China on IS threat: Could government launch anti-terrorism cooperative in absence of global unified force?
At Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Zhengzhou, Henan province, Premier Li Keqiang called for the signing of an anti-extremism treaty
China on Tuesday vowed to deepen cooperation with Russia and Central Asian nations in their push for greater economic integration amid rising security concerns and slowing growth in the region.
Wrapping up a two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Zhengzhou, Henan province, Premier Li Keqiang called for the signing of an anti-extremism treaty, reflecting Beijing’s growing concern over the Islamic State militant group’s influence.
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Li also called on the bloc’s members to “maintain political security and social stability” in the face of “interwoven conventional and non-conventional security threats” as the countries faced “unprecedented” global challenges.
Li Lifan, a researcher with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said the bloc’s members were facing new challenges in security as terrorism groups went online to recruit, raise funds and plan attacks. Almost every bloc member had seen instances of its citizens joining Islamic State, the researcher said.
Once those who had left to fight for the militant group returned to their home countries, they would become a serious threat to national security, he said.
“But there is no unified force in the world to counter IS and we haven’t seen any such push from the UN. China may hope to launch an anti-terrorism cooperative mechanism under the SCO framework,” Li Lifan said.
He Qisong, a professor with the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said Russia was also seeking new allies after crossing Nato in the wake of the Ukraine conflict while China was facing threats from terrorism as its domestic separatists linked up with Islamic State.