Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

China to strengthen 2.5 million semi-military in Xinjiang

This will put 2.5 million Chinese semi-military troops up against the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

With Pakistan offering port facilities to China the military buildup in Xinjiang puts China at both ends of Pakistan.
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The offering of the port facilities is supposedly for the benefit of the Xinjiang Uyger autonomous region of China. This could be a means by which the United States and Pakistan aid the Uighur separatists of Xinjiang in their efforts to break away from China. China has protested the establishment of a Uighur Government-in-Exile in Washington.
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OR

If this is for the benefit of the whole of China this would put the Chinese, albeit non-military vessels, next to Iran’s shipping lane the Strait of Hormuz. If the Chinese have access to these ports in time their military vessels will probably visit. The Chinese have a considerable investment in Iran’s oil and gas. Bush plans on attacking Iran by choking the Strait of Hormuz.

See also:
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While this may change, an amphibious attack was originally targeted against Iran from the Arabian Sea, with a provocative US blockade in the Gulf of Oman to choke Iran’s sealanes of communications. Pakistan would be the base for mounting massive air reconnaissance and surveillance of Iran, while Iranian dissidents, backed by the US army, would launch land assaults from the Iraq-Iran border. Diplomatic sources say, the main body of the plan would remain the same, although component tactics could change.
http://www.thedailystar.net/2004/07/03/d40703100483.htm

Note: Iran and China propose to play leading roles in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, Iran's State News Agency (IRNA) reported.http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=25948&NewsKind=Business%20%26%20E....


-Am

China urged to expand military in Xinjiang

Military required to combat separatism

BEIJING: A top military official has urged the strengthening of China’s 2.5 million semi-military presence in the westernmost Xinjiang region to combat separatism and attempts at “sabotage and infiltration,” state press reported on Friday.

Zhang Qingli, commander-in-chief of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corp, an offshoot of the People’s Liberation Army that was established in the ethnic Uighur-dominated region 50 years ago to ensure Chinese rule, made the call. “The corps should not be weakened but be enlarged in the new era with the main task to develop the economy, maintain the stability of Xinjiang, promote unity among ethnic groups and consolidate border defence,” Zhang was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed during a recent visit to Xinjiang to reinforce the role of the corp for similar reasons, the report said. The 2.54-million strong corp staffs 186 regimental farms and more than 1,500 industrial, construction, transport and commercial enterprises in Xinjiang, Xinhua said. It does not form a part of China’s 2.5-million-strong People’s Liberation Army, the world’s largest standing army.

Nonetheless it “plays an irreplaceable role in smashing and resisting internal and external attempts at sabotage and infiltration, and maintains the stability and safety of the borders of the country,” Xinhua said.

The corp has also played a role in “a recent battle against the so-called ‘Eastern Turkistan’ terrorist group,” it said. The Muslim group has long called for the establishment of an independent area in the region called East Turkestan. afp

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_9-10-2004_pg4_7