China's Far West provinces (inc. Tibet)

[davidbfpo]

Given the report that it was the Red Mosque followers kidnapping of a bus-load of Chinese sex workers in Islamabad was "straw that broke the camel's back" and led to then President Musharraf's decision to use lethal force to "resolve" the occupation of the mosque - there is a history of Chinese matters having an impact on Pakistani decision-making.

I am sure historians would cite other incidents.

At the same time China has been reluctant to support Pakistan at times too.

One wonders how heavy a presence today in Pakistan is there of Chinese security & intelligence agencies?

[bourbon]

Originally Posted by davidbfpo

One wonders how heavy a presence today in Pakistan is there of Chinese security & intelligence agencies?

To say nothing of all their “technicians” and “engineers” running around FATA, Balochistan, and PoK.

[Ray]

China Seeking Counter-Uighur Military Bases In Pakistan?

In its effort to combat separatist Uighur groups, China is apparently seeking to establish military bases in the part of Pakistan that borders the Uighurs' home province of Xinjiang. That's according to Pakistani journalist Amir Mir, writing in Asia Times:

While Pakistan wants China to build a naval base at its southwestern seaport of Gwadar in Balochistan province, Beijing is more interested in setting up military bases either in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan or in the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA) that border Xinjiang province.

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/64379

*************

Given the relationship with the US currently, China is Pakistan's only hope.

They will have to give way to the Chinese.

But it will create problems and they may get bogged down.

[Ray]

Kashgar Officials Blame Pakistan for Harboring Uyghur Terrorists

Since U.S.-Pakistan relations took a nosedive following the raid to kill Osama bin Laden, Islamabad has appeared to try to woo China as its new superpower ally; Pakistan's prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gillani, called China "Pakistan's best friend" on a visit to Beijing shortly after the bin Laden raid. But the courtship is hitting a rocky patch: Chinese officials say that attacks in the far western city of Kashgar over the weekend were planned in Pakistan, in Uyghur terror training camps there........

Uyghur activists, along with several foreign experts quoted in these news stories, suggested that blaming Pakistan was an attempt to dodge the fact that it is in fact local people, angry with Beijing's heavy-handed rule over the Uyghur-dominated province of Xinjiang, who are rising up. But the fact that they're pointing the finger at Pakistan is probably making some people in Islamabad pretty nervous. China takes the Uyghur issue VERY seriously, and if they really think that Pakistan is actually harboring Uyghur terrorists, the two countries aren't going to be best friends for long.

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63983

[Ray]

Note that the Chinese have blamed Pakistan for Uighur Terrorism openly and have named the terrorists and confiscated their property as also impounding their bank accounts.

They never did it so openly before.

China Blames Foreign-Trained Separatists for Attacks in Xinjiang
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/02/wo...a/02china.html

So, that means that they are getting tough with Pakistan?

Wrong.

It is to build up an excuse to demand operating bases in NWFP and FATA so that they can take on the Uighur rebels!

Even that is wrong.

They are wanting to plonk themselves between the US in Afghanistan and Pakistan so that Pakistan can breathe since the US will not then use Drones or carry out cross border raids. This will endear them to the Pakistani population.

Then they will carry out movement into Afghanistan once the US leaves so that their hold around the area become firm and their routes into Iran and its ports including Chahbahar (constructed by India) becomes a reality. And because of that they are supporting Iran against the US at all international forums.

China Seeking Counter-Uighur Military Bases In Pakistan?

In its effort to combat separatist Uighur groups, China is apparently seeking to establish military bases in the part of Pakistan that borders the Uighurs' home province of Xinjiang. That's according to Pakistani journalist Amir Mir, writing in Asia Times:

While Pakistan wants China to build a naval base at its southwestern seaport of Gwadar in Balochistan province, Beijing is more interested in setting up military bases either in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan or in the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA) that border Xinjiang province.

China Seeking Counter-Uighur Military Bases In Pakistan? | EurasiaNet.org

[SWJ Blog]

Hard Love and Empty Promises: China’s Domestic Counterinsurgency in Xinjiang

Entry Excerpt:



--------
Read the full post and make any comments at the SWJ Blog.
This forum is a feed only and is closed to user comments.

[davidbfpo]

IMO this is the first such attempt to hijack a plane:

Air crew and passengers on Friday foiled the attempted hijacking of an aircraft with 100 people on board in China's far west Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, local police said. At least ten people were injured. Two flight policemen were seriously injured, head attendant and seven passengers were slightly injured in the fight with hijackers, police said

Link:http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/ch..._131684620.htm

Now are the suspects locals or infiltrators from Pakistan?

[Bill Moore]

IMO this is the first such attempt to hijack a plane

Perhaps, but in the past China has gone to great lengths to suppress any news covering their internal security issues. They have ongoing challenges with the Uyghers (a Muslim ethnic group in Western China), and some Uyghers (very few) have established ties with Islamists in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but that distorts the real issue which more similiar to the ethnic/cultural conflict/tension China has with Tibet.

