East Turkestan

East Turkestan, renamed Xin-jiang or New Dominion by the Chinese, is of immense strategic value. October, 2005 marks the 50th anniversary of its political integration into the People's Republic of China. The province has an area of 635,800 square miles and a population of 19 million. While the ethnic Chinese have risen from 6% of the population in 1949 to more than 40% today, the indigenous Uighurs remain restive. They speak a Turkic language written in the Arabic script and are Muslims by religion.

The flow of information is limited due to censorship but occasional reports suggest localized riots, isolated clashes with police and bus bombs in recent years. Amnesty International reports that there were "tens of thousands" of political prisoners in East Turkestan with "thousands" executed for political reasons. There has been a resurgence of Muslim religious identity and the Chinese are currently preparing anti-terrorism legislation to deal with the region. The United States administration had warned China in 2001 not to cite the war on terror as "an excuse to persecute minorities".

East Turkestan did enjoy two periods of independence in the 20th century i.e. the First East Turkestan Republic in 1933 and the Second East Turkestan Republic in 1944. China is unlikely to lose control over this petroleum-rich province. But the region needs to be closely watched given the less than innocuous rumblings beneath the surface. The developments there directly impact on India's defence. China had annexed the Indian territory of Aksai Chin in 1957 to link East Turkestan and Tibet. The Karakoram highway links East Turkestan with Pakistan-held Kashmir.