Global War on Terror and Chinese Foreign Policy

21 May, 2002    ·   754

Sonika Gupta debates China’s policy options regarding US military presence in Pakistan
Sonika Gupta
This week the Chinese Foreign Minister, Tang Jiaxuan, visited Pakistan and Afghanistan . Apart from strengthening ties, Pakistan and China agreed to consult each other on counter-terrorism. Tang’s visit to Afghanistan and his meeting with Hamid Karzai culminated in a statement that China and Afghanistan had agreed to fight terrorism in Xinjiang.  After the September 11 attacks, China ratified the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism, concluded by the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). China supported the ASEAN statement to fight terrorism during the ASEAN leaders meeting in November 2001. ASEAN members had agreed to strengthen consultations and cooperation within the framework of the United Nation’s Charter. 

 

 

These are attempts by China to forge a regional consensus to fight Muslim separatists in Xinjiang. The garnering of international support was supplemented by changes in domestic law. During the National People’s Congress session in Beijing in December, China amended its criminal law "to deal more harshly with criminal acts of terrorists, for the protection of national security, social order and safeguard safety of people's lives and property". In January, the People’s Daily reported that the Ministry of Public Health was considering the training of personnel and countermeasures against biological and chemical weapons attacks. In March, the People’s Liberation Army called for laws against nuclear, biological and chemical terrorism.

 

 

These agreements were projected by China as being part of the global campaign against terror, but they have implications for Chinese foreign policy. The international approval of US policy in Afghanistan is causing concern to China , which has repeatedly pressed for a greater role for the UN in Afghanistan to counter US unilateralism. The Chinese strongly objected to the US-led NATO operation launched in Kosovo without the formal approval of the UN as this constituted a direct attack on the principle of national sovereignty. National sovereignty is an emotional issue in China , with its sovereignty being challenged in Taiwan , Tibet and Xinjiang. 

 

 

The Chinese are wary of outside powers exploiting any of these issues to ‘split’ China , and anxious about attracting negative international attention for its handling of the situation in Xinjiang. This has resulted in a ban on news from that region. Post September 11, there has also been a shift in Chinese policy on the situation in Xinjiang.  Earlier, the separatist violence in Xinjiang to establish the Muslim majority state of East Turkestan was considered an internal matter. After the September 11 attacks, China is seeking international support for its fight against the Muslim separatists. 

 

 

However, the US military presence in Pakistan , as part of the global anti-terror campaign, is causing apprehension in China . Hence, its attempts to reach agreements with Pakistan , Afghanistan , and the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on issues of mutual interest.  Though China supported the US-led campaign against terror, it is aware that it does not have much clout in the current coalition. China has made the commitment to fight terrorism along with ASEAN, the SCO and Pakistan as it dominates these relationships.

 

 

The US presence in Pakistan complicates South Asian strategic calculations; as the US is getting entrenched in Pakistan , China is making renewed efforts to deepen its bilateral ties with Pakistan . This includes the joint development of Gwadar port and supply of military hardware to Pakistan . It is worth speculating whether US-Chinese interests in Pakistan would clash. 

 

 

The US joint military exercises with India have not gone down well in China or Pakistan . India has also conducted joint naval exercises with the French in the Arabian sea . With the current Indo-Pak deployment along the border, these events add to friction between different powers in the region. Any outbreak of hostilities between India and Pakistan would be detrimental to China ’s interests of bringing its troubled border regions under control, building a deeper relationship with Pakistan and stabilizing its ties with India . Its relationship with the US is too multi-faceted to be disturbed by its military presence in Pakistan . The Chinese strategy is to rally other states in the region against US unilateralism but press for more “democratic” conduct of interstate relations whilst agreeing, in principle, to support the global campaign against terrorism.  

 

 

 

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