In Shakhritus – on the border between Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan – a large scientific station of the University of Lanzhou was inaugurated for the study of climate and environment in the countries of the Belt and Road Initiative. A new node of the widest LiDar network. Suspicions about the possible use of these structures for espionage purposes.
Dushanbe () – A large climate observatory built by the Chinese has just been inaugurated in Tajikistan, not far from the borders with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, giving rise to much speculation about its actual use, which could also include surveillance of broad spectrum to ensure the security of China itself. Analysts indeed believe that the potential of Shakhritus’ “superstation” in the country’s southwestern area is decidedly broader than stated goals, starting with Beijing’s race for global technological supremacy.
The power plant is billed as “a step forward in the development of ecological control technology” intended to deepen the detailed analysis of the environment in Central and South Asia. The first information about it appeared in the New China Agency (Xinhua) on June 16, while the Tajik media have not mentioned it. It is a new element in a growing network of similar stations, a project developed by Lanzhou University together with several other institutions, within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.
The network of LiDar systems deals with the study of light and the definition of distances, and should extend along the “new Silk Road” concentrating on areas with the most extreme weather conditions. The location in the nerve center of Central Asia and the close collaboration with one of the most authoritarian regimes, such as that of Dushanbe, reinforce the impression of a gigantic Chinese Big Brother eye on the region.
Oxus director for Central Asia, Bradley Jardine, noted that a station like Shakhritus “depends on weather satellites, similar to the one that not long ago veered off course and crashed on US soil.” On that occasion, Beijing had claimed that it was a high-altitude aerostat used solely for weather observation purposes, and it flew over Alaska, Canada and part of the US before being shot down by US anti-aircraft fire. Washington authorities claimed it contained technology for espionage purposes.
In an interview with Azattyk, Jardine explains that “the Tajik border is an excellent observation base for any form of espionage, especially on the unstable areas of Afghanistan”, and that precisely the LiDar systems help to penetrate all the details of the natural environment. and not natural with autonomous means of artificial intelligence, an area in which China is undoubtedly at the forefront of the world. This also makes it possible to improve its own national technology, perfecting the capabilities of electric autonomous transport vehicles and allowing much more favorable data to be exhibited abroad from the ecological point of view.
One field in which China wants to excel in the coming years, for example, is the production of cars of the future. Large investments in the state budget are allocated to this sector, starting precisely with the scientific research of the main universities such as Lanzhou, which is also the city from which the network of LiDar stations starts. This then spreads through Xinjiang, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Iran, Israel and Algeria, with more than 20 stations, some already operational and others to be built or completed.
One of the scientists who worked on the Lanzhou project, Professor Huang Qianping, explained to the New China agency that the station “provides comprehensive data on dusts that pollute materials and the environment in crucial regions of Central Asia,” and that can help prevent major atmospheric disasters, providing reliable information on climate change in general. The Shakhritus area is one of the most critical from this point of view, and specialists from Lanzhou assure that the station will make it possible to produce three-dimensional maps generated by laser that can be used in all other areas of the world with such extreme climates and temperatures. All other possible uses of this technology, for now, remain hidden under a thin layer of dust.
