DHe assured that threats and bargaining had begun. The Americans and Europeans have packed their weapons and left, and the ministers and diplomats of neighboring countries are now working to expand their influence in Afghanistan. US Secretary of State Anthony Brinken is using his first visit to New Delhi to counter Beijing’s advancement there. Afghanistan is in the west of India, Myanmar is in the east, and there are two huge unknowns in the Indian Ocean. They may be interesting partners in geo-economics.
Afghanistan is considered the largest opium producer in the world. It is estimated that companies with 600 tons of heroin account for about 11% of economic output- Taliban Also fund yourself from it. The United Nations explained that most conflicts in Afghanistan revolve around land ownership and water resources. But the value of precious metals, uranium, natural gas and oil stored underground is at least US$3 trillion. China is mining copper and oil in Afghanistan. A road through the Pamir Mountains should ensure transportation safety.
Beijing is leading the way in gaining influence. China established relations with the Taliban as early as the 1990s. Now its dependent partner Pakistan is urged to work together to ensure peace and order in Afghanistan. This is also possible because it is using billions of dollars to stabilize Pakistan as part of the New Silk Road (BRI).After meeting with colleagues from Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Foreign Minister promised Wang Yi Just to extend the BRI to Afghanistan in the future. Beijing hopes to connect the country with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which has mobilized more than US$50 billion in funding.
China has more room for expansion
The withdrawal of the Americans from Afghanistan provided an opportunity for “the people there to truly take their own destiny in their own hands,” Wang said. Everyone knows each other: In the summer of 2019, the Taliban Deputy Leader Baradar Mullah visited Beijing. The organization just described China as “a friendly country where we welcome the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan.” There is no risk for investors. “Privately, it is impossible for Chinese politicians to be dissatisfied with the withdrawal of the defeated United States. It opens up more room for Chinese expansionism,” said Indian geostrategist Brahma Cherani.
Beijing is not troubled by contradictions. Indeed, it fought Islam in an extremely barbaric manner in its Xinjiang province. At the same time, its engineers and workers in Pakistan became victims of attacks by the Islamic Balochistan Army and the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) militia. But the Taliban can’t get around; the pragmatists in Beijing think they are little demons. China needs them and the Pakistani army to prevent Muslims from resisting its influence.
New Delhi is closely watching Beijing’s impulse to expand in the Afghan vacuum left by the West. In recent weeks, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (Subrahmanyam Jaishankar) lit a veritable diplomatic firework to prevent Afghanistan from sliding further into China’s sphere of influence. He knows very well that in this strategic game, the government weakened by economic challenges and the corona disaster in Western India may secede from the government. Since the US intervention in 2001, India has contributed more than $1 billion to the stability of Afghanistan. According to the India-Arab Partnership Agreement, they also provided about US$3 billion in development assistance, donated buses, and built roads, dams, schools, hospitals and parliaments in Kabul. At the 2020 Afghanistan Conference in Geneva, Jaishankar talked about “India’s more than 400 projects in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan”.
Neighboring countries are also positioning themselves
Of course, this kind of democratic construction will only continue when the United States controls the Taliban. New Delhi accused Islamists of supporting Pakistanis in fighting for Kashmir. They only had formal contact with them in June. Afghanistan should also start trilateral talks with its major neighbors Iran and India. For India, this is difficult to balance with Beijing: you can try to accept the Taliban in most parts of Afghanistan together, but you must prevent their influence on the national border. However, given India’s own plans in Afghanistan, it remains to be seen whether India’s main rival, China, is interested in it. This is another reason why Indians maintain close contact with their partners in Moscow, Tehran and Washington.
And neighboring countries in Central Asia are now positioning themselves. The President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev hopes to establish closer ties between his country and South Asia. He is looking for a connection to the Iranian port of Chabahar, backed by India. He also just signed a transit agreement with Pakistan, allowing his country to enter the Chinese-sponsored Gwadar Port. Dilshod Akhotov, Uzbekistan’s ambassador to India, best described the views of neighboring countries: “Afghanistan is not only a neighboring country, but part of our region. At present, some people see it as a problem. And the source of threats, but it is also a source of opportunities. “Ultimately, for all countries in the region, opportunities also depend on the outlets to the sea. “We want to reach the high seas through our southern neighbor. The next road from here leads to the Indian Ocean,” Akhotov said.
