Communist China is Annoyed by Turkey’s Alleged Support of the Uyghurs
Jose Nino
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According to statements from a Turkish official at the end of December, Chinese authorities are “disturbed” by Turkey’s alleged support for the Uyghurs.
The Uyghurs are one of the most controversial Muslim minority groups in China and have been. In this case, Chinese authorities are angered by the fact that the Turkish government’s refusal to extradite Turkic Uyghurs to China.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu described assertions about Turkic Uyghurs being extradited to China as “a total lie” and that Turkey kowtow to China’s demands, even if it causes Sino-Turkish relations to deteriorate.“Turkish–Chinese ties have suffered over Beijing being disturbed by our attitude on the Turkic Uyghurs issue,” he said to reporters per a Middle East Monitor report.
“They have extradition requests for people who are our citizens, who live in Turkey all the time. Therefore, we don’t grant any such requests.”
Cavusoglu alluded to a 2022 U.N. report outlining abuses allegedly that the Chinese regime has committed against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in China’s Xinjiang region. This report said that China’s actions amount to crimes against humanity and urged for the international community to take immediate action.
“We defend Turkic Uyghurs’ rights in the international arena, and this disturbs China. But this is a humanitarian issue,” he proclaimed.
Cavusoglu claimed that Chinese authorities previously blocked the Turkish ambassador from visiting the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang provided and demanded that he complied with a “program that they provide.”
The foreign minister stated Turkey wants to cooperate with China in a transparent fashion.
“Why should we become a tool for China’s propaganda? We want to cooperate. We don’t see this as a political issue,” he stated.
“We are categorically not anti-Chinese. We have always said that we support the ‘One-China’ policy.”
Aldgra Fredly of The Epoch Times noted that “Turkey was one of 50 countries that signed a joint statement at the U.N. General Assembly on Oct. 31, 2022, urging the CCP to uphold its human rights obligations and release those who are ‘arbitrarily deprived of their liberty’ in Xinjiang.”
Turkey is an interesting geopolitical actor. It’s notorious for its hedging strategy, where it will play major geopolitical actors against one another, while concurrently advancing its own interests. Turkey’s interest in Xinjiang aligns with its Pan-Turkic vision to spread its influence across Central Asian regions filled with Turkic ethno-linguistic groups.
If Turkey were to take a full-blown Pan-Turkic pivot, it will invariably butt heads with China and Russia across Central Asia. The US Deep State, which wants to see Russia and China undermined on the world stage, will absolutely love this aspect of Turkish geopolitics.
Turkey will be one country to watch closely in this chaotic era of multipolarity.
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