Nikki Haley, America’s former envoy to the United Nations, has claimed that China might try to takeover Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan.
Speaking to Fox News, Nikki was quoted making the statement “We need to watch China because I think you are going to see China make a move for Bagram Air Force Base”.
“I think they are also making a move in Afghanistan and trying to use Pakistan to get stronger to go against India. So, we have got a lot of issues.”
After nearly 20 years of continuous US presence on the Air Base, the Bagram Air Base was handed back to the Afghan government on 1 July 2021 as American withdrew from Afghanistan.
Read more: Afghanistan: Lessons from history
The last remaining U.S. troops left the base by shutting off the electricity and slipping away in the night without notifying the Afghan Armed Forces. The Afghan National Army later took control of the area.
On 15 August 2021, Afghan troops stationed there gave up their positions to the Taliban, losing control of the airfield.
Speaking on the potential threat from Taliban, Nikki advised that America should be prepared for cyber-attacks and should strengthen its relationships with allies like India, Japan and Australia.
“The first thing you should do is immediately start connecting with our allies, whether it’s Taiwan, whether it’s Ukraine, whether it’s Israel, whether it’s India, Australia, Japan, all of them, and reassure them that we will have their back and that we need them as well” Nikki elaborated.
She also warned that “actors like Russia are going to continue to hack us because we show no signs of willingness to fight back”.
Adding to her stance, she also claimed that “with this moral victory that the jihadists have, you are going to see a heavy recruitment campaign around the world. You are going to see more lone wolf situations.”
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Nikki has also slammed Joe Biden for his inability to ensure a proper evacuation of America from Afghanistan. Biden, she alleged, has lost the trust and confidence of the American people.
“If you look at the fact that the jihadists are celebrating in the streets because America has run out of town and they left them with billions of dollars’ worth of equipment and ammunition as a housewarming present.” she added.
There is a hostage situation in Afghanistan because Joe Biden is foolishly trusting a brutal terrorist organization to get American citizens and our allies out. pic.twitter.com/yb27XGq7CB
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) September 1, 2021
“You couldn’t ask for a more embarrassing, humiliating situation than what we have right now. The world is more definitely a dangerous place. Just because we are out of Afghanistan does not mean this war is over” Haley said.
Ian Bremmer
Ian Bremmer, a political scientist and the president and founder of Eurasia Group the world’s leading political risk research and consulting firm, has viewed the situation in Afghanistan to be more problematic than advantageous for China.
“I think that China sees a propaganda opportunity, in rubbing America’s nose in the fact that there’s all these horrible videos coming out in Afghanistan and the Taliban sees that they’ve won,” he said. “But this is not a real opportunity for China, it’s a problem for China.”
According to Bremmer’s analysis the Taliban takeover threatens to bring a “deeply unstable and pretty radical government” right on China’s doorstep. Beijing has expressed particular concern that Afghanistan could oversee the resurgence of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a Muslim separatist group founded by militant Uyghurs. Additionally, any terrorist activity could simultaneously harm the law and order situation in Pakistan, where China has invested in the CPEC project.
Read more: Is Taliban return a good news for Pakistan?
Regional instability also threatens to derail China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and while Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi has expressed interest in expanding CPEC to Afghanistan, Bremmer said the lack of BRI successes is likely to prevent the country from becoming a big investment priority for China.
China’s Foreign Ministry called the chaotic end to U.S. presence, “a lesson in reckless military adventures,” and issued a statement, calling for “friendly and cooperative relations with Afghanistan.”
Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has pledged to leave Chinese interests in Afghanistan alone, saying the group would not allow extremist groups to use the country as a staging ground to attack China.