For experts, China's moves imply that Beijing believes the peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government are likely to fail. (Photo : Getty Images)
Beijing is slowly making moves to seal a direct security role in Afghanistan as peace talks unfold between Afghan founders and Islamic militants take place, Bloomberg reported.
Aside from a pledge of $70 million in the form of military aid, China also proposed a four-nation security bloc along with Tajikistan and Pakistan. According to Afghan president Ashraf Ghani and Chinese general Fang Fenghui, the partnership will help China boost efforts to curb terrorism on its boundaries.
For experts, China's moves imply that Beijing believes the peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government are likely to fail.
If such a case arises, militants in Uyghur that are linked to the Islamic State might hatch a plan to deliver a series of terrorist attacks on China.
"The link between Uyghur militants and IS is among our great concerns," said Li Wei, head of security and anti-terrorism research at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
"There are real, direct terrorist threats stemming from Afghanistan, where state of affairs in counterterrorism is dire," said Zhao Gancheng, director of the Center for South Asia Studies at Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, in an interview with Bloomberg.
"If there is no progress in peace talks, we can't just sit around and do nothing," Zhao said.
Details about the four-nation security bloc remain blurry as Fang, who leads the People's Liberation Army's Joint Staff Department, only offered a few details when the idea was proposed last Feb. 29. Furthermore, Pakistani and Afghan officials added little information.
Experts argue, however, that such a security bloc would do little to no difference in curbing terrorism and other security issues in Pakistan. Afghanistan and Pakistan are often at each other's throats, while Tajikistan is linked to the Russian sphere of influence.
"It's unlikely that China's anti-terrorism bloc will be very helpful for Pakistan given its own support for the Taliban," Ahmad Saaedi, who once served as an Afghan diplomat in Pakistan, said in a phone interview. Ahmad added that China's financial aid to Afghanistan is "almost nothing."
China shares a 92-kilometer border with Afghanistan, which includes a portion of the ancient Silk Road known as the Wakhan Corridor. The area is also located in proximity to the Xinjiang region, where Islamic State-linked militants were reported to be based.
