India sets up military base in Tajikistan

Society Military and Strategic Issues
1

What do you think it’s implications going to be on The Land of Pure? Also do you think that Pakistanis should also establish military base in some other country. I do remember that we had thread for second strike capability, does this news mean that the Indians have achieved the second stike capabilty? and we are lagging behind?

NEW DELHI: India has set up its first permanent overseas military base in the central Asian nation of Tajikistan to safeguard its strategic interests in the region, defence ministry officials said on Thursday. Indian military engineers have renovated the former Tajik military base at a cost of 500 million rupees ($10 million), a senior defence ministry official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Military Engineering Services of India will also build accommodation within the base in order to station troops, who will train Tajik forces as per agreement reached between the two governments. The air base in Ayni, 10 kilometers north-east of capital Dushanbe, will have a runway for fighter and transport aircraft, the official said. He did not specify how many troops will be posted there nor when they will arrive. The base has been set up to ensure the security of India’s strategic interests in the region, the official said and added the move has angered Pakistan.
Defence Ministry spokesman Amitabh Chakraborty did not comment on the report, but to say: “Our own security interests, our own energy interests have to be looked after by ourselves.” However, Tajik Defence Ministry spokesman Lt-Col Zarubiddin Sirojev called that information “groundless”. He said military cooperation between India and Tajikistan only included exchange of information and experience, with India providing technical assistance and helping train Tajik military.
French troops have deployed cargo aircraft at Dushanbe’s civilian airport to support their operations in Afghanistan. India is trying to pipe gas from Central Asia and increase cooperation in the field of energy. The region is also of strategic importance for India because of its proximity to Pakistan. Last week, during a visit to neighboring Uzbekistan, Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said India intended to increase its engagement in Central Asia and offered its governments India’s security assistance. Also last week, Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes was in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan for talks on expanding military cooperation. Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee arrived in Tajikistan on Thursday. He is expected to meet top Tajik officials on Friday and sign documents aimed at expanding bilateral cooperation.

2

Maybe Russia was involved in getting base for India.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/11/14/013.html

Indian Base Set Up in Tajikistan

By Neelesh Misra
The Associated Press NEW DELHI, India – India has set up its first permanent overseas military base in the central Asian nation of Tajikistan to safeguard its strategic interests in the region – a move that has upset Pakistan, defense ministry officials said Thursday.

Indian military engineers have renovated the former Tajik military base at a cost of 500 million rupees ($10 million), a senior defense ministry official said on condition of anonymity. The base has not been used since 1985.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov in Moscow on Thursday, was scheduled to travel to Tajikistan later in the day.

The air base in Ayni, 10 kilometers northeast of the capital Dushanbe, will have a runway for fighter and transport aircraft, the official said.

He did not specify how many troops will be posted there nor when they will arrive.

The base has been set up to ensure the security of India’s energy and strategic interests in the region, the official said without giving details.

India is trying to pipe gas from Central Asia and increase cooperation in the field of energy. The region is also of strategic importance for India because of its proximity to arch rival Pakistan.

India is the third country to post military personnel in Tajikistan.

More than 10,000 border guards under Russian command work alongside Tajik forces to help patrol Tajikistan’s 1,200-kilometer border with Afghanistan. But the border troops’ presence does not have the status of a military base.

The snaking, mountainous boundary is favored by drug smugglers taking heroin to Russia and Europe.

French troops also have some staff, primarily engineers, deployed in Dushanbe, primarily to support their operations in Afghanistan.

Tajik Defense Ministry spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Zarubiddin Sirojev denied an agreement to set up an Indian base. He said India only provided information, technical assistance and training to the Tajik military.

3

thats sounds good for india n coming of age of indian diplomacy n contacts. this would b a very usefull step in securing our vital interests in that region. especially when the situation is very volatile v have to take care of our interests to make sure that nothing goes wrong in this

4

Not so fast. India has not yet officially announced the transfer of any nuclear assets to this new base. Therefore, the setting up of the base is not representative of a foreign based second strike capability. On the other hand, the presence of fighter and transport aircraft will help India to persecute a military operation on a wider front than which was possible before.

