In the wake of the United States’ pullout from Afghanistan, China is looking to fill some of the real estate left behind in an attempt to strengthen ties with the Taliban and embarrass America.
China is considering sending military personnel and economic development officials to Bagram Airfield, one of the most prominent American military bases during the 20-year war, according to U.S. News & World Report.
The Communist country is reportedly conducting a feasibility study on the effect of such a plan as part of its ‘Belt and Road Initiative.’
China is considering sending military personnel and economic development officials to Bagram Airfield, one of the most prominent American military bases during the 20-year war
China, through a foreign ministry spokesperson, issued a denial.
‘What I can tell everyone is that that is a piece of purely false information,’ Wang Wenbin told reporters Tuesday morning.
However, Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center think tank, believes China may not be sincere in its denial and is very interested in that land.
The Communist country, led by President Xi Jinping, is reportedly conducting a feasibility study on the effect of such a plan as part of its ‘Belt and Road Initiative’
‘Given their past experience, the Chinese must be eager to get their hands on whatever the U.S. has left at the base,’ says
The military airfield, located roughly an hour from Kabul, was first established by the Soviets during their own occupation in Afghanistan and which at the height of the U.S. military presence there was its busiest in the world.
US forces in Afghanistan abandoned their main base at Bagram airport overnight in July – shutting off the lights and slipping away into the night without telling government forces who were supposed to take it over.
General Mir Asadullah Kohistani, who is now in charge of the base which for 20 years served as the headquarters for America’s war on the Taliban, said he only discovered the Americans had left two hours after they were gone when they called from Kabul airport.
By the time he arrived with troops to secure the site, looters had broken in and carried away many items that the soldiers had left behind – including laptops, stereo speakers, bicycles and guitars which were being hawked from second-hand shops by Sunday morning.
General Kohistani said troops also left behind small arms and ammunition along with hundreds of military vehicles and thousands of civilian cars and trucks, though many do not have the keys needed to start them. He has also inherited Bagram prison and its roughly 5,000 inmates – mostly believed to be Taliban.
It came as Joe Biden put an end to America’s ‘forever war’ with all US troops due to be out of the country by the symbolic date of September 11 – though commanders were on course to withdraw by the end of August.
Former American Ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley seemed to predict something like this in the wake of the United States’ departure.
‘We need to watch China, because I think you are going to see China make a move for Bagram Air Force Base,’ said Haley in an interview with Fox News as she made the case for reconnecting with allies who felt let down by a precipitous withdrawal.
While Western nations were evacuating their embassies, the Chinese mission kept operating
‘I think they are also making a move in Afghanistan and trying to use Pakistan to get stronger to go against India.
‘So, we have got a lot of issues. The biggest thing he should do is strengthen our allies, strengthen those relationships, modernise our military, and make sure we are prepared for the cyber-crimes and the terrorist crimes that are headed our way.’
While Western nations were evacuating their embassies, the Chinese mission kept operating. Their security guards simply change from Afghan government security forces to Taliban gunmen.
The Taliban has already begun talking up plans for cooperation with Beijing.
A Taliban spokesman told an Italian newspaper that Afghanistan’s new rulers will rely primarily on financing from China as it seeks to head off a looming humanitarian crisis and begin reconstruction.
‘China is our most important partner and represents a fundamental and extraordinary opportunity for us, because it is ready to invest and rebuild our country,’ Zabihullah Mujahid told La Repubblica in an interview.
Since 2002, the base has been one of the major symbols of America’s War in Afghanistan
He also praised the New Silk Road – part of the Belt and Road Initiative that China is using to open up trade routes – and said Beijing investment could help reopen copper mines.
A report suggests China’s deployment might not be coming for another two years and it would not involve them taking over the base, merely sending personnel at the Taliban’s invite.
China likely achieve its latest ambitions for Bagram through help from Pakistan, Sun says, adding, ‘I am sure they would like to cut out the middleman,’ she added. ‘If the Taliban requests Chinese assistance, I think China will be inclined to send human support. Most likely, they will frame it as technical support or logistic support.’
A Taliban spokesman told an Italian newspaper that Afghanistan’s new rulers will rely primarily on financing from China as it seeks to head off a looming humanitarian crisis