China wants to develop deeper defense and anti-terrorism ties with the Arab world, including joint exercises, intelligence sharing and training, the government said in a policy document released by the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.
While relying on the region for oil supplies, China has tended to leave Middle Eastern diplomacy to the other five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council – the United States, Britain, France and Russia.
But China has been trying to get more diplomatically involved, especially in Syria, recently hosting both its foreign minister and opposition officials.
China also has its own worries about radicalization of the Muslim Uighur people who live in China’s far western region of Xinjiang, which has been beset by violence in recent years, blamed by Beijing on Islamist militants.
In the lengthy document, released without prior warning, the foreign ministry called for more high-level military visits, technical cooperation on weaponry and joint exercises.(Reuters)
Link: http://atimes.com/2016/01/china-wants-deeper-defense-anti-terror-ties-with-arab-world/
20
