China Denies Plans To Deploy Troops To Afghanistan

Chinese military personnel in training (Image: PA).

China says reports suggesting it is planning to deploy troops to Afghanistan are "simply not true".

A Defence Ministry spokesman said reports that hundreds of People's Liberation Army soldiers are to man a base in eastern Afghanistan are "simply not true" and that the neighbours have "normal military and security cooperation". 

China shares a narrow border with Afghanistan in the remoter Wakhan corridor region and is wary of the country's violence and instability, potentially overflowing into its restless Xinjiang region.

The spokesman said China, like other nations, is helping Afghanistan increase its defence capabilities, particularly in counter-terrorism. He said: "China and Afghanistan have normal military and security cooperation."

Afghanistan's ambassador to China, Janan Mosazai, said this week that Beijing is help Afghanistan to set up a mountain brigade to bolster counter-terrorism operations but that no Chinese troops would be based in the country. 

Mr Mosazai said: "While the Afghan government appreciates this Chinese assistance and our two militaries are working in close coordination on utilising this assistance, there will be no Chinese military personnel of any kind involved in this process on Afghan soil."

China has sought to increase its presence in Afghanistan, including in dialogue with the Taliban, after 17 years of Western involvement that has left the country still at war.

Along with Pakistan, Iran and Russia,China is gaining a growing influence even as the United States spends billions of dollars to support the Afghan National Security Forces, which are struggling to contain an energised Taliban.

Despite the denials of Chinese military activity in the area, unconfirmed reports have shown what appear to be Chinese military vehicles operating in the Wakhan corridor, which lies in the shadow of the Hindu Kush mountains with Tajikistan to the north and Pakistan to the south.

Along with military assistance, China has provided equipment and training to Afghanistan's government as it seeks to secure the border and gain economic benefits within the country. Those include the Mes Aynak copper deposit, believed to contain about 450 million tons of the metal worth tens of billions of dollars.

Poor security and economic chaos in the country have prevented progress in moving forward on the mine, which also sits on an ancient Buddhist pilgrimage site.

Approximately 114,000 UK troops passed through the British base of Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, between 2007 and 2014.

The UK's involvement in Afghanistan began in 2001 and ended in 2014..

This month, 440 more UK troops were expected to join the 660 personnel already deployed to Afghanistan in non-combat roles, providing security for international advisers in Kabul, as well as mentoring Afghan forces.