The March 1 deadly terror attack in Kunming, China’s spring city, has elicited strong condemnation from India and has underlined the need for greater cooperation between the two Asian powers in combating this trans-national scourge.
“The government of India strongly condemns the terrorist attack on innocent civilians on March 1, 2014 in Kunming, China. We extend our condolences to the bereaved families and wish an early recovery to those who were injured,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. “India strongly opposes terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”
Billed China’s 9/11 by some commentators, the terror attack unleashed by random knife-stabbing by eight attackers March 1 at the railway station in China’s south-western city killed more than 38 people and wounded more than 130. Chinese officials have ascribed the attack to separatists from Xinjiang – home to a restless and disgruntled Muslim Uighur minority.
The attack has underscored the need for greater regional cooperation in thwarting the incestuous networks of militants and terrorists who resort to specious ideologies to justify their senseless attack on innocent civilians.
India and China have taken preliminary steps to launch their cooperation in tackling terror. In fact, Kunming was the city where the two rising Asian powers held their first joint counter-terror exercise called Hand-in-Hand in 2008. The third edition of Hand-in-Hand was held in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, in September last year.
The impending withdrawal of foreign combat troops from Afghanistan has fuelled fears about a sharp spike in terror spawned by al-Qaeda Taliban-affiliated groups in the months ahead. Given their common stakes in promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan and in the region, the Kunming attack should prod the two neighbours to explore new pathways of cooperation in combating terrorism.
In an act of solidarity, India has been quick to describe the attack as terrorism. The US, on the other hand, took some time to categorise the attack as an act of terrorism after the Chinese media accused Washington of dabbling in double standards for its initial reluctance to use the phrase.
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