Bagram: The Taliban should decide on US return to the air base, says China
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Amid reports that the US is wooing the Taliban back into its fold and planning to re-establish its Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, to keep tabs on the Muslim-majority Xinjiang province of China and Central Asia, Beijing said Kabul should decide on this matter.
China respects Afghanistan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, the media reported on Friday.
The decision to re-establish a US presence at Bagram Air Base should be left to Afghanistan and its people, he said, while responding to President Donald Trump’s remarks that Washington is trying to get back the strategic facility for its proximity to China.
The future of Afghanistan should be in the hands of the Afghan people, Lin said.
We stress that hyping up regional tensions does not win support. We hope relevant sides could play a constructive role in regional stability, he said.
President Trump on Thursday revealed the US plans to acquire the sprawling air base four years after American troops’ chaotic withdrawal in 2021 following the orders from his predecessor, Joe Biden, as Taliban militants retook control of Kabul.
Trump said he would like to reacquire the strategic air base because it is located close to China.
“We’re trying to get it back because they need things from us,” Trump said, referring to the talks between the interim Afghanistan government led by the Taliban and the US interlocutors to re-establish relations.
Financially-crippled, the Taliban regime is trying to get back its funds and assets worth about USD 10 billion which the Washington-led West froze in 2021 after the US’s sudden exit from the terror-infested mountainous country, after two decades of failure to win Afghanistan.
Trump said the US presence at Bagram is of value because of its proximity to China which is emerging as a significant economic and military competitor to the US.
“But one of the reasons we want that base back is, as you know, it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons. So, a lot of things are happening,” he said.
On its part, China re-established diplomatic relations with the Taliban government soon after it seized power in Kabul and made investments to revive a copper mine and extract oil.
Trump made the comments during a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he wrapped up his visit to the UK.
