Central Asia and China – April 2009
by MICHAELHANCOCK
4/18/2009 Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan took part in military exercises in Tajikistan recently.
About 1,000 soldiers took part in the exercises, 50 kms (30 miles) south of the Tajik capital Dushanbe under the auspices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Looking at that list of countries, Uzbekistan is conspicuously absent. However, relations between Uzbekistan and the SCO have been cool of late. Uzbekistan claimed that its own special forces were busy with previous engagements. It’s kind of a shame, because the style of these most recent war games are really up Karimov’s alley – the bogeyman of Islamic fundamentalism spilling over certain southern borders into the secular, modern states of the former Soviet Union. I’m not sure if the lesson was intended for China, or if China was merely footing the bill or providing expert training. I’m most interested to hear how languages were handled – the logistics nightmare is easy to imagine. Then again, if these are special forces, all but the Chinese units would probably be conversant in Russian.
The plot of the war games featured “al Qaeda” members who had crossed over the border from Afghanistan and captured a chemical factory, taking its workers hostage. The soldiers freed the hostages with the help of planes and parachutes.
Also, I’m not sure what war games like this really prove, since the outcome is pre-ordained, and I doubt that the soldiers playing the terrorist roles thought that they should win.
In other news, Uranium is a big talking point. Obama is hoping to convince Iran to come to the table, and Kazakhstan’s world uranium bank is the byword, and there are even early signs of success. Iran certainly has China’s blessing to take the Kazakh bait. But in Kazakhstan, the month’s most recent success is in dealing with China, who has agreed to invest billions of dollars in the future of Kazakhstan’s oil industry. The pipeline between the two countries is up and running, and strengthening the ties between the two countries before the economic crisis worsens seems a fair enough idea. This is part of an overall economic plan presented to Nazarbaev by Premier Jiabao.
Kelimbetov said the $5 billion loan from CNPC will enable the Chinese oil firm and state-owned KazMunaiGas KMG.UL to enjoy equal 50 percent stakes in oil firm MangistauMunaiGas.
Kazakhstan will use the funds to build a gas pipeline from the country’s western region to the south, which is eventually oriented toward the Chinese market, the executive said.
[Though only marginally related, I suggest reading this short story about unsuspecting Kyrgyz tourists buying depleted uranium at a bazaar before returning to China]
http://www.registan.net/index.php/2009/ ... pril-2009/
