Return-Path: <sentto-279987-4275-1010719320-fc=all.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 [204.181.12.215] by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.7.4) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Thu, 10 Jan 2002 19:24:16 -0800 (PST) Received: (qmail 29733 invoked by uid 510); 11 Jan 2002 03:22:15 -0000 Received: from n10.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.60) by all.net with SMTP; 11 Jan 2002 03:22:15 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-4275-1010719320-fc=all.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com Received: from [216.115.97.165] by n10.groups.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 11 Jan 2002 03:21:59 -0000 X-Sender: fc@red.all.net X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com Received: (EGP: mail-8_0_1_3); 11 Jan 2002 03:22:00 -0000 Received: (qmail 70572 invoked from network); 11 Jan 2002 03:22:00 -0000 Received: from unknown (216.115.97.172) by m11.grp.snv.yahoo.com with QMQP; 11 Jan 2002 03:22:00 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO red.all.net) (12.232.72.98) by mta2.grp.snv.yahoo.com with SMTP; 11 Jan 2002 03:21:58 -0000 Received: (from fc@localhost) by red.all.net (8.11.2/8.11.2) id g0B3Mhk31799 for iwar@onelist.com; Thu, 10 Jan 2002 19:22:43 -0800 Message-Id: <200201110322.g0B3Mhk31799@red.all.net> To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List) Organization: I'm not allowed to say X-Mailer: don't even ask X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL3] From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net> X-Yahoo-Profile: fcallnet Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 19:22:42 -0800 (PST) Subject: [iwar] [fc:China.Eager.to.Keep.US.Influence.out] Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit China Eager to Keep US Influence out Asia, January 10, 2002 [ 21:06 ] By Antoaneta Bezlova, DAWN <http://www.dawn.com/2002/01/10/int10.htm BEIJING. Seeking to assert itself as a major player in a region increasingly influenced by the United States, China is eager to showcase a young Central Asian grouping as a successful security mechanism powered by Beijing and Moscow - outside the hegemonistic supremacy of Washington. At a one-day meeting on Monday of the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Beijing, China showed it was determined to turn the loosely organised forum into a pact addressing common cross-border terrorism threats and having an impact on the region's security. "This is only the beginning of our cooperation," said Zhou Li, deputy director-general of the East European and Central Asian affairs department of the Foreign Ministry. "We still don't have the chart of the organization ready, but as the pact begins to take shape, we will step our efforts with regard to fighting terrorism, separatism and extremism." In a joint statement issued at the meeting's end, members echoed China's stance that the "global war on terror" should have no double standards and pledged to fight terrorism in all forms, including at home. China, Russia and four central Asian nations agreed to set up a regional counter-terrorism agency and a mechanism for emergency response that will provide for ad-hoc ministerial meetings of the member states and authorize foreign ministers to issue joint statements on issues of common concern. With the winding down of the war in Afghanistan, which has brought US troops into the China's backyard, Beijing felt compelled to reassert its claims for influence in the Central Asia. Like the United States, China needs secure imports of oil from the Middle East and Central Asia. China now relies on imports for 40 per cent of its oil needs, and its energy dependency will grow in coming years. China's long-term interests lie in building stable relationships with the countries of Central Asia and the Middle East in order to build up secure supplies of natural gas and oil. This means taking a hard line on cross border terrorism and religious extremism. Although China supported the US-led anti-terror campaign, Beijing has been unsettled by the US military presence on its western border. Chinese analysts have long maintained that by fighting the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, Washington had a dual political agenda in the region. In a yearend interview with the People's Daily newspaper, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan praised the new era of cooperation between Beijing and Washington after the terrorist attacks of Sept 11 but cautioned that "the fundamentals of the relationship have not changed". US sales of arms to Taiwan and Washington's decision to unilaterally withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty over China's objections remain the most contentious bilateral issues. Yet at the Monday meeting of the SCO members, Beijing was particularly cautious not to upset its fragile relations with Washington. The joint statement issued by SCO foreign ministers restrained from using its routine rhetoric of criticising the superpower status of the United States. Instead, the foreign envoys of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan strove to emphasise that the SCO's fight against the "three vices" - terrorism, separatism and extremism, was part and parcel of the global fight against terror. "Member states hold that the fight against terrorism should be carried out on all levels - globally, regionally and nationally - free of bias and with no double standards," the joint statement said. Said Zhou Li: "In our fight against the three vices, we recognise there are three targets on the list of common terrorist threats for the SCO members: terrorist forces in Chechnya, East Turkestan terrorist groups and the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan." The earliest incarnation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Shanghai Five, made up of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, was founded in 1996 with the primary goal of stabilising the shared borders through the mutual reduction of armed forces. Uzbekistan joined the group last year. As their border tensions diminished, the group focused on better cooperation in fighting religious fundamentalism, ethnic separatism and international terrorism. The alliance derived its vigour from common opposition to the US hegemony and influence in Central Asia. Although fighting on the US side in the anti-terror war in Afghanistan has overshadowed the SCO's own regional agenda, Beijing hopes that formulating the constitution of the group in time for June summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia, would help the SCO ascend as a prime player in a wide arc of Eurasian territory. Meeting the six foreign ministers in Beijing Monday, Chinese President Jiang Zemin said: "The key to the role of the SCO is its self-construction, the unity and cooperation among its members." ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Sponsored by VeriSign - The Value of Trust Secure all your Web servers now - with a proven 5-part strategy. The FREE Server Security Guide shows you how. http://us.click.yahoo.com/uCuuSA/VdiDAA/yigFAA/kgFolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ------------------ http://all.net/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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