China's secret military build-up in Tajikistan exposed by satellites

China is building a secret military base in Tajikistan, reports The Telegraph. The emerging facility, revealed by satellite images, is said to be a response to the growing security threat from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. According to the British newspaper, the base has been under construction since 2016. Over nearly a decade, it has been expanded with features such as a helicopter landing pad, perimeter walls, access roads, and watchtowers.

So far, neither China nor Tajikistan has officially confirmed the existence of the base, which is being built in the mountains at an altitude of around 4,000 metres, near the border with Afghanistan. However, satellite images show the progress of the ongoing work. The Telegraph also notes that the base hosts soldiers from both countries, and Beijing supplies Tajikistan with ammunition and technology. There are concerns that China may extend its influence over other countries in the region.

"The situation is that of a vacuum, and China fills the vacuum," said Parviz Mollojonov, a political scientist and director of International Alert, a British non-governmental organization promoting peace, as cited by the British newspaper. "Since the deterioration of the situation in Afghanistan, China uses the concern of the Tajik government to build in the security sector," he added. He believes the mentioned transfer of ammunition and weapons is part of broader plans to "create an advanced line of defence," he said. He believes the mentioned transfer of ammunition and weapons is part of broader plans to "create an advanced line of defence," but it could also be for "some other long-term, unknown, covert goals and plans."

The Chinese base in Tajikistan is not only monitored by Western satellites. Their "eyes" are also turned towards a facility under construction on the site of the former salt lake Lop Nur in the southeastern part of the Xinjiang region in China, where nuclear tests were once conducted. The facility's purpose, known as China's "Area 51", is unclear, but Western experts believe it serves Beijing in developing and testing space technologies.

In 2021, Ankit Panda of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace suggested that the Chinese might be testing atmospheric aircraft, high-altitude aircraft, high-altitude drones, potential bombers, or other experimental aircraft here. Already in 2020, a mysterious aircraft resembling the American X-37B was observed landing here. Attention is also drawn to the enormous runway, which measures 9,600 metres in length.