China eyes Afghan air bases, concerns for India

New Delhi : China has been eyeing to take control of air bases, including the Bagram air force base, in Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the war-torn country, which could be detrimental for India’s security.
Expressing concerns, experts say this could be an attempt to keep India away from southeast Asia, where China wants to have complete control.
Reacting to the current development in Afghanistan, former diplomat Anil Trigunayat said the recent interview by Taliban’s spokesperson clearly said China would be their most important partner under the new Taliban-led Afghan government.
“China is trying to fill the vacuum created after the US forces left Afghanistan economically and gets its Belt and Road (BRI) initiatives going. That is going to happen soon as the Taliban needs somebody to manage the air bases there,” said Trigunayat.
The Bagram airport is the biggest airport and technically well equipped as the Americans kept it for their use till the end instead of the Kabul airport.
Both China and Taliban under the new strategic partnership will likely jointly manage the Bagram air base as China needs to have a secure air base when they will increase its economic plans in Afghanistan.