On August 2 2012, security forces arrested 20 individuals from various cities in Xinjiang on charges of terrorism and secessionist activities. The regional government is attempting to take pre-emptive measures against Uyghur groups in the province to ensure that no major terrorist incident occurs before the leadership transition in Beijing in October 2012. While the ability of the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) to conduct a major attack in China remains limited, jihadist groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan are increasingly likely to view Chinese assets and personnel as legitimate targets.
Exclusive Analysis’s monitoring of social media and jihadi websites indicates an increase in jihadist rhetoric against China. In the past two months, references to Chinese “excesses” in Xinjiang, and maps denoting the region as a part of an Islamic caliphate, have increased in circulation. The situation is further aggravated by the anniversary of the Hotan and Urumqi protests falling in July and social media reports of regional authorities enforcing a ban on fasting during Ramadan in Xinjiang. The police are reportedly offering food and water to drivers at checkpoints and arresting anyone refusing for “illegal fasting.”
Chinese firms in Pakistan do not only face risks from jihadist groups. Baluch nationalist insurgents view any Chinese activity in mining and infrastructure projects in Baluchistan as an infringement upon their sovereignty, while Sindhi nationalist groups detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) near the Chinese Consulate in Karachi on July 23 to protest against Chinese involvement in the Zulfiqarabad Port project in Thatta district.
In light of this, Chinese assets and personnel in Pakistan and Afghanistan are likely to become opportunistic targets in the one year outlook. Risks to Chinese personnel and companies in these countries have been perceived to be much lower than to westerners. As a result, Chinese companies like Jiangxi Copper, Sinopec, Great Wall, BGP and CNPC have been able to work on projects that were not feasible for western firms due to the security risks. This is likely to change as jihadists will realize that attacking Chinese firms carries the extra benefit of embarrassing the Pakistan government, which is keen to maintain its close ties with China, whom it sees as a benefactor. Attacks will most likely be in the form of IED attacks on project sites and kidnappings of Chinese personnel.
O. Hamid is Deputy Head of Asia Forecasting at Exclusive Analysis.
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Stephen
Ask yourself this question. If the CCP wants your help in massacring the Chinese people, are you, a person who believes in human rights and goodness for all, going to be a willing partner in evil?
James
ian, your hatred of the chinese is showing and it's pathetic. you claim the chinese are such bad people then what are you? you're just another blind hateful zealot
ian
@james sclong
typical dumb chinese response, when in doubt, personal attack. Is there anything i said which is untrue?
Can i ask you something, if you hate the west so much as you morons here claim, why keep on using western names. You guys are showing your inferiority complex, keep harping on how how evil the west are and yet love western cultures and instittutions.
Stephen
Then what do you suggest the Chinese should improve on, Ian?
Jaack Chan
We Chinese and Muslims are brothers in arms against the Western Capitalist Imperialist lunatics. Remember that " We are all wheather friends".
ian
I know, you have a lot of brothers, especially the uyghurs. That is why no one else wants to be your brother because your definition of brotherhood is to take their land, destroy their culture, religion and people. Tortures are just hors durves to you guys. RELEASE THEIR PEOPLE WHY DON'T YOU, they are parents, sons, sisters like everyone else.
Errol T
… I once watched a video where Islamic terrorists sawed off a Chinese engineer's head… all-weather friends do not do that to each other.
Sin Lok
May be they grow back !
kilroy238
Congrats China now you get to see how it feels.
ian
I am not a fan of the victim mentality which represents some muslim people which allows them to justify their actions. However, i did watch a documentary recently on the Uyghurs people and found it hard to contain my tears, it was an eye opener. Oppressions of people on this scale in modern time can only happen in china, a country where the west is too afraid or too fatigued with their own problems to see the threat until very recently. It had been only a matter of time.
For a country with such poor war fighting records the chinese are incredibly arrogant and belligerent. They are on a clear road to replace the US as public enemy number one, but with a really deserved evil reputation instead. Most of asia regards them with dislike or in many case increasing hatred. Their fellow chinese in HK or Sing protest about the locusts or hosts US militaries in response to their actions. No need to discuss the Viet or the Phi. Their activities on official level and their citizen are radicalising whole populations at a time. They benefited so much from the charity of the West and many asian countries when they were poor but now they are wealhier the wests are evil who are trying to hold them back and the asians are backward babarians. Bring on the encirclement of this threat to world peace.
scdad07
I would worry more foreign troops being shot by uniformed Afghanistan soldiers or policemen in coming days.
Oro Invictus
I think the most fitting thing to say here would be one of those most famous religious-originated quotes: “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap”.
Just-world hypothesis aside, I’m surprised that all this hasn’t started happening sooner, what with the behaviour of the CPC towards Muslims; unlike the people of the PRC, Muslims have a (relatively) common ground of ideology amongst themselves, preventing the “divide et impera” approach the PRC takes from working as effectively as in its efforts to repress other ideologies. Add into that a region with a higher concentration of already radicalized Muslims and… Well… The net effect is not good. Still, I suspect many of the reports of religious extremism on the parts of Muslims, even considering the aforementioned, are manufactured and/or exaggerated significantly by the PRC government; unless the region breaks down into large-scale hostilities, the PRC will need such contrivances on their part to justify their maleficent actions to the rest of the people.
Neil
Well well so the dog has started barking at the master !!! All weather friend of Pakisthan huh :-)