A Bit Crowded in Kyrgyzstan

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.