In a Fortnight By Peter Mattis

In a Fortnight

By Peter Mattis
 

Kidnappings Highlight Weakness in Chinese Security Posture Abroad

In the space of 24 hours starting January 31, disgruntled Egyptians in the Sinai Peninsula kidnapped and then released 25 Chinese factory workers in an effort to get Cairo to pay attention to the chaotic situation on the peninsula (China News Service, February 1). The news came hard on the heels of the abduction in Sudan of 29 Chinese construction workers, who were working in the restive South Kordofon region for China’s Power Construction Corporation (CPCC). Beijing promptly dispatched a Ministry of Foreign Affairs team with representatives from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administrative Commission to liaise with Khartoum and the CPCC emergency working group as well as to monitor the situation (Xinhua, January 31; January 30; Global Times, January 30). While not as a dramatic as the whirlwind diplomacy that led to coordinated patrols of the Mekong River last fall, Beijing is showing greater capacity to react to international events that threaten China’s interests—yet not necessarily at anticipating them.

 

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