Link to article: https://eurasianet.org/kyrgyzstan-alarmed-by-tajikistans-reported-purchase-of-bayraktar-drones
In Kyrgyzstan, there is a current worry that neighboring country Tajikistan has bought Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) from Turkey, which would mark a major technological development and advancement in the current arms race between the two countries. Deputy Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubayev told lawmakers on April 27th that the government had pleaded to be cautious when selling these drones in light of border tensions. Tajik Defense Minister Sherali Mirzo visited Ankara on April 21st and voiced concerns during talks with his Turkish opposite Hulusi Akar. Mirzo received a pledge stating that Turkey would assist Tajikistan in bolstering border security as well as counteracting terrorism. Tajik officials have been less and less public about technological deployments on their side of the border, but eyewitnesses have reported seeing notable volumes of military equipment in cities.
In my opinion, it will be interesting to see the total number of drones that were bought by Tajikistan from Turkey. I wasn’t aware of the current arms race between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, so this article really stood out to me. I think that the arrival of more heavy weaponry in the Central Asian region will be significant in proceeding with the conflict. Another thing that stood out to me was the mentioning of the unrest on April 12th that resulted in border guards exchanging gunfire in a remote village. In a statement given by President Japarov, he said, “The issues are being resolved slowly. The slow pace is not only happening on our side, it is on both sides. The border issue, which has not been fixed for 30 years, cannot be settled in one month. There are disputed sections. Neither side can erect fences until the contentious issues are resolved,”.
This article relates to class because it discusses a conflict between two Central Asian countries and their technology. It is important to learn about things like this because in order to protect the citizens we must be aware of what is going on. The use of drones in warfare is something I knew a little about prior to reading this, but I didn’t realize that they would be considered a development as well as an advancement in Tajikistan. Overall, this was an interesting article to read and taught me a lot about the current Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan arms race.