Afghanistan turns down air base proposal

Afghanistan should stand firm in rebuffing an attempt by the United States to reestablish a military base in the country, analysts said, adding the landlocked nation's future hinges on preventing fresh instability, maintaining good relations with all countries and realizing its potential as a hub of Eurasian connectivity.

The comments came after US President Donald Trump said last week that his administration was seeking to retake control of the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, in order to enable the US military to reestablish a strategic presence in the region.

Trump's call, four years after US troops' hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan following a two-decade war against the Taliban, has sparked outrage within Afghanistan as well as other countries in the region.

On Sept 18, during a news conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, Trump mentioned Bagram Air Base, saying that the US was "trying to get it back "from Afghanistan's Taliban rulers.

Over the weekend, Trump raised the topic again, saying that "we're talking now to Afghanistan" about the return of the air base.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump even issued a threat. "If Afghanistan doesn't give Bagram Air Base back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN," he said.

Afghanistan has rejected the call from Trump, with the chief Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, urging the US to adopt a policy of "realism and rationality".

Afghanistan had an economy-oriented foreign policy and sought constructive relations with all states on the basis of mutual and shared interests, Mujahid said in a post on the social media platform X on Sunday.

Earlier, the same day, the chief of staff at Afghanistan's Defense Ministry, Fasihuddin Fitrat, said, "Ceding even an inch of our soil to anyone is out of the question and impossible", according to a speech broadcast by Afghan media.

Shameem Ahmad Nawber, an Afghan analyst and deputy director at the Institute for Digital Economy and Artificial Systems in Xiamen, in East China's Fujian province, said that from the standpoint of Afghanistan's national interest, rejecting any foreign military's return to the Bagram Air Base is a logical assertion of sovereignty, signaling a necessary shift away from the country's historical role as a theater for power conflicts.

"Bagram's immense geopolitical value — offering surveillance and power projection over Central Asia, Russia, Iran, and western China — makes its sovereign control nonnegotiable," he said.

"Ceding this control would inevitably trap the country in external rivalries and undermine any prospect of lasting peace, a price the Afghan people have paid for too long."

The last US troops left Afghanistan at the end of August 2021, but the Afghan economy is still feeling the negative effects of the US' two-decade-long meddling in the country.

Trump said his administration wants to take back the Bagram Air Base "not because of Afghanistan but because of China, because it's exactly one hour away from where China makes its nuclear missiles".

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Sept 19 that China respects Afghanistan's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and that "Afghanistan's future should rest in the hands of the Afghan people".

"Let me stress that stirring up tensions and confrontation in the region will not be supported," spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press briefing in Beijing. "We hope all parties will play a constructive role in regional peace and stability."

Afghan scholar Nawber noted that his nation's geography, long a curse, can also turn into its greatest asset if leveraged properly as a bridge between South Asia and Central Asia.

"This requires a new paradigm built on regional consensus, where Afghanistan functions as a secure land bridge for trade and energy," he said.

"In this framework, China can play an indispensable role, not as a patron, but as a key partner in providing the diplomatic support and infrastructure investment — through frameworks like the Belt and Road Initiative — needed to transform this vision of a prosperous and neutral Afghanistan into reality."

vivienxu@chinadailyapac.com