Over the years there have been several bombings in some parts of China (buses were a popular target). Who knows what else is going on in this regard. This may be the first hijacking attempt, but I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't. I doubt we'll ever hear the full story, or Paul Harvey's "the rest of the story" about this episode.

[Bill Moore]

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p...89.html#victim

U.S. State Department Travel Advise (politically correct, but fairly accurate)

Violent crime isnot common in China, but violent demonstrations can erupt without warning and in past years there have been somefatal bombings and explosions which could pose a random threat to foreign visitors in the area. The vast majority of these local incidents are related to disputes over land seizures, social issues, employment disputes, environmental problems, or conflicts involving ethnic minorities. Some incidents have become large-scale and involved criminal activity, including hostage taking and vandalism

.

http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/violen...jiang-province

Violence Escalates in China’s Xinjiang Province SEP 2011

The Chinese government almost always attributes attacks in Xinjiang to jihadist ideology and foreign-linked terrorist groups, while pro-Uighur organizations almost always explain violence in Xinjiang as a local byproduct of the government’s policies. For example, the Chinese government called the Hotan incident a “severe terrorist attack,”[2] while the World Uighur Congress[3] blamed the violence on Chinese authorities forcefully breaking up a “peaceful demonstration.”

http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=295&catid=8

TERRORISM AND BOMBINGS IN CHINA

Explosions, both accidental and intentional, are common in China. In 1998, there were 2,500 bomb blasts in a nine month period. Among the 30 bombings in a 10 day period in 2001, was a blast at a McDonald’s in the tourist town of Xian that killed five people and injured 28, an explosion at a French department store in Qindao that killed and injured no one and 23 blasts in the Guangdong port cities of Zhanjiang and Jiangmen

.

Many explosions are not related to terrorism. Easy-to-obtain industrial explosives are often used in attacks blamed on gangsters, jilted lovers and others and used to settle grievances. In past years, disgruntled Chinese citizens have set off explosions near buildings or on buses. Such "sudden incidents", as China refers to them, underscore broader government worries about stability in the world's second-largest economy, with a widening gap between rich and poor and growing anger at corruption and over environmental issues. In March 2001, 108 people were killed in explosions at four apartment housed in Shijazhuang, Hebei Province by a man who was seeking revenge against relatives that angered him

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/ch..._131510187.htm

China publishes names of six terrorists APR 2012

The six were all core members of the terrorist group "East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM)," according to a statement issued Thursday by the Ministry of Public Security.

They have participated in the organization, and planned and executed terrorist acts against Chinese targets within and outside the country, the ministry said in the statement on its official website.

http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/NSQE08802E.shtml

From the UN

QE.E.88.02. EASTERN TURKISTAN ISLAMIC MOVEMENT APR 2011

In recent years, ETIM has set up bases outside China to train terrorists and has dispatched its members to China to plot and execute terrorist acts including bombing buses, cinemas, department stores, markets and hotels. ETIM has also undertaken assassinations and arson attacks and has carried out terrorist attacks against Chinese targets abroad. Among the violent acts committed by ETIM members were the blowing up of the warehouse of the Urumqi Train Station on 23 May 1998, the armed looting of 247,000 RMB Yuan in Urumqi on 4 February 1999, an explosion in Hetian City, Xinjiang, on 25 March 1999 and violent resistance against arrest in Xinhe County, Xinjiang, on 18 June 1999. These incidents resulted in the deaths of 140 people and injuries to 371.

At the beginning of March 2008, ETIM sent its operatives to China in an attempt to kidnap foreign reporters, tourists and athletes. This cell covertly collected various materials for making explosives, identified technicians with expertise in making guns and explosives, looked for suicide bombers and attempted to carry out terrorist acts through suicide bombings in Urumqi and other cities inside China. On 26 March 2008, Chinese authorities arrested several cell members and seized a large number of explosives, detonators and other explosive devices.

Hopefully the above provides some context.

[davidbfpo]

An Indian analyst's commentary 'Alienated People and an Overcautious state in China’s Xinjiang':http://www.idsa.in/idsacomments/Alie...RgDDu4.twitter

[davidbfpo]

Raffaello Pantucci examies the PRC claim that East Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIM) are present in Syria and concludes:

..in terms of advancing their core agenda of attacking China, the latest round of videos and activity does not seem to provide much evidence that the movement is moving in this direction in any effective way.

Link:http://raffaellopantucci.com/2012/12...n-battlefield/

Interesting to note the Turkish activity with PRC, although Turkey has aspired for sometime to a greater role in the region.

[davidbfpo]

An article in Critical Terrorism Studies, so behind a paywall and so from the Abstract:

This article presents a case study of China, a regime that has been fighting Uyghur separatism and terrorism since its founding in 1949 with authoritarian means. However, while authoritarian crackdowns in Xinjiang have ensured tactical respites leading to periods of relative stability, strategically China has facilitated the construction of a threat more radical than the initial Uyghur challenge. Thus, before September 11 China acknowledged links between Uyghur terrorism and separatism. After September 11, however, China announced it was fighting a war against international terrorist groups in Xinjiang. And while this rhetoric gained international acknowledgement, it at the same time has affected the nature of Uyghur terrorism, which has shifted in response to China's framing. As a result, today we are witnessing transformations in the East Turkistan Islamic Movement activities, which are becoming increasingly reliant on al-Qaeda's guidance and support.

