FOREIGN MILITARY BASES IN POST-SOVIET CENTRAL ASIA
Abstract
The collapse of the bipolar system of international relations at the end of the twentieth century led to global changes in these relations, the main one being that local conflicts have replaced large-scale wars. Soft power is increasingly moving in to replace hard power; international and nongovernmental organizations, transnational companies, and even terrorist groups are taking the place of individual countries on the international arena.
Nevertheless, when it comes to state security, certain mechanisms that used to be part of the bipolar system continue to function. I am referring to military bases abroad, which, in the context of globalization, continue to play just as significant role in international relations as they did during the Cold War.
This article takes a look at how important it is to have these facilities in the territory of foreign states, as well as the advantages they offer the countries where they are located, using Central Asia (CA) as an example.1
In this work, military bases imply “specially equipped areas used by a state for deploying its armed forces in relation to hypothetical or actual theaters of military operations.”2
It must be specified that the term “military installation” should only be used in those cases when we are talking about Russia’s military presence in CA; the establishment of “military bases” is associated with other states.
All empires throughout history that engaged not only in territorial expansion, but also in control over neighboring territories were known to establish their military bases in other states,3 the empire of Alexander of Macedonia, the Venetian and Genoese republics, and the colonial empires of France and England being cases in point.4
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References
In this article, Central Asia implies 5 post-Soviet
republics—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmeni-stan, and Uzbekistan.
See: Slovar mezhdunarodnogo prava, authored by S. Batsanov, G. Efimov, V. Kuznetsov, et al., Diplomatic Academy of the U.S.S.R. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2nd ed., revised and enlarged, Mezhdunarodniye otnosheniia Publishers, Moscow, 1986, p. 19.
See: D. Dragunskiy, “Izderzhki imperii,” Kosmop-olis, No. 3 (19), Winter 2007/2008, pp. 5-10.
See: Z. Lachowski, Foreign Military Bases in Eur-asia, SIPRI Policy Paper No. 18, June 2007, Sweden, p. 78.
See: Ibid., p. 7-8.
See: V. Iurchenko, “O planakh po izmeneniiu bazi-rovaniia VC SShA za rubezhom,” Institute for Middle East-ern Studies, 27 January, 2004, available at [http://www.
imes.ru/rus/stat/2004/27-01-04.htm].
See: U.S. Department of Defense. News Transcript:
ecretary Rumsfeld Media Availability En Route to Guam,13 November, 2003, available at [http://www.defense.gov/
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Whereby this number did not include the Transit Cent-er in Kyrgyzstan (at that time still the Manas Air Base). The reason for this, explains the Special Pentagon Report for 2007,was that in order to be included in this number, the size of the facility should be more than 10 acres or more than 10 million dollars should be invested in it (the so-called Plant Replace-ment Value) (see: Department of Defense. Base Structure Re-port Fiscal Year 2007, p. 22, available at [www.defense.gov/
ubs/bsr_2007_baseline.pdf]). If we keep in mind that 10 acres is 4.05 hectares, and the Transit Center is around 224 hectares in area, the reason it is not included is probably economic.
For example, the change in the domestic political situation in Somalia led to the withdrawal of the Russian military contingent from this country in 1991.
See: “Voennye bazy RF za granitsei. Spravki,” RIA Novosti, 15 February, 2010, available at [http://www.rian.ru/
pravka/20100215/209344182.html].
See: Soglashenie mezhdu Rossiiskoi Federatsiei i Respublikoi Kazakhstan “Ob osnovnykh printsipakh i usloviiakh ispolzovaniia kosmodroma ‘Baikonur’,” 28 March, 1994, available at [http://www.baikonuradm.ru/index.php?mod1=npb1&npbid=46].
Ibidem.
See: Soglashenie mezhdu Rossiiskoi Federatsiei i Respublikoi Kazakhstan “O poriadke ispolzovaniia 929 Gos-udarstvennogo letno-ispytatelnogo tsentra (ob’ekty i boevye polia, razmeshchennye na territorii Respubliki Kazakhstan)Ministerstva oborony Rossiiskoi Federatsii,” 20 January, 1995, available at [http://www.infopravo.by.ru/fed1995/ch04/
kt16953.shtm].
