Tensions over the future of Afghanistan’s Bagram Airbase have resurfaced after US President Donald Trump suggested Washington may seek to reclaim the facility, citing its proximity to China’s nuclear sites. The remarks drew a sharp response from Kabul, which ruled out any return of the base to American forces.
Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said no foreign troops would be permitted to enter the country, stressing that Afghanistan’s sovereignty was non-negotiable. He reiterated that “baseless claims” regarding Chinese control over the Bagram facility were part of a disinformation campaign.
Trump, in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, warned that failure to return Bagram to Washington would have “very bad” consequences. He argued the United States should never have relinquished the base and underscored its strategic location, noting it lies only an hour away from Chinese nuclear development sites.
The former president repeated his stance during a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, claiming the US had effectively handed the base “free of cost” to the Taliban in 2021. “We are now trying to take it back,” he said.
Analysts note that Trump’s renewed focus on Bagram underscores its enduring geostrategic value, not only for Washington’s security calculus but also amid heightened US-China rivalry. Kabul, however, insists its soil will not be used as a platform for great power competition.
The airbase, once the nerve centre of US operations in Afghanistan, was vacated in July 2021 as part of the broader withdrawal of international forces after two decades of conflict.
