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Opinion

As China expands trade ties in Central Asia, it also needs to boost security for diplomatic missions

Terror attack on the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek highlights some of the perils of involvement in a volatile region

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A suspected suicide bomber crashed a car through the entrance of the Chinese Embassy in the Kyrgyzstan capital of Bishkek, detonating a bomb which killed the attacker. Photo: EPA
SCMP Editorial
Not before has there been a terror attack against a Chinese overseas diplomatic mission. The suicide bombing of the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan’s capital is therefore a security wake-up call. Spreading national interests have to be protected and as the vision of a new Silk Road takes shape, that has to be especially so across a region crucial to the success of the project. Extremism and violence can never be tolerated and Kyrgyz authorities have to thoroughly investigate and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

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There is every need for the stepping up of intelligence sharing and improvement of cross-border counter-terrorism capabilities. Three Kyrgyz workers at the embassy were injured after a bomb in a vehicle that ploughed through the compound gates on Tuesday exploded; the attacker died. Chinese officials have been previously targeted in the city, with two shot dead in 2000 and a consul and his driver killed in 2002. Authorities blamed those incidents on Uygur separatists from Xinjiang (新疆), but there has been no claim of responsibility for the latest occurrence.

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Smoke rises above the Chinese Embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan follow an attack by a suspected suicide bomber on Tuesday. Photo: AP
Smoke rises above the Chinese Embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan follow an attack by a suspected suicide bomber on Tuesday. Photo: AP
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