Why China fears US withdrawal from Afghanistan
US troop drawdown may revive East Turkestan Islamic Movement and its dormant Uighur insurgency in Xinjiang
By
FM SHAKILJANUARY 12, 2021
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Ethnic Uighur fighters fly their flag in a file photo. Image: Facebook
PESHAWAR – America’s troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s possible resumption of at least partial power in Kabul will have far-reaching implications for China and Pakistan, both of which aim to play key roles in the country’s post-war future.
China has publicly endorsed America’s plan, which will see 2,500 of 4,500 troops withdrawn by mid-January and all soldiers by mid-year, but has cautioned that an unorganized US departure could open the way for militants to re-establish Afghanistan as a regional hotbed of Islamic terror.
Last November, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian urged the US to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan in an “orderly and responsible” manner.
That official comment spoke to Chinese concerns that Afghanistan, which shares a land border with China’s restive Xinjiang province, could in particular become a breeding ground for Uighur Muslim militants.
China often points to the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), also known as the Turkistan Islamic Movement, to justify its harsh crackdown on Uighurs in Xinjiang. ETIM is an Islamic extremist group founded by Uighur jihadists in Western China that seeks to create an independent East Turkestan state to replace China’s Xinjiang.
In December, Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security wound up a Chinese spy ring and detained at least 10 Chinese nationals on espionage charges, according to news reports citing the directorate’ chief Ahmad Zia Saraj.
Reports said the Afghan government believed the Chinese spies were attempting to create a fake (ETIM) module in Afghanistan to entrap real ETIM operatives. The Chinese nationals were allowed to fly back to China reportedly under pressure from Beijing.
China has at least historic cause to be concerned. Soon after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, China, the European Union, US, UK, UN and other states designated the ETIM as a terrorist organization due to its association with al Qaeda.
China has claimed that the ETIM committed over 200 acts of terrorism between 1990-2001, resulting in 162 deaths and 440 injuries. Those included a spate of attacks ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, including an assault on paramilitary troops in Kashgar that killed 17 officers.
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Why China fears US withdrawal from Afghanistan - Asia Times