Security ministers from five nations back Beijing initiative

China’s top police officer has pledged deeper cooperation with his Central Asian counterparts to crack down on terrorism, separatism and extremism, while strengthening measures to protect Belt and Road Initiative investments.

Presiding over an informal meeting of the China-Central Asia Public Security and Interior Ministers’ mechanism in Beijing, Chinese Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong on Monday urged his counterparts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to jointly combat the “three evil forces”.

The “three evil forces” is a term used extensively in Beijing’s security doctrine and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) framework to refer to perceived interconnected threats to national sovereignty and political stability posed by terrorism, separatism and extremism, according to Xinhua.

For decades, Beijing has used the term to refer to the ideas behind terrorist attacks in Xinjiang.

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The security talks followed the SCO summit a week ago where Chinese President Xi Jinping said security was a “key goal” and called for the SCO to foster “an environment of common security”.

As Central Asian energy corridors and transport routes remain vital to China’s economic and strategic interests, Beijing has increasingly prioritised intelligence sharing, joint law enforcement training and the defence of infrastructure to ensure stability at its western border and beyond.