Is there a Chinese military base in Tajikistan?

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China has denied media reports about the construction of a Chinese military base on the territory of Tajikistan.

On July 10 of this year, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported that, according to satellite images, China is building a secret military base in Tajikistan to counter the growing security threat posed by Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The newspaper states that Beijing has been constructing the base in one of the most remote corners of the world for almost ten years.

It is reported that the Chinese secret military base is located near the village of Shaimak in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan, not far from the border with Afghanistan.

However, a representative of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin Jian, denied the media claims about the construction of a military base in Tajikistan at a press conference.

“I am not aware of the situation you mentioned, but I can confidently say that China always adheres to an independent and peaceful foreign policy and has no military bases in Central Asia,” he stated.

Reports about the construction of a Chinese military base in Tajikistan have been causing public resonance for several years. Meanwhile, the authorities of Tajikistan and China have always denied the existence of a Chinese military base on the territory of Tajikistan.

However, in 2019, the American newspaper The Washington Post wrote that China had built a military base in Tajikistan several years ago, near the Tajik-Afghan border.

In 2020, residents of the village of Shaimak in the Murghab District of GBAO also confirmed the existence of a military base and Chinese soldiers in the area. Eyewitnesses claimed that they often observed military drones in the vicinity.

In October 2021, Radio Ozodi reported that according to documents obtained by Radio Ozodi, Chinese personnel are currently working at this base, although the facility itself belongs to the Tajik side.

Furthermore, according to documents, during a meeting between Emomali Rahmon and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe in July of this year, the issue of the complete and gratuitous transfer of this base to the Chinese side was discussed.

The results of these negotiations have not been disclosed, and it is unknown whether the military base has been transferred to the Chinese side or not.