5

India may not have transferred any nuclear assests as yet but the setting up of a base gives it the second strike platform which cannot be attacked as it is in other nation. anyway if the second strike forces r placed in submarines r in higly mobile units even then second strike capability is assured. but opening a second front in the war from the more peaceful side (traditionaly) gives u more depth n strike power.

6

A military base aboad for any country gives more prone to transport military men and equipments rather than giving a second strike capability.Any country sets up base on any other countrys soil will have to aabide by certain rules and regulations set up by the host nation.Indian base in Taj.will give Russians more strength in the region and it should be noted that India has made a base near to Russia .The central Asia has long been a secluded place from the Indian region and a new opening in that region will give India more strength in combating terrorism and a hiogh magnitude military presence.

Now the scenario has come up in a way that Afghanistan and its adjascent areas have become experienced with Indian presence and thanks to RAW activities in Afghanistan and Indian effforts to pu pakistan in a corner.
7

ONGC the Indian Oil major has serious interests in the region, Shakhalin being just one of those.

This as highlighted in the report seems to me the biggest reason for the base, the Pakistan angle seems only second. And as far as 2nd strike capacity goes, well its a long way off for Tajikistan to be used as a nuclear base, and dont think that will happen for a long time.

8

India's base in Tajikistan is more of a diplomatic move than anything else, and part of India's efforts to behave like a superpower by having troops stationed abroad.

In terms of military value in a war, forces based in Tajikistan could only take part against Pakistan should a state of war also exist between Pakistan and Tajikistan - allowing your territory to be used to launch attacks against another nation is an immensely hostile act.

Given the warm relations between Pakistan and Tajikistan (and India knows this), it is highly improbable that India is creatign this base with a view towards using it for military actions against Pakistan. Rather, it is a diplomatic move strengthening India's ties with the Tajik government and is an effort by India to strengthen its diplomatic influence in Central Asia as a whole - getting in on the new Great Game in a rivalry with the USA and Russia.

9

This news isn’t true… india denied having any plans for the base:

Molaheeezaa farmayain:

India denies setting up military base in Tajikistan

Dushanbe: Dispelling reports that India was setting up a military base in Tajikistan, Prime Minister Vajpayee and Tajik President Emamoli Rakhmanov on Friday said the facility was intended as an alternate airport for the Tajik capital.

But then… india has interest in CA, but CA can’t move without pakistan helping with overflights, land routes, sea port, etc. :hehe:

10

Indian intentions and light at the end of the tunnel?

By Mufti Jamiluddin Ahmad

Indian leaders often try to euphemistically cover-up their jingoistic, military adventures, including their atomic explosions, by telling the world that these are not Pakistan specific. Now comes the news about Farkhor military base established by India near Dushanbe in Tajikistan - where Indian aircraft would also be maintained, which experts say, could enter Pakistani skies within minutes.

Reports in the Press say that although Indian officials are not willing to discuss the importance of this base, analysts point that its acquisition would certainly give the Indian armed forces a longer strategic reach. Although the details about the type of air planes or personnel to be manning the base are scanty, some reports say that there is a possibility of India acquiring some assets from within the Central Asian region. It has been pointed out that about 70 per cent of the equipment with Indian armed forces is of Soviet/ Russian origin and about 100 per cent of that has commonality with what is used in the five Central Asian states. It may be interesting to note that this base has been acquired by India in another country, not very far from Pakistan. Press has already reported that President Musharraf took up the issue with the Tajik President ES Rakhmanov during his visit there. Some observers feel that a military base of this nature could not have been visualised without the tacit support of the US and Russia. (Reuters reported Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee saying in Dushanbe on Friday that India would help the Central Asian state of Tajikistan rebuild a military airport near Dushanbe as part of a $40 million aid packet. He would not be drawn on the purpose of funding the airport).

