Coming right on the heels of the riots in Uzbekistan and Islam Karimov’s visit to China is this:
China May Consider Sending Troops to Kyrgyzstan
China may “seriously consider”Â? sending its troops to Kyrgyzstan, the Huaxia Shibao newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao.
Kyrgyz acting president Kurmanbek Bakiyev said earlier this month that he would authorize the deployment of troops of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, and those of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in his country, Chinese media have reported.
The US already has a base in Kyrgyzstan known as Manas Air Field and the Russians have one around 5 minutes away. Not only that, but they are considering opening a second. Looks like it might get pretty crowded there.
Considering the basis of this story is that they may consider it, I recommend not whipping one’s self into a frenzy just yet. Afterall, what basis would the Chinese have for this? With a US base and Russian base already there, doesn’t seem like Kyrgyzstan is lacking much however my money would rather be on China not wanting to be left out of the action. In the wake of a newly free Kyrgyzstan, China may consider this the right time to make a move into the region and establish a permanent presence. However, what ostensible reason will they have? Why everyone’s favorite of course:
“Deployment of armed forces in the southern districts of Kyrgyzstan could prove useful for combating terrorism, separatism and extremism,”Â? it quoted him as saying. However, China does not have this experience, he added.
Read: Killing Uighurs. We shall have to wait and see. Google News had nothing else this morning on the subject so we’ll await further chatter from China and see whether Kyrgyzstan graces the news with a response.
For some reason, the first thought that came to my mind was, “Well, WWI began over Serbia…”
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The Chinese already engaged in cross-border security operations with the Kyrgyz army. They also gave them some high-tech military equipment after the Batken incident.
A Chinese military base would probably look similarly top-notch as the deplorable Russian Kant airbase. I think there’s nothing to worry about.
Any foreign military base in Kyrgyzstan would most likely not exceed 2,000 personnel. And while the American base on Manas airport is ‘counter-terrorist’ in its purpose, the US has never carried out an operation on Kyrgyz soil.
I am wondering how China wants to hunt down Uighurs by installing a military base then. They’ve got “other means”:http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39204&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN to make sure they get them.
This big news I think, but not because of the other factors mentioned, but because it is one more step in the Chinese emerging from their Ming Dynasty era shell of isolation. Sending troops “abroad” has not been very “Chinese” for the last 500 years or so, unless the place they were sending them was to oneday become China. Kyrgyzstan was of course once a part of China, perhaps they feel more comfortable on their old stamping grounds?
Indeed. Not long ago the Chinese sent peacekeepers to Haiti as part of a UN mission. Was also a first time. Expect more of that and of this to continue.
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