Kyrgyzstan's presidential election again draws people's attention to Central Asia. Elected President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said in a speech on July 11 that the situation in Afghanistan has stabilized and it is now necessary to discuss the "necessity" of US military presence in Kyrgyzstan. On the same day, Kyrgyzstan's Ambassador to Russia Alas Dzhumagulov put it even more bluntly: the US military base in Manas might be closed.

The foreign policy of Kyrgyzstan is probably under adjustment. However, the fact that the issue of troops withdrawal was put on the table so quickly is perhaps beyond some people's expectations. It also furnishes a new perspective to look at the situation in Central Asia.

One notices that the fifth summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) also put sufficient emphasis on the outside military presence in the Central Asia. The declaration of the SOC member-state heads issued at the summit points out that as large-scale military operations against terrorism have come to an end in Afghanistan, parties to the coalition should set a deadline for the temporary use of the SCO members' infrastructure facilities and for their military presence in these countries. International public opinions generally believe the SCO has not only sent a serious reminder to the US-led anti-terrorist coalition, but also made clear its readiness and determination to take on the responsibility of safeguarding the stability in the Central Asian region.

In Autumn 2001, availing itself of the anti-terrorism war in Afghanistan the United States rented the Khanabad Airport in Uzbekistan and the Manas Airport in Kyrgyzstan. In the following year Tajikistan agreed to make the Kulyab Airport available to the United States and its allies.

At that time some Central Asian countries were under serious terrorist threat in Afghanistan. For the sake of the anti-terrorism campaign, the Central Asian countries afforded ground infrastructure facilities to the anti-terrorism alliance so that temporary deployment of troops was possible. Meanwhile, they opened ground and air passages for military transportation. The contributions made by the Central Asian countries to the victory of the anti-terrorism war in Afghanistan have been broadly acknowledged by the international community.

Now large-scale military operations against terrorism have come to an end in Afghanistan and Afghan domestic situation has seen positive changes of growing stable. From a military perspective, the necessity of the anti-terrorism coalition's military presence in the Central Asian region no longer exists. However, the US military has shown no sign of making its way home, acting in a manner as if it will stay permanently. The US behavior cannot but make one feel that there are other explanations for the US military's reluctance to leave Central Asian.

Deep in the hinterland of Europe and Asia, the Central Asia is the joint of the European and Asian continents, where rich oil and natural gas resources are held in store, hence its strategic position. The United States made its foothold there through the anti-terrorism campaign, so can it afford to easily give it up? In seeking permanent military presence in Central Asia the United States wants to comprehensively expand its political and economic influence there and secure control of the region.

Geopolitical experts have long pointed out that Central Asia is the "heartland" of the "world island". The United States deployed troops there with the intension of squeezing the strategic space of other big countries. Even the banner of anti-terrorism can hardly conceal its aspiration for global supremacy. A series of political storms have swept the Central Asian region, and on several occasions traces of the US intervention have revealed themselves, which further gave rise to high alert in Central Asian countries against the US military presence.

It needs to be stressed that the SCO is constantly enhanced its ability to crack down on the "three forces" -- extremism, separatism and terrorism. Cooperation among its member states is remarkably improved and the respective members are fully capable of maintaining peace and stability in Central Asia through internal cooperation. It is under this situation that the SCO conveyed its concern over outside military presence in Central Asia, that Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan officially requested the US prompt action to set a timetable for withdrawing military bases from the Central Asian region. These opinions should be heeded with full respect.

This is an article carried on the third page of People's Daily on July 13 and translated by People's Daily Online