Chinese envoy urges world to pay close attention to terrorist threats posed by ETIM/TIP

A Chinese envoy on Wednesday called on the international community to pay close attention to the terrorist threats posed by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement/Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIM/TIP).

"We call on the Security Council and the international community to pay close attention to the active and developing terrorist threats posed by ETIM/TIP, to cut off its connection with ISIS and erase the space for it to breed and do harm," Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council briefing on Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts.

Citing the secretary-general's report, which points out that ISIS continued to recruit from ETIM/TIP, Zhang said that China "is deeply concerned" about this.

"ETIM is a terrorist organization designated by the 1267 Committee of the Council. It has carried out many inhumane terrorist attacks in Xinjiang, China, resulting in mass casualties of innocent people," said Zhang.

The ambassador said that in recent years, this organization has spread and grown in Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and other regions, adding that the report released by the monitoring group of the 1267 Committee earlier this month further points out that there are 1,000 to 3,000 ETIM/TIP fighters in Syria.

"They not only launched attacks on the ground, but also recruited, trained and sent terrorists for terrorist attacks in Central Asian countries and China. The ETIM fighters in Afghanistan even clamored to 'return to Xinjiang for Jihad,'" he said.

Speaking about the effort to curb the new wave of terrorism, the ambassador said that ISIS is still active in regions such as Iraq, Syria, and Libya, and is spreading at a faster pace in many parts of Africa.

"In Afghanistan, the withdrawal of foreign troops has created a vacuum in the security situation, and such chaos has provided an opportunity for terrorist forces to expand their presence. We hoped the Taliban will fulfill relevant counter-terrorism commitments to prevent Afghanistan from again becoming the breeding ground of terrorism," said Zhang.

"China supports the international community in continuing coordinated actions to combat terrorism in all its forms," the envoy noted.

On civilian protection, Zhang said that "counter-terrorism operations must abide by international law and uphold the principle of protecting civilians."

"The overuse of military force will not help eradicate terrorist threats. On the contrary, it may weaken the legitimacy and effectiveness of counter-terrorism actions, and cause the dilemma of the more counter-terrorism, the more terrorism," he said.

"Military intervention in the name of counter-terrorism is a blatant violation of national security and territorial integrity, and will lead to major disasters and civilian casualties, and create a breeding ground for terrorists. We call on the countries concerned to prudently use military means in counter-terrorism operations, and give priority to the protection of civilians," the envoy stressed.

Zhang also called on the international community to "vigorously help African countries strengthen counter-terrorism capacity-building."

"Terrorism and violent extremism are expanding in many places in Africa, posing a severe challenge to national security of regional countries," he said.

"China has always been committed to supporting the capacity-building of African countries that are at the forefront of counter-terrorism ... We stand ready to continue our practical support for African countries in their pursuit of peace and security," said the ambassador.