China Waiting For An Opportunity To Enter Afghanistan – Free PDF Download

What’s happening?

• Amid Taliban’s rapid quest to get international recognition and financial support as US formally withdraws troops from Afghanistan in September,
• China is extending its interests in the country by eyeing access to untapped mineral resources, developing industries through Belt and Road Initiative, and
• Ensuring Afghan doesn’t become a hotbed for Uyghur Islamic militants from Xinjiang province that shares border with the country.

China’s relation with Taliban

• China supported Taliban in 1990s because of the fear that Uyghur separatist movement could get support from Islamic terrorists and extremist groups operating from the Afghan soil.
• China supported the Taliban government from 1996 to 2001 by supplying weapons.
• That continued even after the 9/11 attacks when Taliban were largely known as a terrorist group.
• According to a BBC report, Britain sent messages to China on Taliban using Chinese weapons in attacks on British troops in Afghanistan.
• China in fact has only increased its closeness to the Afghan insurgent groups, with last 20 years seeing several important Taliban visits to China.
• And Taliban have assured China of returning the favour.

Taliban on China’s border

• Taliban say they now control 85% of Afghanistan, including key border crossings on the borders of China, Iran, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
• The current government has disputed the 85% claim but Taliban now control large portions of Afghanistan.
• The insurgent group seized one-third of Afghanistan’s district this year including the Badakhshan province that borders with Uyghurs’ homeland Xinjiang province that was forcefully occupied by China 72 years ago.

Taliban’s assurance to China

• Uyghurs don’t accept Chinese rule and the Uyghur freedom movement has seen emergence of militant groups that are either part of or supported by Al Qaeda.
• But Taliban have assured China that it would not let the Afghan territory become a hub for Uyghur separatist movement;
• That it would not allow militants from Al Qaeda aligned East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and other groups to operate from there; and
• That it ensure that Al Qaeda doesn’t carry out anti-China operations from Afghanistan.
• Moreover, Taliban have also promised China access to Afghan mineral reserves and natural resources,
• That according to the World Bank assessment, has “world-class deposits of copper and iron ore, with mid-scale oil and gas fields that carry the greatest potential”.
• Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the group had been a regular visitor of China, a “friendly country”, and invited China toreconstruct and develop in Afghanistan.

Geopolitical importance

• For President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party, Afghanistan is of geopolitical importance.
• It offers a portal through which the Chinese military might access the Arabian Sea, via Iran or Pakistan.
• The war-torn country could also provide access to Iran and the Middle East, and a route to the Indian Ocean and on to Africa.

But is it going to be easy for China?

• The civil war between the existing government and Taliban has also been joined by old Mujahedeen warlords with the country witnessing revival of regional armed militias.
• The Taliban rule in 1990s had effectively killed the regional warlord supremacy in Afghanistan and it got revived only when the Taliban were uprooted in 2001.
• Afghanistan has seen decades of civil wars pushed by different world powers.
• First, it was by Soviet Union in 1980s that gave rise to different warlords.
• These warlords or Mujahedeen were then supported by US, and Pakistan acted an intermediary.
• In 1990s, the Afghan civil war was pushed by Pakistan through Taliban.
• After 9/11, US attacked Afghanistan and uprooted the Taliban government there for supporting Al Qaeda that was behind the 9/11 terror attacks.
• But Pakistan never stopped supporting Taliban and Al Qaeda.
• It in fact became a safe haven for these terrorists, either through the government support or Afghan insurgent groups cornering Afghanistan-Pakistan border tribal areas that were beyond the control of the Pak government and army.

conclusion

• Taliban will need financial assistance and arms and ammunition support for it that a cash-strapped Pakistan cannot provide,
• So China is expected to be in the driver’s seat during this civil war, with the clear objective to push its interests further in the country.
• China, in fact, blames US for Afghan problems. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the US is the source of the Afghan conflict.

Q) Heart of Asia Conference was initiated by which 2 countries?

1. Afghanistan and Turkey
2. Afghanistan and Russia
3. China and Russia
4. China and Turkey

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