News
Growing concerns as China steps into the Afghanistan gap
Russia, India and China are set to form relations with the Taliban following the groups return to power after two decades
The Taliban’s return to power after 20 years has left Afghanistan’s neighbours forced to come up with a plan on how to adjust to the group that’s now in charge.
US President Joe Biden in April ordered the Pentagon to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, effectively ending America’s longest war.
As U.S. military presence wound down, the Taliban made rapid battlefield advances despite being outnumbered by the Afghan military.
Within just a matter of weeks, the group seized major cities and provincial capitals before entering capital Kabul on Sunday August 15 – forcing the Afghan Government out and taking control of the presidential palace.
Western Nations like Australia, the US and the UK have now began to ramp up efforts to shut down embassies and evacuate civilians, following the fall of Kabul.
However, China and Russia have been the first to make overtures, revealed on Monday, that suggest they could be among the first countries to recognise the group as leaders of the country.
Concerns over China’s relations
China says it is ready to move ahead in its relations with the Taliban.
However – foreign policy experts say Beijing remains apprehensive about what comes next and may not devote a vast security and economic commitment to Afghanistan in the near future.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Monday with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi about developments in Afghanistan.
The State Department stated that the two nations discussed the security situation and the two countries’ respective efforts to bring their people back home to safety.
“China keeps in contact and communication with the Afghan Taliban on the basis of fully respecting Afghanistan’s sovereignty and the will of all parties in the country”
China Said
According to reports, A Chinese Government official met with Taliban political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Tianjin in the hopes that Afghan Taliban would “unite with various political parties and ethnic groups to form a broad and inclusive political structure.”
China, one of the countries that neighbours Afghanistan, pulled out its diplomats in 1993 following the civil war in Afghanistan. The Beijing government never established an official relationship with the Taliban after it seized power in 1996.