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China should be pro-active and play a positive role in the world. This includes confronting the 5,000 Chinese citizens who are fighting with ISIL in Syria, or based in Turkey waiting to fight in Syria and China.
It behooves the new superpower on earth to deal with its own problem in the international scene, in Syria......and help the embattled government there.
It behooves the new superpower on earth to deal with its own problem in the international scene, in Syria.....and supporting its ally Russia in Syria.
As in the case of the Russian involvement in confronting ISIS in Syria, which has enhanced Russia's image and position in the world........China's position in the world will also be enhanced as a true defender of global security.
With size, and prosperity and development comes responsibility.
China cannot merely rely on economic development to ensure its position in the world. It must also commit to security operations beyond its borders to ensure that the world is safe to do business in. China cannot rely on Russia or the USA to that solely.
If middle ranking powers such as France and the UK can commit to fighting ISIS, so should China in an international coalition.
If a 1000 French citizens were fighting with ISIS in Syria....the French government would take action in that theater.
If a 1000 UK citizens were fighting with ISIS in Syria....the UK government would take action in that theater.
So why not China?
The commitment of just 30 or 1% of the PLAAF jet fighters in enough. Supporting the Russians. Nobody is asking for ground troops. The best planes and the best pilots to showcase the achievements of the PLAAF.
This is even a prayer in Israel, from where rumors of Chinese military involvement in Syria were copy pasted on this blogsite.
http://mostaqueali.blogspot.com/2015/10/china-will-fight-isis.html
What China should not do publicly in the international arena, is state that it is helpless as a successful state in confronting its own terrorist problems. Russia, The UK, France do not EVER say this to the world.
In fact most governments around the world do not plead helplessness about terrorists to the world.
As part of its propaganda, the USA is deliberately obtuse, about fighting ISIS. This is because the USA:
1.Covertly supports ISIS, as a tool of destabilization of target countries.
2. The USA military needs to be inside, or near the target country for destabilisation.
3. And is the reason why USA military and security experts repeatedly state that it will take the noble USA 100 years to defeat ISIS.
4. Why the worthless USA military airstrikes achieve so little against ISIS, BUT do destroy the strategic infrastructure of the target countries....Libya, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
FOR CHINA THIS ANALYSIS IS RELEVANT IF THE ISIS FIGHTERS GO BACK TO CHINA DIRECTLY.
OR ARE LAUNCHED INTO CENTRAL ASIA FROM AFGHANISTAN. THE USA MILITARY HAS MASSED 6000 ISIS FIGHTERS IN AFGHANISTAN.
OR THEY INFILTRATE STRATEGIC PARTNER PAKISTAN, AND LAUNCH ATTACKS AGAINST CHINA FROM THERE.
Modern terrorism.....especially transnational terrorism is state funded.
Without the logistics, money, training, travel documents, safe shelter, fuel.....and modern weapons...a 21st century terrorist cannot operate:
Their numbers (From Wikipedia):
In Iraq and Syria
200,000[17] (Kurdish claims)
70,000 (Russian military estimate)[18]
100,000[19] (Jihadist claim)
80,000–100,000 [20] (CIA estimate)
Key state sponsors of ISIS are the USA (LEAD NATION)...France, UK, Israel, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Each of the Western countries and Middle East countries have their own motivations for sponsoring ISIS.
For China and its attempt to deal with Uighur terrorism in China.....the relevant countries of focus are the USA (The lead sponsor of ISIS) Turkey, Afghanistan and finally Pakistan.
USA motivations
The USA motivation for supporting ISIS, and Chinese ISIS has 4 clear strands:
(i) Bernard Lewis and the Arc of Crisis: 1970's to the present
(ii) The Clean Break document 1996
(iii) The Grand Chessboard strategy 1998.
(iv) Project for a New American Century 2000
Turkish motivations
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article43816.htm
"IHS-Jane’s Defence Weekly estimated in October that as many as five thousand Uighur would-be fighters have arrived in Turkey since 2013, with perhaps two thousand moving on to Syria. Moustapha said he has information that ‘up to 860 Uighur fighters are currently in Syria."
Afghanistan ( The Central Asian staging post of ISIS)
Pakistani motivations.
Conclusion
China should not wait patiently for the 5,000 Chinese-ISIS terrorists massed in Syria/Turkey to come to China and create great mayhem and destruction via the staging posts of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia. China should fight them in Iraq and Syria BEFORE this situation occurs. The ISIS Chinese are in Turkey and Syria now gaining fighting experience.
All members of the Permanent Security Council have committed their armed forces to fight in Syria and Iraq. So should China. The problems in Syria/Iraq is not an irrelevant far away phenomenon for China.
China is committed to sending 8,000 troops for UN operations around the world. Why not make such such a commitment to Syria and Iraq, with the permission of the two governments?
New Chinese Security legislation authorities China to dispatch her armed forces to fight abroad in order to confront terrorism and destabilization. Under this legislation, China can send limited forces to Iraq and Syria to fight ISIS, and deal with the Chinese ISIS menace there.
China is the richest country in the world, and the most industrialized. China is 5 times richer than Russia. China should use this fortune to arm the legitimate governments of Iraq and Syria, so that it is they who do the critical fighting against ISIS.
China's Eurasian plan is grand and very critical for the welfare and security of China. However a viable Eurasian/SCO plan must have security and counter terrorism to ensure its long term success. China's aid to Pakistan of $50 billion is lauded as is the $56 billion to Iran and the Silk Road INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS in Central Asia. However infrastructure and economic investment in themselves are not enough, and like the EU.....there must also be a viable NATO element in the SCO. And to make it viable it must have a military element, with joint military operations, and China leading such initiatives. Part of such an initiative involves China sending armed forces to Iraq and Syria.
To do otherwise will be seen as weakness.
China must show solidarity with Russia, and the scenario in Syria/Iraq presents an opportunity for China to stand shoulder to shoulder with Russia, and further solidify their security cooperation.
It is impossible that China as the sole superpower on earth in the future can practically maintain quiet, aloof, non-interventionism around the world, whilst simultaneously attempting to protect its vital economic interests, with a great blue water navy. CHINA WILL HAVE TO COMMIT TO MILITARY OPERATIONS AROUND THE WORLD....SOONER rather than later. Often operating outside the scope of the UN, where various interests of several countries clash.
Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan amongst other countries are begging for Chinese friendship and cooperation. Iraq contains the second largest deposits of oil, Iran gas and Afghanistan many strategic minerals such as Lithium, copper and so forth. As the USA retreats from such countries after decades of malpractice, abuse and destabilization (Due to American racism, Islamophobia which it fosters on the world via its propaganda machine....and elite worship of the devil, and of course Israel)...........CHINA can enter into genuine partnerships with such countries with direct eventual land links to China via the SILK ROADS projects. Logically part of that process involves a security dimension with China taking an organizational lead. Syria is a Russian satellite since the late 1950's, but Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan are not.
China should consider sending the PLAAF, and marines to Iraq, if not Syria. Such acts embolden the local government and gives them greater courage to move closer strategically to China. Iran by itself does not have the resources to protect the country against ISIS.
