China Now Controls Bagram Air Base, Says Trump

US President Donald Trump has renewed his criticism of the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, claiming that the strategically significant Bagram Air Base is now under Chinese control.

Speaking at the White House on Thursday during the National Day of Prayer, Trump asserted that Bagram once the largest US military base in Afghanistan is located just an hour away from Chinese nuclear weapons facilities.

“We were going to keep Bagram, the big air force base, which is one hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons,” Trump said. “That’s what they do, they make their nuclear missiles one hour away from Bagram. And I said, you can’t give up Bagram.”

He described the decision to abandon the base during the 2021 withdrawal as “crazy,” emphasising Bagram’s size and strategic value.

Trump also referenced the deadly 26 August 2021 suicide bombing at Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate, which killed 13 American service members and more than 160 Afghan civilians, while injuring dozens more. “We lost 13 soldiers, and 42 were horribly injured. Nobody ever talks about them,” he said.

Trump has previously stated that his administration planned to retain Bagram not for Afghanistan’s sake, but because of its geographical proximity to China.

In response to Trump’s remarks, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has reiterated that Afghanistan is an independent nation and does not permit any foreign military presence on its soil. “Bagram Air Base is under the control of the Islamic Emirate, not China,” Mujahid said in an earlier statement refuting similar claims.