Link:http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/1...53.2012.753202

[Bill Moore]

http://www.start.umd.edu/start/data_...le.asp?id=4347

Claims that ETIM has ties to al-Qaeda, Usama bin Laden, and the Taliban persist. Many reputable sources debate whether or not al-Qaeda has provided the group with training and financial assistance. The US Department of State, in its 2005 report on terrorism, states that ETIM is "linked to al-Qaida and the international jihadist movement" and that al-Qaeda has provided ETIM with "training and financial assistance". Another US government website reports that one ETIM leader was killed in a raid on al-Qaeda safehouses in Pakistan. The Chinese government has been known to exaggerate the connection between ETIM and al-Qaeda to enlist the support of the United States in endorsing China's social control tactics in Xinjiang. It is likely that members of ETIM have had contact with al-Qaeda elements, but no high-level contacts have been established.

ETIM has been implicated in terrorist plots against US interests in the Central Asia region, including a foiled plot to attack the US Embassy in Kyrgyzstan.

Credibility of the following link unknown:

http://coffeeandsleeplessnights.word...rs/#more-11845

Al-Qaeda’s longstanding use of children to wage jihad was on display in a recent video showing boys as young as five training with assault rifles and handguns at a terrorist training camp.
The video of the gun-toting, prepubescent jihadists was reportedly filmed by the al-Qaeda-linked East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) at one of the terror group’s training camps in Pakistan’s North Waziristan region.

Since 1990 the ETIM, which has been fighting to create an independent Islamic state in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, has not only committed more than 200 acts of worldwide terrorism but has trained scores of jihadists to fight alongside al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opi...637916112.html

Article discusses the economic importance of the region (Silk Road hopes) and the interests of a number of countries.

After the opening of the Karakoram Highway between China and Pakistan, up to the mid-1990s thousands of young Uyghurs studied Islam abroad, going to religious schools in Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. A few also went to Yemen and Qatar.

The problem, China would argue, is that those who returned to Xinjiang were in most cases Deobandis, Salafis and Wahhabis. Over the past few years Uyghurs returning from Central Asia also opened Hizb-ut Tahrir cells in Xinjiang. Hizb-ut Tahrir is extremely critical of Beijing's policies.

Oil and gas-rich Xinjiang consists of 1.6mn square kilometres, vast deserts, and borders no less than 8 Asian countries. Xinjiang is much more than China's "frontline against terrorism". It is also at the core of China's dream of being the star of the New Silk Road.

[davidbfpo]

A long BBC report on the latest violence in Sinkiang Province, in a small rural town, where twenty-one have died and just why is hotly disputed: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-22319579

[Fuchs]

China’s Black Hole
Let's face it: We have little idea what's actually going on in Xinjiang and Tibet.
BY ISAAC STONE FISH | APRIL 26, 2013

[Bill Moore]

Originally Posted by Fuchs

China’s Black Hole
Let's face it: We have little idea what's actually going on in Xinjiang and Tibet.
BY ISAAC STONE FISH | APRIL 26, 2013

Tuesday's alleged incident was the deadliest since riots in July 2009 killed nearly 200 people. Tibet is worse. The independent watchdog organization Freedom House annually ranks countries and territories on their level of political rights and civil liberties. The group's most recent report, released Jan 2013, included Tibet in its "Worst of the Worst" category, joining North Korea and Somalia.

In March 2012, Peter Ford, a veteran foreign correspondent for Christian Science Monitor, published an article entitled "In China, reporting on Tibetan and Uighur unrest is nearly impossible."

This is just the media, but suspect our diplomats and intelligence even have less access and understanding of what is actually happening on the ground. Official statements from China are rejected immediately it seems, while statements from activist groups are quickly embraced as true.

I think the reality is we have little idea of what is actually happening in most parts of the world outside the very limited awareness zone of our Embassies. Most media representatives focus on whatever the cool story of the year is and report to influence instead of reporting to inform the public.

Just being aware of this should encourage us to stop and question our understanding before we even start considering our potential positions or responses to these incidents.

[davidbfpo]

Thanks to a "lurker" two Chinese articles, first a report which follows the human angle:http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2...t_16466718.htm

Then an editorial, with a interesting, if odd comparison between terrorism in China compared to elsewhere. Plus a frank admission, I think:

The terrorist activities are committed mainly under the influence of terrorist thought and partly because of dissatisfaction with local governments and the Han people.

Link:http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/77...l#.UYJiAKLvvfJ

[Dayuhan]

Originally Posted by Bill Moore

I think the reality is we have little idea of what is actually happening in most parts of the world outside the very limited awareness zone of our Embassies.

"Very limited" is too kind. Maybe "negligible", or "minute"?