The "Weishanhu" supply ship of the 14th escort taskforce of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy arrives in the Port of Djibouti of the Republic of Djibouti on the afternoon of June 6, 2013, local time, beginning its 3-day-long replenishment and recuperation. (Photo/CNR)

What China plans to build in Djibouti are logistics facilities which should not be regarded as military base in respect of functions and scales, a military expert told Global Times.

China is not the first country to build relevant facilities in Djibouti and this is not the first time that Djibouti has opened to foreign military, said Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute. The U.S., France and Japan have already built military bases in the area, Zhang added.

As Djibouti is one of the closest major ports to Somalia, China decided to build supplementary facilities there to provide its escort fleets with food, water and oil.

At a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress on March 8, Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, said China has so far dispatched 22 batches of escort fleets to Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia coast to carry out escort missions to counter piracy.

These fleets had experienced difficulties that affected the "rest and reorganization of the servicemen and the supply of oil", according to the Foreign Ministry.

Zhang also mentioned that China's fleets used to dock at ports of other countries through diplomatic approaches.

"China will not seek military interference into regional and other countries' affairs and not seek military expansion," Zhang said. "China has long insisted on a defensive defense policy."

China is trying to build necessary infrastructure and logistical capacities in regions with a concentration of China's interests, which is reasonable, logical and consistent with international practices, said Wang.

On Feb. 25, China's Ministry of National Defense confirmed that construction of relevant infrastructure and facilities had begun. Defense ministry spokesman Wu Qian said workers had been sent to the site.

In December 2015, the Ministry of National Defense confirmed that China and Djibouti had reached an agreement on the outpost.