{"id":83993,"date":"2018-02-08T23:10:16","date_gmt":"2018-02-08T23:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/08\/pentagon-thinks-china-could-be-a-partner-in-afghanistan\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:23:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:23:09","slug":"pentagon-thinks-china-could-be-a-partner-in-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/08\/pentagon-thinks-china-could-be-a-partner-in-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon thinks China could be a partner in Afghanistan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As bombing in Northern Afghanistan\u2019s Badakhshan province<\/a> dials in on a little known terror group called the East Turkestan Islamic Movement<\/a> (ETIM), U.S. officials are eyeing a potential partnership with China<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ETIM operates near the Afghan border with China<\/a> and Tajikistan, and has been highlighted as a security concern by the Chinese government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a series of U.S. airstrikes, Taliban training camps<\/a> and fighting positions that supported terrorist operations inside Afghanistan, as well as ETIM operations across the border, were destroyed, according to a press statement from NATO\u2019s Resolute Support<\/a> mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe U.S. strikes support Afghanistan in reassuring its neighbors that it is not a safe sanctuary for terrorists who want to carry out cross border operations,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n\n\n\t