See: “Kazinform: V. Putin podpisal chetyre zakona o ratifikatsii soglashenii s Kazakhstanom,” website of the Republic of Kazakhstan Embassy, 23 April, 2007, available at [http://kazembassy.ru/press_service/news/?newsid=2845].
See: Soglashenie mezhdu Rossiiskoi Federatsiei i Respublikoi Kazakhstan “O poriadke ispolzovaniia 929 Gos-udarstvennogo letno-ispytatelnogo tsentra”.
See: Ibidem.
See: V. Meilitsev, “Antiiardernyi shchit,” Spetsnaz Rossii, No. 12 (111), December 2005, available at [http://www.
pecnaz.ru/article/?837].
See: T. Frolova, A. Bogatyrev, “Sto raketnykh perekhvatov,” available at [http://www.redstar.ru/2006/03/23_03/
_01.html].
See: “S poligona Kapustin Yar uspeshno zapustili ballitsicheskuiu raketu,” Lenta.Ru, 23 April, 2006, available at [http://www.lenta.ru/news/2006/04/23/rocket/].
See: “Kazinform…”
See: I. Dmitriev, M. Riakhovskaia, “Rossiiskie rakety gniiut v Kazakhstane,” Versiia, 5 April, 2010, available at [http://versia.ru/articles/2010/apr/05/poligon_emba_5].
See: “Kazinform…”
See: Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan On the Upkeep and Use of the Balkhash Missile Attack Warning Center Located in the Territory of the Republic of Ka-zakhstan, 14 December, 1994.
See: I. Marinin, “‘Dnepr’ na Balkhashe,” Novosti kosmonoavtiki, No. 9, 2009, available at [http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/content/numbers/320/34.shtml].
See: Soglashenie mezhdu Rossiiskoi Federatsiei i Kyrgyzskoi Respublikoi “O statuse i usloviiakh prebyvaniia Rossiiskoi aviatsionnoi bazy na territorii Kyrgyzskoi Respubliki,” 22 September, 2003, available at [http://bestpravo.ru/
ed2003/data03/tex14395.htm].
See: “Rossiia uvelichila finansirovanie aviabasy v Kyrgyzstane v 2009-2010 gg. v dva raza,” AKIpress, 5 Decem-ber, 2008, available at [http://kg.akipress.org/news/64758].
See: Zh. Ibraliev, V. Nosov, “Za piat let svoego sushchestvovaniia shtat aviabazy uvelichilsia v 10 raz,” IA “24.kg,”24 October, 2008, available at [http://www.24.kg/community/2008/10/24/96121.html].
See: “Voennye bazy RF za granitsei. Spravki.”
See: M. Lukin, op. cit.
The radio-seismic laboratory (independent seismic center) No. 17 in the village of Mailuu-Sai (the Jalal-Abad Region) was disbanded. Instead, an independent seismic center was established that remains under Russian management.
Federal Law of the Russian Federation On Ratification of the Protocol on Making Amendments to the Agreement between the Russian Federation and Kyrgyz Republic on Rental Conditions of Deployment Sites of Sub-Units of the Seis-mic Service of the Russian Federation Defense Ministry located in the Kyrgyz Republic of 21 October, 1994, 17 July, 2009,available at [http://ntc.duma.gov.ru/duma_na/asozd/asozd_text.php?nm=159-%D4%C7&dt=2009].
See: A. Malashenko, “Rossiiskaia baza mozhet stat ne tolko faktorom stabilnosti v regione,” Azzatyk, 29 October,2009, available at [http://www.azattyk.kg/content/Kyrgyzstan__Russia_Malashenko/1864106.html].
A. Dzhorovekova, N. Momosheva, Khronika vneshnepoliticheskoi deiatelnosti Kyrgyzskoi Respubliki (1991-2002),Bishkek, 2003, p. 181.
See: “V ‘Manase’ oprovergli priostanovku tranzita voennosluzhashchikh SShA v Afganistan,” NEWSru.com,13 April, 2010, available at [http://txt.newsru.com/world/13apr2010/manasrenew.html].
