Tajikistan’s Ayni airbase has gone out of India’s hands and with this, India’s efforts to establish its strategic reach in Central Asia have also suffered a major setback. The Congress Party has launched a scathing attack on the Central Government regarding this and has described the end of Indian operations at Ayni Airbase as a major blow to the country’s strategic diplomacy. The noteworthy thing is that China and Russia are being said to be behind India’s withdrawal from Ayni airbase.
Ayani airbase is very important strategically
Ayni airbase in Tajikistan was bordering Afghanistan, Pakistan and China, due to which India had a strategic advantage. This airbase is located just 10 kilometers away from Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. With the help of this airbase, India could reach Central Asia without using Pakistan’s airspace. When Taliban captured Afghanistan, the help of this airbase was taken in evacuating Indians from Afghanistan. Ayni Airbase is near China’s Xinjiang province. Looking at the relations between India and China, Beijing does not want India’s influence to increase in the region. It was also very easy to reach Peshawar city of Pakistan from Ayni Airbase. Due to this, India had a strategic advantage over Pakistan.
Tajikistan had refused to extend India’s lease
Ayni Airbase, which dates back to the Soviet Union, was jointly developed by the governments of India and Tajikistan in 2002. With the help of this airbase, India had also joined the race to establish its influence in Central Asia like Russia and China, due to which new equations of security in the region had emerged. India had planned to expand this airbase, but four years ago in the year 2021 itself, the Government of Tajikistan had indicated to India that they were not in favor of extending its lease to India. After this, in the year 2022, India started winding down its operations from Ayni Airbase.
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Did India suffer loss due to Russia’s game?
In media reports, pressure from Russia and China is considered to be the main reason behind Tajikistan not extending India’s lease. In fact, Russia and China are increasing their dominance in Central Asia. In such a situation, they do not want to face the challenge of India in this race. Tajikistan is a member of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Belarus and Russia. Russia also has its largest foreign military base in Tajikistan. In such a situation, in view of Russia’s influence on Tajikistan, Putin is also being said to have a role in not extending India’s lease on Ayni airbase. China is investing on a large scale in Tajikistan. India had also started making inroads into Central Asia from Ayni Airbase, but now after losing Ayni Airbase, Russia and China are the only two big players left and this is definitely a blow to India’s strategic diplomacy.
