Terrorism in Asia

8. China

China’s restive autonomous Xinjiang Province has seen an ongoing, sporadic Islamic-separatist insurgency since at least the mid-1990s. A considerable proportion of the attacks and other incidents have been attributed to the Uyghur-dominated Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and the East Turkestan Liberation Organisation (ETLO), both of which advocate the establishment of an independent state of East Turkestan. In addition, responding to wider instability in the region, the Chinese government has deployed significant numbers of People’s Armed Police and People’s Militia to the province to establish a strong security presence and to deter popular protests deemed to be in support of the terrorist group’s broader separatist objectives.