Central Asia must be wary of interference by ‘major powers’, China’s defense chief said
China’s defense minister warned that Beijing is opposed to any foreign intervention in Kazakhstan. “color revolutions” launched under the guise of protests while vowing to support the country’s efforts to “safeguard national security.”
Wei Fenghe was enthused after a Monday meeting with the Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at Nur-Sultan. “bright future prospects”For bilateral ties and also touching upon the threat of foreign interference
“China firmly opposes external forces deliberately instigating a ‘color revolution’ in Kazakhstan, and supports Kazakhstan in taking effective measures to safeguard national security and social stability,”Wei, as quoted by the Defense Ministry. “We must be alert to some major powers interfering in Central Asia and disrupting the security of Central Asia.”
Although the minister didn’t elaborate on his comments, they come three months after protests broke out in Kazakhstan. These were initially caused by an increase in fuel prices. Over several days, peaceful rallies turned violent with at least 215 people being killed in clashes between security forces. Thousands more were injured or arrested.
The unrest prompted a deployment by the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which sent peacekeepers into the country at Tokayev’s request and ultimately helped to quell the violence. In response to protesters’ grievances, the government sacked several top officials and vowed a series of political and economic reforms, including the restoration of previous price controls on fuel.
President Trump claimed that there were tens to thousands of “foreign-trained terrorists”And “bandits”They claimed they were behind the rioting and aimed to execute a coup for another state. However, evidence was not provided.
Wang Li, the Chinese foreign minister at the time said that the protests had been driven by “three evil forces” of extremism, terrorism and separatism, offering support from Beijing’s security forces. Though Kazakhstan belongs to the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization and reserves the right to request security assistance from member states, it did not do so during January’s unrest.
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