Coinciding with this report comes the news of the long list of arms purchases by the Indian government, mentioned on the website of the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India. Indians have embarked upon a $ 10 billion defence-spending spree in the coming years. They are purchasing the Russian aircraft carrier, Admiral Gorshkov. The deal was to be signed during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to Russia from Nov 11 but to play down Indian beefing up their military might, it has been rescheduled and would be signed when the Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov visits New Delhi later this month. The defence equipment to be purchased also includes 50 SU-30 aircraft, costing $2.5 billion. Apart from a very large number of items including missiles, other aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, even submarines, (for according to some reports India’s own programme of building submarines is in a mess) and other equipment, India is building a satellite called Cartosat-1, to help her aggressive designs in occupied Kashmir. It is believed that the vital photo imagery-gathering sensors for these satellites are being procured from Israel. The total cost of satellite is estimated at $ 27.9 million. These purchases are besides a large number of other sensitive and state of the art equipment being acquired by India. It may be interesting to note that a large chunk of this war equipment, apart from Russia, is being purchased from Israel.

The process of piling up of arms by India - do we still require asking against whom? - goes on.

And so all the talk of offering confidence building measures apart, the BJP government is continuing with a game plan that that does not require an expert to asses the Indian intentions. The intransigence, on refusing to sit across the table to hold the dialogue, continues.

Prime Minister Jamali has said that for peace between the two countries he was ready to go to India if the Indian Prime Minister showed willingness to hold dialogue. The Information Minister Sheikh Rashid also gave what he called, a “short, sweet and smart message” to the Indian Prime Minister.( “We are hopeful that India will come to the dialogue table for the settlement of all issues, including the core issue of Kashmir,” the Minister said on arrival from Delhi, according to the APP. Replying to another question he said that though the Indian media had been hostile, every effort was made to avert any showdown on the occasion). Indeed, on the Indian side there seems to be no change in the situation on that issue. Apart from attending the Conference of Information Ministers of SAARC countries, the Minister did make an all out effort, through his frank expression (some of which was, as usual twisted by the Indian media to suit their own agenda) to spell out Pakistan’s message. However, from the various statements that are coming out from India at various levels there is not much evidence to suggest that Indians at present are in a mood to listen to Pakistan’s voice of reason.

Therefore, the cyclical movement in India-Pakistan relationship continues to transmit its “patterned” vibrations. The so-called “hawks” and “doves” game goes on at various levels. Kashmiris continue to suffer. To the cynic, however (or the one who becomes so after watching this “relationship” over the years) the light at the end of the tunnel, if there is such exists, is yet to give a hopeful blink

http://jang.com.pk/thenews/

11

Presence in Central Asia

Every country wants a presence in Central Asia. Both India and Pakistan are trying to increase their presence.

http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/business/articles/eav120303.shtml

INDIA SET TO EXPAND PRESENCE IN CENTRAL ASIA
Ibragim Alibekov: 12/03/03

Energy-hungry India is set to put its economic muscle to work, as it strives to make inroads into Central Asia. A recent India-Central Asia Conference in Tashkent, along with visits throughout the region by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Defense Minister George Fernandes and Foreign Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, indicate that India’s foreign policy focus is shifting increasingly beyond its traditional China-Pakistan focus.

India’s energy needs are driving the country’s interest in Central Asia. With a population of over 1 billion and a booming economy, India is ranked as the world’s sixth largest energy consumer. To keep its economy growing at an average annual rate of 7-8 percent, Indian Planning Commission Chairman K. C. Pant recently told the Indo-Asian News Service, the country will need to increase its energy consumption by roughly 5 percent each year.

For a country that imports nearly five times the amount of electricity it exports, such an increase represents a tall order. It is one that India, mindful of its historic Silk Route ties with Central Asia, hopes the largely untapped energy potential of the region will fulfill.

Indian oil company ONGC Videsh Ltd. already has a 15 percent holding in Kazakhstan’s Alibekmola oil fields and a 10 percent holding in the country’s Kurmangazi fields. According to a January 2003 report by John Hopkins University’s Central Asian-Caucasus Institute, it would like to put down a minimum 20 percent stake in Uzbekistan’s oil and gas fields as well. Water-rich Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have also lined up to offer hydropower projects to India.

For now, though, mired in an ongoing debate over transportation routes, ambitious energy export plans have yet to deliver. Eager to skirt arch-rival Pakistan, India has supported a controversial 890-mile, $2-billion “energy highway” that would run from Russia via Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan, and on to Kashmir through the India-China Line of Control.

In considering energy questions, security issues are coming into play. With Taliban attacks on the increase in nearby Afghanistan, India fears the resurgence of fundamentalist Islamic groups in an area it hopes will be not only a willing trade partner, but dependable supplier of oil and gas.

