LOL Central Asia Can Help Biden Counter China & Manage Afghanistan

[Mohamed Bin Tughlaq]

There is nothing the US can offer these countries that the other two powers cannot and unlike the US

None of these countries are in anyones sphere as you put it. They do trade with Russia and China but more with China due to it's vast market but aside from that they have stayed away from anyones sphere but to be fair they are in Turkey's sphere due to the Turkic council and trade partners with China and Russia including some of the other regional players like Pakistan and others they do also trade with them. They have their own union like the GCC or EU..

They were previously tribal confederacy and the idea of a large Turkic council confederacy appeals to them and they are very much ethnic and culture based with their own set of geopolitical goals they are players not like India for hire and they only play ball if it benefits them and their own geopolitical goals..

 

[Kambojaric]

None of these countries are in anyones sphere as you put it. They do trade with Russia and China but more with China due to it's vast market but aside from that they have stayed away from anyones sphere but to be fair they are in Turkey's sphere due to the Turkic council and trade partners with China and Russia including some of the other regional players like Pakistan and others they do also trade with them. They have their own union like the GCC or EU..

They were previously tribal confederacy and the idea of a large Turkic council confederacy appeals to them and they are very much ethnic and culture based with their own set of geopolitical goals they are players not like India for hire and they only play ball if it benefits them and their own geopolitical goals..

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are members of the Russian led CSTO military alliance (https://en.odkb-csto.org/structure/). Russia has military bases in these countries (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kant_(air_base), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sary_Shagan). Even the more independent minded Central Asian republics like Uzbekistan are heavily impacted by Russian influence (both political and economic for example https://jamestown.org/program/russia-tightens-its-grip-on-uzbekistans-oil-and-gas-industry/). The vast majority of the military equipment of the Central Asian nations possess is Russian in origin and foreign remittance from Russia plays an important role in their economies.

The Turkic Union is certainly an interesting development and I hope it gains further strength in the coming years but as things stand it is undeniable that Turkeys influence is dwarfed by Russia's albeit Ankaras influence is growing. With passing time Russian influence is/will further wane in Central Asia but Moscow realizing this has turned to an understanding with China as means of retaining a high degree of influence. This Sino-Russian agreement essentially blocks out other foreign attempts at influence. Turkey is in a unique position due to its historic, cultural and linguistic ties but unless it can economically entice the Central Asian states to leave the Sino-Russian block not much is likely to change. However lets face it, it is in no position to take on both Beijing and Moscow head on in a confrontation and will have to adopt the diplomatic approach of working with them.

 

[ZeEa5KPul]

As long as American strategists are this delusional, China is going to have an easy ride straight to the top. It's not even going to be interesting.

Turkey is in a unique position due to its historic, cultural and linguistic ties but unless it can economically entice the Central Asian states to leave the Sino-Russian block not much is likely to change.

Size of Turkey's economy: $794.53 billion.
Size of China and Russia's combined economy: $18.35 trillion.
That's 23 times larger than Turkey's economy. What economic inducement can Turkey give them to leave the Eastern bloc? More importantly, what security guarantee can Turkey give them to protect them from the inevitable Chinese and Russian reaction should they leave?