See: A. Kasybekov, “Milliony dlia antiterroristov,” Vecherniy Bishkek, 15 November, 2005, p. 3.
In addition, the international Manas airport receives approximately 21 million dollars a year for the services it offers (takeoff, landing, parking, and so on) (see: A. Kasybekov, “Priznaniia polkovnika Smita,” Vecherniy Bishkek, 12 June,2008, p. 7).
See: “Tranzitnyi tsentr SShA v Kirgizii budet voennym obektom—deputat,” RIA Novosti, 25 June, 2009, availa-ble at [http://www.rian.ru/defense_safety/20090625/175378736.html].
See, for example: “Otvet Otdela po sviaziam s obshchestvennostiu posolstva SShA v Bishkeke,” in: “Kyrgyzstan:osolstvo SShA rasprostranilo raziazneniia po povodu “novoi voennoi bazy v Batkene,” Fergana.ru, 9 March, 2010, available at [http://www.ferghana.ru/news.php?id=14168].
See: “Zavizon: za predelami Rossii soldaty luchshe ponimaiut, chto takoe Rodina,” RIA-Novosti, 8 November,2006, available at [http://rian.ru/interview/20061108/55451253.html].
The debt amounted to $305,703 million as of 15 July, 2004. In addition to transfer of Nurek, Tajikistan pledged
to give Russia 75% minus one share of the Sangtuda GES-1 (see: “Gosduma ratifitsirovala soglashenie s Tadzhikistanom o peredache Rossii ‘Nurek’ v schet dolga,” IA REGNUM, 25 June, 2008, available at [www.regnum.ru/news/1019131.html];
Prezident podpisal zakon ob uregulirovanii zadolzhennosti Tadzhikistana pered Rossiei,” Rossiiskaia Gazeta, 15 July, 2008,available at [http://www.rg.ru/2008/07/15/tadzhikistan-anons.html]).
See: “Tadzhikistan gotov shantazhirovat Rossiiu: voennaia baza SSha ili energeticheskii konflikt,” IA REGNUM,7 July, 2009, available at [www.regnum.ru/news/1183055.html].
See: “Tajikistan: The French Military Remains a Welcome Presence in Dushanbe,” Eurasia net, 17 March, 2009,available at [http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav031709a.shtml].
See: “Tadzhikistan prosit Frantsiiu uskorit stroitelstvo v aeroportu Dushanbe,” IA REGNUM, 11 January, 2010,available at [http://www.regnum.ru/news/1241475.html].
See: I. Firuz, “Rogunskaia voina? Tadzhikistan za nedeliu,” IA REGNUM, 15 February, 2010, available at [www.regnum.ru/news/1254107.html].
See: J. Nichol, “Uzbekistan’s Closure of the Airbase at Karshi-Khanabad: Context and Implications,” Congressional Research Service Report RS22295, 29 March, 2006, p. 2, available at [http://stuff.mit.edu/afs/sipb/contrib/wikileaks-crs/
ikileaks-crs-reports/RS22295.pdf].
See: R. Burnashev, I. Chernykh, “Vooruzhennye sily Respubliki Uzbekistan,” Kontinent, No. 2 (89), 29 January-11 February, 2003, available at [http://www.continent.kz/2003/02/15.html].
Quoted from: J. Nichol, op. cit, p. 3.
R. Wright, A.S. Tyson, “U.S. Evicted From Air Base In Uzbekistan,” Washington Post, 30 June, 2005, available at [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/29/AR2005072902038.html].
See: Press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 7 July, 2005, available at [http://
ld.gov.uz/ru/content.scm?contentId=13693].
The aerodrome in Termez began to be used earlier, from the end of 2001, but the agreement was not signed until
See: “Baza v Termeze poka ostaetsia za bundesverom,” Deutsche Welle, 24 November, 2005, available at [http://
ww.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,1791693,00.html].
See: “Ministr oborony Germanii pribyl v Uzbekistan,” Daily Bulletin NIA Turkiston-press, 9-14 March, 2009,available at [http://uz.mofcom.gov.cn/accessory/200903/1237200713561.doc].
See: J. Nichol, op. cit., p. 3.
See: Ibidem.
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