CHINA> Focus
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CHINA> Focus
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Clearing the way for peace
By Peng Kuang and Zhang Haizhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-10 10:33 However, minesweeper Yakawlangi said a troop surge would have little effect on the war effort and added that his country was far more in need of new equipment and technological aids. "The key to reviving Afghanistan is our country having a strong army, then rebuilding our country. No matter how many forces send troops, it will never be enough," he told China Daily. "What we need the most are weapons, ammunition, engineered technology like jets and tanks. Just sending more troops is no use." Dong Manyuan, an anti-terrorism expert at the China Institute of International Studies, agreed and added: "There is only one situation in which China should send troops into the battlefield, and that is when there is a United Nations mandate.
"Sending more troops to the region would not work because the key to solving the problem is further development." And while Sultan Baheen, Afghan ambassador to China, admitted the region does need more troops, he agreed it is "more important to strengthen the national forces so they can defend their country and fight terrorism". "We need more civil and financial support with construction and big projects to create jobs," he added. From the 1960s until the early 1990s, the Afghan National Army was trained by the Soviet Union. However, by 1992, the military was fragmented into regional militias under several warlords after the withdrawal of Soviet forces, paving the way for the Taliban to start seizing power in 1996. Following the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, the US military hit back against Al-Qaida terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban government - which by then controlled the majority of the country - after it refused to hand over Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind behind 9/11. The Afghan army is now supported by the US and NATO member states, and is controlled by the nation's government, which is headed by recently re-elected president, Hamid Karzai. Yakawlangi, one of 13 children born to a family in the central province of Bamiyan, enlisted in the army in 2003 when he was just 14 years old. "Some countries may have strict age restrictions for new recruits, but not in Afghanistan. We are at war," said the son of an Islamic school headmaster. In the past seven years, he has been posted in 31 of the country's 34 provinces. However, he criticized the performance of the US forces, claiming they often fled in dangerous exchanges with the Taliban and left Afghan troops unsupported. "The US Army sometimes sends helicopters to withdraw troops but leaves Afghans in the field of battle," he said. The Pentagon was unavailable for comment as China Daily went to press. However, in an exclusive interview with China Daily recently, Afghan Vice-president Mohammad Karim Khalili expressed his hope and confidence the West's military support would continue. "Fighting terror is a shared burden," he said. "We appreciate the support we get from many NATO nations, but we understand they are not in Afghanistan simply to help our country. They are part of a worldwide effort to protect their people as well." But for Yakawlangi, the conflict has shown the Afghan people that they can rely only on themselves to rebuild their nation. The soldier received training from German, British and Turkish counterparts in Afghanistan before arriving in Nanjing in September, but praised the PLA course as the most "practical". "If the Chinese trainers were talking about a specific kind of dynamite, they would show us a real sample. That never happened during previous training programs," he said. Chinese analysts have already started to discuss how Beijing could increase its involvement in the anti-terror fight in Afghanistan, with many suggesting more assistance in helping the nation improve skill levels and technical abilities. Roughly 400 Chinese are currently in Afghanistan, said Hu Yuanteng, economic and commercial counselor with the Chinese embassy in Kabul in August. Most are either employees of State-owned firms or traders, such as restaurant owners or construction material sellers, he said. "China cares about what happens, and not just because of the investment it has made there," said Ye Hailin, an Asian studies expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "The US can leave anytime it wants and leave the mess for Afghanistan's neighbors to clean up. "We are a neighbor, one of only six, and we cannot remain aloof. You can't sit on the sidelines while your neighbor's house is on fire." China's influence in Central Asia is growing, thanks to its development and investment in the region, and officials in Kabul were the special guests when Beijing hosted a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit last month. At the meeting, Premier Wen Jiabao met Afghan Vice-president Khalili and vowed to continue offering post-war reconstruction assistance to its neighbor. "China will continue to encourage its capable and reputable domestic enterprises to invest in Afghanistan to intensify bilateral pragmatic cooperation in economic, trade and agricultural fields," Wen said.
He also told Khalili the nation would call on the international community to pay more attention to the Afghan people's livelihoods and help push forward desperately needed economic and social development. Dong at the China Institute of International Studies insisted China should assist Central Asian countries in combating the Taliban and, due to the growing number of refugees, suggested the country should also increase its humanitarian aid. "China could provide a platform for the Afghanistan government to negotiate with local warlords and even the soft-liners within the Taliban on a distribution of power," said Li, who is with the China Council for National Security Policy Studies. "We can even send in anti-mine teams of our own when the war is over," Li said.
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