Media: Tajikistan allows China to build a second military base
Tajikistan has allowed China to build a new military base on its territory, located near the Afghan border, Radio Azattyk reports, citing a communique sent by the Chinese Embassy in Dushanbe to the Tajik Foreign Ministry.
The parties agreed on the deal amid warnings from the Tajik authorities about the growing threats from Afghanistan.
The construction of the new facility, as journalists write, was approved on October 27 in the lower house of the Tajik parliament: an agreement between the Tajik foreign ministry and the Chinese security ministry.
According to the First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan Abdurahmon Alamshozoda, the base will appear in the village of Vakhan in the remote Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of the country and will belong to a special rapid reaction unit – special forces subordinate to the Department for Combating Organized Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country. Regular Tajik forces.
According to Tajik MP Tolibkhon Azimzoda, quoted by Azattyk, the construction of the new base will be carried out with financial support from China. The total cost will be $ 10 million.
“Construction is underway against the backdrop of the Taliban (an organization banned in Russia) seizure of Afghanistan and growing security threats on the country’s border,” the politician said.
According to lawmakers, the base will serve as a police base to combat organized crime.
There will be installed “special equipment for the information system of Interpol” from China.
One base already exists
This military base will be China’s second in Tajikistan. The first, as the newspaper writes, is located on the territory of the Murghab region near the Afghan border in a remote area near the Wakhan corridor, but its existence is denied by the governments of both countries. According to the materials used by the media, Chinese personnel are involved in the base in Tajikistan, but it belongs to the country in which it is located.
The Tajik government, according to journalists, has offered to transfer full control of the base to Beijing and waive any rent, and in return asked for Chinese military assistance amid the growing Afghan threat.
According to the documents, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon hands over China to China’s Defense Minister Wei Fenghe during his visit to Dushanbe in July.
In exchange, Beijing should increase funding to strengthen Tajik points along the border with Afghanistan.
The documents do not indicate whether China accepted the offer.
Russian 201st
In this context, the question arises about the compatibility of the Chinese military base with the 201st Russian base located there. This military facility is provided in two cities – Dushanbe and Bokhtar. It includes motorized rifle, tank, artillery, reconnaissance units, air defense units, RCB protection and communications. The tasks of the base are focused on the Central Asian direction.
According to the HSE Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, Andrei Kazantsev, this situation will not lead to serious contradictions with Russia, since so far there is no talk of a profession, that there will be large Chinese connections.
“It all depends on how much China itself will use this military base. Because there was information that China would build the base, and the Tajiks would use it. But if China will deploy a large number of troops there, then, of course, this could affect the balance of power in the future. So far, there are no special problems, ”the expert told Gazeta.Ru.
According to him, the Russian military base will be a priority for Tajikistan, a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
As Andrei Kazantsev recalled, Dushanbe receives large amounts of military aid from Moscow, and Tajik military personnel are being trained in Russia.
“Therefore, I believe that there will be additional cooperation with China. Even earlier, a military organization was created, which included China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. It was for the very same, there is to prevent threats from international extremists and terrorists. In principle, this process has been going on for a long time, ”he said.
China will finance the construction of a base that will be used by the Tajik Armed Forces, which has already been built, and will finally be handed over to China, “Russia in the Asia-Pacific Region” Carnegie Alexander Gabuev told Gazeta.Ru. At the same time, he notes that Russia has not expressed any objections to this.
The expert clarified that China is interested in this issue primarily in control over the Wakhan corridor, which is adjacent to the Xinjiang Uygur region.
“Here we see such a formula that China has no interests in the security sphere of Central Asia, and is also engaged in the economy – and does not encroach on the Russian traditional niche. Most likely, this is not true. It is obvious that China has its own objective interests and it intends to defend them, not only in partnership with Russia, ”the expert concluded.