WASHINGTON − The U.S. is trying regain control of Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, President Donald Trump says, as it seeks to reestablish a foothold in the region as a check on China.

The United States left the military base in July of 2021 ahead of the chaotic withdrawal of American troops and subsequent takeover of the country by the Taliban.

"We're trying to get it back, by the way," Trump said of Bagram on the final day of a trip to England. "We're trying to get it back, because they need things from us. We want that base back. But one of the reasons we want the base, is, as you know, it's an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons."

It was Trump's administration that signed the peace agreement with the Taliban that paved the way for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan near the end of his first term. But it was former President Joe Biden who oversaw the deadly, embarrassing pull-out. The chaotic exit marked the official end of the United States' 20-year war in the country.

"We were going to leave Afghanistan, but we were going to leave it with strength and dignity," Trump said on Sept. 18. "We were going to keep Bagram, the big air base − one of the biggest airbases in the world, we gave it to them for nothing."

China has multiple intercontinental ballistic missile sites that the Department of Defense says it has been expanding. The Pentagon said in a 2024 report to Congress that China had approximately 400 ICBMs in its arsenal that are capable of reaching the continental United States. By 2030, it estimates, the number of operational warheads will have jumped to 1,000.

Trump's comments about the deserted Afghan airbase came during a news conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The Department of Defense directed an inquiry about the status of the base to the White House.

Contributing: Cybele Mayes-Osterman

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Abandoned in 2021, Trump wants to 'get back' Bagram air base in Afghanistan

Reporting by Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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