Last year, India began repair work on an air base at Ayni, about six miles outside of the Tajik capital Dushanbe. At a November 2003 meeting with Tajikistan’s President Imomali Rahmonov, Prime Minister Vajpayee denied India plans to station aircraft at the base, RFE/RL reported, but Western defense analysts and Rahmonov himself have contradicted him.

Joint military exercises have been held with both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and, in November 2003, Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes announced plans to enhance anti-terrorism cooperation with both countries. Kazakhstan’s leader, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has proposed that India go a step further and join Central Asia’s regional security alliance, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization – a suggestion welcomed by Russia, but opposed by China. Also in the works: six Ilyushin mid-air refueler planes on order from Uzbekistan, and a pledge of financial support for a navy to defend Kazakhstan’s Caspian Sea oil routes.

While traditional rivals China and Pakistan may cast a wary eye on these military maneuvers, officially New Delhi is assuming a reassuring tone. “We are not interested in moving into the region,” Foreign Minister Sinha told The Hindu in February 2003. “There is more than enough room there for us all.”

Yet that inclusiveness may stop short of the United States. Despite New Delhi’s improved relations with Washington, many Indian officials see the semi-permanent American bases in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan as potential “lily pads” for the United States, said Dr. Phunchok Stobdan, a research fellow at India’s government-funded Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis. Stobdan suggested Washington could use the bases to intervene in local conflicts, or exert political pressure on local leaders.

The “reconfiguration forms a compelling reason for India’s reclaiming its geopolitical rights and responsibilities in Central Asia,” said Dr. Stobdan. “India’s overriding concerns are security-driven, too.”

At the Nov. 6-8 India-Central Asia Conference in Tashkent, Sinha confirmed the addition of a Tajik leg to the planned Russia-Iran-India trade corridor that would “reduce by 1,500 kilometers [932 miles] the distance between India and Central Asia.” A trade agreement between Iran, India and Turkmenistan and, now, Tajikistan is hoped to further smooth the way. But some analysts warn that by strengthening ties with India, Central Asia risks being drawn into a larger foreign policy zone of competition, involving Pakistan, India and Afghanistan.

Editor’s Note: Ibragim Alibekov is the pseudonym for a Kazakhstani journalist.

12

Indian Base Set Up in Tajikistan

Not quite…

Tajikistan has not allowed India to set up military base: Nazarov

Foreign Minister of Tajikistan Talbak Nazarov has denied media reports that India had been allowed to establish a military base in Tajikistan. Tajikistan had not allowed any country to establish military bases on its soil since it independence in 1992, he said at a meeting with Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri here at the Foreign Office on Thursday. Nazarov described all such reports as malicious, baseless and unfounded. The foreign minister of Tajikistan, is on a three-day official visit to Pakistan at the invitation of Pakistan’s foreign minister, according to a Foreign Office statement. Nazarov said that Tajikistan valued its relationship with Pakistan and the people of Tajikistan entertained feelings of brotherhood for the people of Pakistan.

During the talks, the two foreign ministers discussed bilateral relations and the regional situation. Foreign Minister Kasuri briefed his counterpart about Pakistan-India relations after the January 6 joint statement, issued after the meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Kasuri also informed his Tajik counterpart about the latest developments with respect to the ongoing peace process with India. The Tajik foreign minister welcomed improvement of relations between Indian and Pakistan. He said that Tajikistan, as a friend of both countries, was very happy over the recent positive developments.

The two foreign ministers underlined the need to expand cooperation between Pakistan and Tajikistan in various spheres. They also agreed to evolve a mechanism to increase the frequency of interaction between the two countries. They also agreed to hold the meeting of Joint Ministerial Commission in May/June this year. Kasuri offered the Tajik side more assistance from Pakistani side in training of their officials in various fields. The possibilities for Tajikistan to use ports in Pakistan for the export and import of their goods were also discussed. The Tajik foreign minister said that Karachi and Gwadar were the most convenient ports for foreign trade of Tajikistan keeping in view the short distance between Pakistan and Tajikistan as well as the infrastructure facilities available in Pakistan.