[iwar] [fc:China.Eager.to.Keep.US.Influence.out]

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Date: 2002-01-10 19:22:42


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Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 19:22:42 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [iwar] [fc:China.Eager.to.Keep.US.Influence.out]
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China Eager to Keep US Influence out


Asia, January 10, 2002 [ 21:06 ]
By Antoaneta Bezlova, DAWN &lt;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."

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