Analysts say the deal highlights Kyrgyzstan’s attempts to counterbalance the dominance of Russia and China.
Kyrgyzstan signed a deal to purchase Turkish armed drones last week, becoming the first Central Asian country to do so, the Middle East Eye reports.
Kyrgyzstan’s chairman of the State Committee for National Security, Kamchybek Tashiyev, said last month that Bishkek would complete the procurement but did not give any further details.
While the number of the drones purchased is not announced, some reports suggested that Bishkek has already ordered three TB2s, produced by private Turkish drone company Baykar. Thus, Kyrgyzstan becomes the first Central Asian country to add Turkish drones to its military inventory.
“Turkey is expanding its zone of influence in Central Asia,” says Mehmet Ozkan, professor at National Defense University in Istanbul. However, according to him, this should not be considered “an attempt to create new fronts against Russia and China”. “This is a new dynamic emerging in Turkey’s relations with Central Asia, in which inter-dependency, military cooperation, and win-win situation exist,” he concludes.
“Central Asian states are aware of the fact that the West is not as powerful as before. So, they're looking for an alternative power against Russian and Chinese tutelage. This power would be Ankara,” Ozkan said.
Nevertheless, neither Turkey nor Kyrgyzstan made an official statement due to China's uneasiness about this military cooperation.
China has been staunchly backing Tajikistan in its territorial dispute with Kyrgyzstan. The Tajik government has recently approved the construction of a new Chinese-funded base while handing full authority of a pre-existing Chinese military base to Beijing, in addition to another one in return for further military aid.
In recent years, Turkish drones have gained popularity in the international market, attracting countries like Ukraine, Poland, and reportedly even the UK.
Turkey’s interest in Central Asia, however, is not new. Following the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, Turkey rushed into recognizing the independence of Central Asian states. Ankara has built mosques, renovated historical sites, opened schools, created student exchange programs, and encouraged Turkish investors to come into the region.
