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Chirol
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Chirol

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November 2nd, 2006

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Is It There or Isn’t It?

Noticed this confusing piece from last week on IWPR:

As Indian newspapers continue to speculate that the country will secure a military base in Tajikistan, analysts in Dushanbe are dismissive of the idea, because regional neighbours would strongly oppose it. Following President Imomali Rahmonov’s recent visit to Delhi, the Indian press began reporting that there was a plan to set up an airbase at Aini Airport on the outskirts of Dushanbe.

Officials in Tajikistan immediately denied the reports. A defence ministry source told NBCentralAsia that the Indian military has been providing training and technical assistance to the Tajik army for some years, but there is no agreement to set up an airbase.

In summer, I blogged about the Indians already having an airforce base in Tajikistan near Dushanbe. Other sources confirm the same confirmed it.

India’s first overseas military facility in Tajikistan is expected to become operational by the year-end and New Delhi will deploy a fleet of MiG-29 jets at the base, a news report said Thursday. India is constructing three hangars at Aini airbase, near the capital Dushanbe, two of which will accomodate 12 MiG-29 fighter-bombers, official sources told the IANS news agency. The third hangar will be used by the Tajikistan Air Force whose personnel are being trained by the Indian Air Force (IAF) under a defence cooperation agreement.

[..] India set up its its first military ‘outpost’ in Tajikistan at Farkhor, adjoining the Tajik-Afghan bo.rder, to provide economic and relief assistance to neighbouring Afghanistan. India has planned the base in Tajikistan as part of its efforts to have a larger strategic role in Central Asia and allow its military to have ‘depth and range’ in the region.

Does anyone have more information?

Comments to this entry

Sujan Dutta
November 2, 2006
2:03 pm
The Indian government's Border Roads Organisation (BRO) -- a service under the ministry of defence staffed by army engineers -- is involved in making an old runway at Aini/Farkhor re-usable. The Indian government has had a presence in Farkhor going back to the Taliban days in Afghanistan. It was a field hospital set up by the Indian Army and manned by its doctors. The Afghan guerrilla (Northern Alliance) leader Ahmed Shah Masood died in a helicopter while being flown to Farkhor after assassins posing as a journalists killed him in 2001 shortly before 9/11. Even after India cut diplomatic ties with the Taliban government it continued with its support to the Northern Alliance (whose troops marched into Kabul ahead of the US-led coalition in 2001).

There have been contrary claims from within the Indian defence establishment on the expansion of its military presence in Tajikistan. The claim that the Indian Air Force will deploy 12 MiG 29s to Farkhor was made by an Air Marshal rank officer early last year. It was subsequently denied. But unofficial sources confirm that Farkhor is of Indian interest and that there is a presence there. This was evident after former Indian defence minister George Fernandes signed an agreement with his Tajik counterpart in 2003.

Unofficial but reliable sources will say only so much: three hangars are being or have nearly been completely rebuilt in Aini/Farkhor. One of them will be used by the Russians who will station fighter aircraft at the base.

The base was to become operational by December 2006. However, there are doubts that that will happen. There are diplomatic moves by Pakistan and China against an Indian military presence in Central Asia. Pakistan and India both have observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) -- of which China is a full member and so are the Central Asian States.
Rommel
November 2, 2006
8:18 pm
US-Indo takeover of Central Asia baby!

Heh, but seriously - how interesting will the next phase of the Great Game be.
On one side:
"Inheritors of the British Empire" the United States and India
vs.
the Marxist brothers Sino and Russkie
LazyNomad
November 4, 2006
10:15 am
The base is probably there, but it's not entirely indian air base. The important thing is that it is (or will be) operated jointly by Russia and India. This was first officially confirmed by russian minister of defence Sergei Ivanov in December, 2005. The final agreements were reached during meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization ministers of defence in Peking in April, 2006.
I googled through russian sources and find this article and also some information in russian wikipedia's article on SCO.
Dan tdaxp
November 4, 2006
3:07 pm
Not as useful as the Indians contributing to the NATO force in Afghanistan, but at least it's more than the isolationist reflex we typically see from New Delhi.
Gregg
November 23, 2006
12:32 pm
US+India vs Sino and Russkie? Where have you been for the last 50 years? India is a traditional Russian ally economically and militarilly.