PLA Forces to Afghanistan???

Maggern

Maggern

Junior Member
Aside from a politically weakened NATO, China has little to gain from a de-stabilized Afghanistan. As many of you point out, Afghanistan is next door, and with some kind of ties between the muslim population of Afghanistan and the muslim population of Xinjiang, there is bound to be some ramifications across the border if Afghanistan falls apart. In addition, stability in Afghanistan is alpha and omega when thinking about stability in Pakistan, which is a close Chinese ally. Not to mention SampanViking's (who presents really good points here) point about oil pipelines. China has every reason to have a positive interest in Afghanistan's stability.

An interesting point here is that NATO and Russia worked out a deal to use Russian railways to transport some supplies to Afganistan. If NATO can trust the Russians enough to let them transport some of their supplies, there shouldn't be much in the way for trusting China to at least have some kind of hand in the situation.

If Afghanistan decides to join SCO (currently an observer), and SCO agrees, there should be mechanisms available for a larger SCO operation in Afghanistan. It would be hard for NATO to try and stop this, as they use much energy to ensure the authority of the Afghani government.
 
bladerunner

bladerunner

Banned Idiot
Much is made of Afghanistan as a transit point for oil and gas supplies from Iran, because its probably the most direct route, but Im sure there are other alternate routes, by passing Afghanistan which could be considered.

Anyway its going to be interesting times for China, especially when the Tibetean /China talks have failed and a sympathetic Congress towards the Tibeteans led by anti China Leader in Nancy Pelosi. around the corner.
 
AssassinsMace

AssassinsMace

Lieutenant General
I guess this settles it.


China says no plan to send troops to Afghanistan
2 hrs 6 mins ago

BEIJING (Reuters) – China is not planning on sending troops to Afghanistan to join the International Security Assistance Force there, state media said on Tuesday.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said last week in New York that it was possible China would send troops to Afghanistan.

"The Chinese government consistently supports efforts of Afghanistan's government and people to maintain stability, promote economic development and realize peaceful reconstruction," state media quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang as saying.

"Except United Nations' peace-keeping operations approved by the UN Security Council, China never sends troops abroad. The media reports about China sending troops to participate in the ISAF in Afghanistan are groundless," he added.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)


Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited.
Click to expand...
 
SampanViking

SampanViking

The Capitalist
Staff member
Super Moderator
VIP Professional
Registered Member
See? Hardly a surprise is it. China is not going to sign up to a mission in which it has no confidence and certainly not to deploy on other peoples terms.

The pressure is on. Withdraw and hand over to the SCO or stay put and continue to hemorragh money and Political Support!
 
AssassinsMace

AssassinsMace

Lieutenant General
NATO may ask China for support in Afghanistan
By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer Slobodan Lekic, Associated Press Writer
2 hrs 8 mins ago

BRUSSELS – NATO may ask China to provide support for the war effort in Afghanistan, including possibly opening a supply link for alliance forces, a senior U.S. official said Monday.

The subject is still under consideration and no decision has been reached on whether to approach Beijing, the official said on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the issue.

He spoke ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers on Thursday in Brussels, which will include Hillary Rodham Clinton in her first European trip as U.S. secretary of state.

One way Beijing could help would be to open an alternate logistics route through western China into Afghanistan, the U.S. official said in Brussels.

China shares a 76-kilometer- (50-mile)-long border with Afghanistan in the Wakhan Corridor, a thin sparsely populated strip of Afghan territory separating Pakistan and Tajikistan. The 2,000-year-old-caravan route — once used by Marco Polo — is now a dirt road that crosses some of the world's most mountainous regions.

Until now, China — which also has faced problems with Islamic militants in its western regions — has generally been supportive of the Afghan government and the U.S.-led allied war effort. But Beijing has shied away from involving itself too closely in the conflict.

The NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels comes amid intense diplomatic efforts to secure alternate supply routes to Afghanistan, to augment the main logistical lines through Pakistan, which have been under increasing attacks by Taliban guerrillas.

Russia and several other Central Asian states — which also are concerned about the progress of the war in Afghanistan — have allowed the United States, Germany and some other NATO nations to ferry non-lethal equipment by rail to the borders of Afghanistan, thus easing the supply squeeze faced by the alliance.

But NATO has continued to look for more routes to landlocked Afghanistan, especially after President Barack Obama announced that 17,000 more U.S. troops would be sent to reinforce the 56,000 allied soldiers already there. Some officials have even suggested that individual nations could explore opening up a new route through Iran to western Afghanistan.

The U.S. official said that NATO was looking to the allies to come up with four additional infantry battalions to be temporarily deployed to Afghanistan to help secure the presidential election campaign this spring or summer. A battalion normally includes 750 to 850 soldiers.

Attacks by insurgents have intensified, and the rebels now control wide swaths of countryside where there aren't enough NATO or Afghan forces to maintain security.


Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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If China had a normal mutual-respect relationship with the US and NATO... maybe. But what I find ironic is that the staging area would have to be in Xinjiang where the US and others encourage separatist sentiments. I'm sure what NATO will offer in return to China is their "good will." Seriously, is that enough? What goodies the West will have to pay that is equal to its worth?
 
F

flyzies

Junior Member
I have seriously doubts China will involve itself too much in Afghanistan. Providing supply routes for NATO could open western China up to terrorist attacks from Islamic extremists as China could be seen as helping anti-Islamic forces.
If NATO wants Chinese help they have alot of persuading to do...to say the least.
 
crobato

crobato

Colonel
VIP Professional
Xinjiang separatist forces are Islamic forces with strong connections to Al Qaeda. I don't think the US would help them considering Bush got them classified under the terrorist list. Western China is already subject to attack by terrorist forces because the Islamic fundamentalists cannot accept by principle, non Islamic control over Islamic territory which they consider Xinjiang as such. That for them is sacrilege.
 
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