China warns of grave terror risks from Afghan chaos

Isis, al-Qaeda and Xinjiang-related militant outfits are regrouping and also targeting cyberspace, Chinese minister tells counterterrorism seminar

Solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful anti-terror weapons, Wu Jianghao says as he seeks international support against ETIM

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Taliban stand guard at the scene of an operation against an Isis hideout in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 5:12pm, 23 Dec 2021Updated: 5:33pm, 23 Dec 2021

The resurgence of international militant groups emboldened by the chaos in post-war Afghanistan is posing serious threats to anti-terror work, China has warned.

Terrorist groups including Islamic State (Isis), al-Qaeda and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) are taking advantage of the drastically changed situation in Afghanistan this year to expand their presence and stir up trouble, China’s assistant foreign minister Wu Jianghao said.

“The new threats and new challenges in the counterterrorism field call for high [levels of] vigilance. Emerging new technologies are being abused by terrorist forces. The use of cyberspace has made terrorist activities more covert and unchecked, and pushed terrorism closer to organised crime,” Wu told a counterterrorism seminar in Beijing on Wednesday.

Wu Jianghao at the second International Seminar on Counter Terrorism in Beijing. Photo: AP

Without naming the US, Wu said two decades of war in Afghanistan had provided a breeding ground for all kinds of terrorist forces, and certain countries had attempted to clear the name of ETIM out of their own political interests, despite its being listed as a terrorist organisation by the UN Security Council.

“It is hoped that all countries will fully recognise the violent and terrorist nature of ETIM, and work with China to resolutely crack down on the group,” Wu said in opening remarks at the second International Seminar on Counterterrorism.

Wu’s remarks come at a time of heightened alert against potential terror attacks amid risks of the instability in Afghanistan spilling over into Xinjiang in western China, which has seen Beijing call on the Afghan Taliban to help eradicate terrorism.

Beijing has previously blamed the ETIM for separatist attacks in its Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Western troop withdrawals from Afghanistan have been followed by a fast-escalating wave of terrorist attacks by the regional chapter of Isis, including in neighbouring Pakistan.

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