Ships carrying Chinese troops tasked with setting up the country's first overseas military base are steaming towards the East African nation of Djibouti.

China calls its new facility a 'support base' and says it will have mainly logistical functions, however observers see it as a key part of Beijing’s plans to expand its global reach through military might.

India in particular views the base with suspicion as New Delhi is concerned that China is confronting it with a ‘ring of pearls’ – a series of assets and alliances across the Indian Ocean and into South-East Asia.

A report from the Pentagon recently suggested that China is likely to open a military base in Pakistan, India’s main rival in Asia. However, China dismissed this.