urban and counter terror operations trading that's what the assessment from experts that we have spoken to seem to indicate. And in this image you can see a wide shot of all of what we have described so far. The shift, the base, the training facilities, the new building under construction. It's a large facility in the Horn of Africa. Finally, a look at the Chinese satellite and missile observations shipped the yuan Wang five everyone's been talking about that remains docked in Hambantota. In Sri Lanka, we marked its satellite in communication dishes. It's birth next to an oil tank farm and is likely being re fuelled. It is being re fuelled at a time when Sri Lanka hardly has enough fuel to supply its own citizens.
