Like any global power, for an emerging China, which is rapidly integrating itself into the global community, terrorism no more stands an exception but rather a priority in the national security.
By Amrita Jash
In international
politics, the fight against the threat of terrorism to global peace and
security, has become the highest priority in the international security agenda.
Like any global power, for an emerging China, which is rapidly integrating
itself into the global community, terrorism no more stands an exception but
rather a priority in the national security.
Since 9/11
China’s own understanding of the threat and the nature of response to combat it
has changed with time. At the very core lies the query: Does China face a
threat of terrorism?
In the recent
times, terrorism has equally become a concern for the Chinese leadership given
the objective of maintaining internal stability. China’s concerns to the global
tragedy has been enforced in two ways: first, domestic factor, wherein
Beijing’s key concern is against the East Turkestan Independence Movement (ETIM)-
the main Xinjiang terrorist group responsible for terror activities in China.
Given this internal terror to stability, one of the key national interest lies
in fighting the “three evils” (terrorism, separatism and, extremism). The
internal threat of terror was witnessed in the various ETIM led activities such
as: October 28, 2013, incident of car explosion under the portrait of Mao
Zedong in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square; March 2014 knife attack incident at
Kunming railway station followed by two attacks at Guangzhou railway station in
May 2014 and March 2015 and also, the car bomb attack on an open-air market in
Urumqi- calling for Beijing’s attention towards the internal threat to
stability of the state. The domestic concern is exacerbated by the international
concern, where China faces a equal threat like other countries. For the Paris
attack by ISIS in Novemebr 13, 2015 (one Chinese citizen shot but survived);
gunmen hostage crisis at the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali (3 Chinese were
killed); and most importantly, the ISIS execution of Chinese citizen- incidents
that confirm China’s rising threat of terror abroad. In this context, China
faces a pressure both domestically and internationally to confirm its stand on
terrorism.
In its nature
of understanding of the threat, China defines terrorism as "as any
proposition or activity - that, by means
of violence, sabotage or threat, generates social panic, undermines public
security, infringes on personal and property rights, and menaces government
organs and international organizations -- with the aim to realize certain
political and ideological purposes." Officially, China stands firm and
invariable in condemning international terrorism in all manifestations.
Facing this
imminent challenge, the next query lies in: How China plans to fight it?
It is
interesting to note, that unlike United States deployment of troops overseas to
fight terror pockets, China follows a non-interventionist foreign policy.
Beijing doesn't place the boots on the ground given its non-interference,
non-intervention policy. In abiding by the thumb rule, China’s domestic
responses to combat terror has been- modernization of its security forces, of
which, the paramilitary People’s Armed Police is the key organ to combat
terror, increased surveillance of ethnic, political, and religious groups, and,
developmental and legal initiatives such as the new anti-terrorism law.
Institutionally, Beijing counter-terror moves have been- establishment of the
Leading Small Group on Counter-Terrorism led by the Minister of Public Security
(august 2013); formation of the National Security Commission in January 2014,
headed by Xi Jinping- resulting into centralization and prioritization of
anti-terror policy-making at the highest level. The most significant way
forward has been the recent passage of China’s first ever anti-terror law in
December 27, 2015 at the 18th NPC. Broadening the perspective on terror, law
condemns as terrorist acts "any speech or activity that, by means of
violence, sabotage or threat, generates social panic, undermines public
security, and menaces government departments or international
organisations". This legal binding to counter terror reflects the
unambiguity in China's stand against terrorism and clearly points that terrorism
has moved up the priority ladder in Beijing's national interest.
While
internationally, China’s actions to combat terror is limited and practiced in
multilateral frameworks, of which BRICS serves as an important and potential
platform. Wherein, China along with other countries of BRICS operate within the
framework of UN Charter in their struggle against terror. China stands firm in
negating any kind of “double standards” in combating international terror. In
contrast to the US, China insists on addressing the “root causes” as well as
the “symptoms” of terrorism. In doing so, China stands for supporting the
affected states to fight their own battles against extremists, by providing
“technological aid and intelligence sharing.”
Internationally,
the official position of China, as reiterated in the BRICS Summit at Fortaleza
(2014) and Ufa (2015), “condemn terrorism in all its forms and stress that
there can be no justification for any acts of terror based on ideological,
political or religious issues”. Having this understanding, a significant move
forward by China under the BRICS calls for a global united front against
terror. That is, counter-terrorism should comply with the United Nations Global
Counter-terrorism Strategy, under the resolutions and annexed plan of action-
A/RES/60/288, A/RES/62/272 and A/RES/64/297.
Specifically,
at the 2015 Ufa Summit, China and the other BRICS members agreed that there
should be no “political approaches” and “selective application” in dealing with
terrorism and that all countries should oblige to fighting against the menace.
Adding to this objective, in the sidelines of 2015 G20 Summit at Antalya, China
and other BRICS countries called for the setting up of a universal
counter-terror front without any pre-condition to effectively deal with the
terror menace.
Besides this
multilateral mechanism in dealing with terrorism, China is bilaterally engaged
with Russia and India in counter-terror cooperation. Such as the 2015
China-India counter-terrorism drills in Kunming and that with Indian Home
Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Beijing in Novemebr 2015, both parties agreed
to cooperate in counter-terrorism. But in one-to-one cooperation, there are
certain gaps that exist, especially, between China and India. As in the
sidelines of UFA Summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the Lakhvi
issue to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. India expressed resentment over
Beijing’s blocking of New Delhi’s demand at the UN for action against Pakistan
over the release of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zaki-ur- rehman Lakhvi.
Such internal dynamics impede the cooperation in undertaking joint
counter-terror actions. That is, in the overall functioning of BRICS, terrorism
remains the weakest link. For each country is limited by the interference logic
and their internal equations. As economics still remains the primary logic, the
need of the hour requires greater diversification in enhancing the common goals
towards peace and security, making BRICS a true multilateral forum.
What can be
done to make BRICS a strong integrated platform to combat terror are:
confidence building between the five countries of BRICS; greater information
and technology transfer; strong surveillance mechanism; big data simulation
and, use of the New Development Bank (NDB) to finance counter-terror
activities.
Therefore, for
China, to act as a responsible actor both domestically as well as globally, the
need of the hour lies in expanding its political and institutional mechanisms
in combating terror that threatens global peace and security.
This paper was
discussed in the panel on “BRICS Stand Against Terrorism” at the International
Conference on “BRICS- Evolution from Acronym to Global Power”, organized by the
BRICS International Forum, January 28, 2015, New Delhi.
Acknowledgement:
I sincerely
extend my gratitude to Purnima Anand, President of BRICS Forum International along with Sanna Bedi and Sharanya Rajiv of Global Youth Forum for introducing me to this
coveted platform to express my views on the subject.
About The
Author:
Amrita Jash, (K-5665-2015) is Editor-in-Chief of
IndraStra Global and is a Doctoral Research Scholar at the Centre for East
Asian Studies (Chinese Division), School of International Studies, Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi, INDIA.
Cite This
Article:
Jash , Amrita.
"OPINION | A Note on China's Evolving Responses and Tactics in
Counter-Terrorism Domain" IndraStra Global 02, no. 01 (2016): 0093.
http://www.indrastra.com/2016/01/OPINION-View-on-China-Counter-Terrorism-Policies-002-01-2016-0093.html
