ANI
24 Jan 2023, 20:18 GMT+10
Kabul [Afghanistan], January 24 (ANI): Instead of using the money for subsidizing education or developing Afghanistan, it seems that the Taliban "will use its limited cash" to buy or acquire Blowfish drones from China, 19FortyFive reported.
The blowfish drone is a mini helicopter that can fire machine guns, launch mortars and throw grenades. Artificial intelligence imbues them with the ability to determine who lives and dies on the battlefield with less human input, as per the news report.
The US Defence Department has already expressed fears that Blowfish exported to the Middle East might reach the wrong hands, according to 19FortyFive report. The United States should not be fooled by China's statement that drones are required to help the Taliban's counter-terrorism, considering the Taliban's ties with Al Qaeda, as per the news report.
According to the news report, the US needs to counter the Blowfish sale and work to check the "Taliban's consolidation of power without any deference to China or its Pakistani clients" for regional security and human rights.
China is providing modern weaponry to the Taliban in the wake of the recent attack by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) on a hotel in Kabul that mostly housed Chinese nationals, wrote Zafar Iqbal Yousafzai, author of 'The Troubled Triangle: US-Pakistan Relations under the Taliban's Shadow' in The Jamestown Foundation.
The move comes as unstable and volatile Afghanistan threatens Chinese interests and could be a hurdle to the success of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Earlier this month, the Taliban announced a deal with a Chinese company to enable oil extraction in the Amu Darya basin in northern Afghanistan, raising alarm bells in the west.
The signing ceremony of the over USD 500 million deal took place on January 5 in the presence of the Chinese envoy to Afghanistan Wang Yu, and other high-ranking Taliban officials, including Abdul Ghani Baradar, the acting deputy prime minister for economic affairs.
"The agreement, the Taliban's first major energy investment contract since its 2021 takeover, represents China's growing strategic interest in the Islamic Emirate," wrote, Washington-based researcher Kyle Sajoyan in the "19fortyfive" publication. (ANI)
Get a daily dose of Central Asia Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Central Asia Times.
More InformationMOUNT PLEASANT, Michigan: This week, a judge sentenced a Michigan man who kept his dead wife's body in a freezer ...
ATLANTA, Georgia: After two consecutive years of declines mainly caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, babies born in the U.S. in ...
The number of soldiers in the Israeli army killed in the current Israel-Hamas war has topped 400. Three hundred and ...
MOSCOW, Russia: A Russian court has extended the detention of Evan Gershkovich, a U.S. reporter for the Wall Street Journal, ...
Israel intensified its deadly bombardment of the Gaza Strip Saturday as renewed fighting with Hamas entered a second day following ...
ARLINGTON, Virginia: This week, the conservative U.S. political network Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP Action), led by billionaire Charles Koch, ...
PABNA, Bangladesh - According to police, the person responsible for the train arson at Ishwardi railway station on November 27 ...
ABU DHABI, UAE - Nepal, according to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda,' requires a significant investment in infrastructure, human ...
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - According to Malaysia's foreign ministry, 121 people, mostly Malaysians suspected of being victims of job scams, ...
QUETTA, Pakistan - Asif Ali Zardari, Co-Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), stated on Thursday that 'some forces' impede ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh - The European Union (EU) expressed hope on Wednesday that Bangladesh would hold democratic, credible, peaceful, and participatory ...
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar: Kyar Win, spokesperson for the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, which launched a surprise offensive last month against ...